DALLAS — A new movie theater is coming to Uptown Dallas next year.
Austin-based Violet Crown will take over and renovate the West Village spot formerly occupied by the Magnolia Theater next spring, according to a Thursday news release from the luxury cinema chain. The Magnolia Theater closed during the pandemic.
The Dallas theater will be Violet Crown's fourth location, but it's not a new spot for founder Bill Banowsky. He also founded Magnolia Pictures, owner of the Magnolia Theater, 20 years ago. Violet Crown opened its first theater in downtown Austin in 2011 and later expanded to Santa Fe, New Mexico and Charlottesville, Virginia.
“I built my first movie theater at this location 20 years ago," Banowsky said in the news release. "This was a great location for a movie theater then, and today it is a phenomenal location, especially for an upscale cinema concept like Violet Crown. We are excited about this opportunity and our plans for this cinema.”
Just what is Violet Crown? Think Alamo Drafthouse, but a little more art-house. The theater chain screens mainstream Hollywood movies, as well as popular art films and a repertory of older films. For example, the four-screen Austin location is currently showing "Belfast," Kenneth Branagh's drama about The Troubles in Ireland; "Spencer," where Kristen Stewart plays Princess Diana; "Last Night in Soho," a horror film from Edgar Wright; "The French Dispatch," Wes Anderson's latest; "Dune"; and a one-day-only silent film music festival.
Like in Austin, the Dallas location will also partner with local film organizations for film events and screenings.
“We are so excited that a film forward, movie-centric, audience-loving company like Violet Crown is opening in West Village,” Artistic Director of Dallas Film and The Dallas International Film Festival James Faust said in the news release. “I’m a big fan of their cinema in Austin and have no doubt they will bring that same energy to Dallas.”
Also like the Drafthouse, Violet Crown will offer concessions as well as a full menu of food items, with seasonal and locally-sourced ingredients. There will also be a full cocktail bar with beer on tap, wine, cider and signature cocktails. Moviegoers will be able to buy their food and drink before the movie and take it into the theater with them and place it on retractable fold-out trays.
Free parking will be available in the garage located at 3699 McKinney Avenue located next to the theater.