“I live in New York City, the stories of my films take place in New York; I’m a New York filmmaker.” – Spike Lee

After an extensive upgrade and expansion of their first NY theater, Alamo Drafthouse Cinema is proud to announce that it will be dedicating its Downtown Brooklyn location to esteemed NY filmmaker Spike Lee. The dedication ceremony will take place on Thursday, September 12th, and will feature a screening of “Crooklyn,” the filmmaker’s 1994 semi-autobiographical film, as well as a live Q & A session with Lee.

The private event will also feature the reveal of a plaque proclaiming the theater to be the Spike Lee Cinema, which will read:

SPIKE LEE CINEMA

Like many of the greatest films over the past 40 years, this theater is a Spike Lee Joint. From his nuanced portrayals of Brooklyn life in “Do the Right Thing” and “Crooklyn” to his towering portrait of “Malcolm X”, his vision has shaped our culture and left an indelible mark on this city. For that reason, as of Thursday, September 12th 2024, this Alamo Drafthouse Cinema shall hereby and forevermore be known as the Spike Lee Cinema.

News of the dedication comes hot off the theater’s recently completed upgrade and expansion. Originally opened in Downtown Brooklyn’s City Point complex in 2016 with just seven screens, Alamo Drafthouse has completely revamped the location with premium leather recliners equipped with personal swivel tables perfect for enjoying the cinema-eaterie’s menu of burgers, scratch-made pizza, craft beers, signature cocktails, and more. It has also added five new auditoriums, adding 256 new seats for a total of 978, while outfitting all of its screens with state-of-the-art Laser projectors, as well as RealD 3D, 70mm, and 35mm capabilities on select screens.

“After completing this massive upgrade to our Brooklyn location, we knew immediately that we wanted to dedicate it to Spike Lee,” said Michael Kustermann, Alamo Drafthouse CEO. “His films have defined Brooklyn for generations, and we’re immensely proud to do our part to honor that legacy.”

In addition to Alamo Drafthouse’s diverse mix of first run films, beloved classics, and signature events, the newly dedicated Spike Lee Cinema will screen a retrospective programming series of Lee’s films, including:

9/17 – “Crooklyn” – DCP
9/21 – “Mo’ Better Blues” – 35mm
9/22 – “Jungle Fever” – 35mm
9/28 – “Do the Right Thing” – 4K DCP
9/29 – “Clockers” – 35mm
10/6 – “Inside Man” – 35mm
Tickets and showtimes for the Films of Spike Lee can be found at drafthouse.com/movies/the-films-of-spike-lee.

About Alamo Drafthouse
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema was founded in 1997 as a single-screen mom and pop repertory theater in Austin, TX. Twenty-seven years later, with 41 locations and counting, Alamo Drafthouse has been called “the best theater in America” by Entertainment Weekly and “the best theater in the world” by Wired. Alamo Drafthouse has built a reputation as a movie lover’s oasis not only by combining best-in-class food and drink service with the movie-going experience, but also introducing unique programming and high-profile, star-studded special events. Alamo Drafthouse created Fantastic Fest, a world-renowned genre film festival dubbed “The Geek Telluride” by Variety featuring independents, international filmmakers, and major Hollywood studios. Alamo Drafthouse continues to expand its brand in new and exciting ways, including the American Genre Film Archive, a non-profit film archive dedicated to preserving, restoring and sharing film, and with several new theaters announced for this year and beyond.