Of course, it’s not just about movies anymore, though the location will house seven dine-in-theaters furnished with luxury reclining seats. The entertainment epicenter will also house a scratch kitchen and craft bar with outdoor patio space, bowling lanes, over 12,000 square feet of video and arcade games, an indoor ropes course and rock wall, bumper cars, laser tag, virtual reality and private event space.
EVO Cinemas operate in Central Texas, but loosening COVID-19 restrictions prompted the chain to expand well beyond Austin and San Antonio. Dallas is only one of the Texas locations that will house an EVO institution with the production of additional facilities teased for later this year. EVO will be a nice treat for the holiday season after a little too much family bonding after a year of keeping our circles small and tightly-knit at home.
EVO’s CEO Mitch Roberts notes that Southlake is the ideal home for the ambitious destination location to debut.
“After exploring the DFW metroplex, we determined that Southlake — particularly Southlake Town Square — was the best place to enter the market,” he says. “We are excited to be part of an environment with some of the best retail in a lifestyle destination that truly values the experiential element of shopping, dining and playing together as an elevated human experience.”
“We are excited to be part of an environment with some of the best retail in a lifestyle destination that truly values the experiential element of shopping, dining and playing together as an elevated human experience.” – EVO’s CEO Mitch Roberts
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Why now? While Texas has been one of the fastest states to take strides toward resuming normalcy after pandemic restrictions, movie theaters are finally returning prominently after COVID prompted some of the lowest per-theater averages in history. One of the primary reasons for theater's losses was the lack of premieres, as studios sent potential blockbusters directly to their streaming arms — such was the case with megahit Hamilton which premiered on Disney+ and Wonder Woman 1984, launching on HBO Max.
As movies largely return to their home at the theater, moviegoers are proving that they’re willing to come back in mass. A Quiet Place: Part II and F9 boasted the biggest opening weekends of the post-pandemic era, and a plethora of new releases this summer should see similar results.
EVO may have missed out on the summer action, but the December launch coincides with the release of some of this year’s buzziest upcoming films. December 2021 is packed with Steven Spielberg’s reimagining of West Side Story, Tom Holland’s next Marvel adventure in Spider-Man: No Way Home, Keanu Reeves’s long-anticipated return to his signature character Neo with The Matrix 4 and your mom’s most anticipated film in the history of ever: Downton Abbey 2.
