Rick Jervis

USA TODAY

AUSTIN — To reach the theaters at one Alamo Drafthouse Cinema here, moviegoers walk through a colorful, funhouse-like door frame. The walls are lined with vintage horror movie posters, and screen offerings range from blockbusters such as Star Trek Beyond and Jason Bourne to Swiss Army Man, an off-the-wall independent film starring a corpse. The menu includes pancetta mac & cheese and a Maker’s Mark Milk Punch Shake.

Not exactly your average neighborhood multiplex.

Despite the booming popularity of online streaming and home theaters, going out to the movies remains a robust industry, and Alamo Drafthouse is riding the wave. Last year, moviegoers in the U.S. and Canada spent a record $11.1 billion at the box office, up 8% from 2014, according to the Motion Picture Association of America. So far this year they've spent $7 billion, on track to surpass last year's total.

Theaters that offer a twist on the traditional night-at-the-movies experience are part of a growing trend that is capturing a younger audience with unique programming and in-theater dining and cocktails, said Patrick Corcoran, vice president and chief communications officer of the National Association of Theatre Owners, which represents 600 theaters and 32,000 screens. The number of cinemas serving food and drinks in theaters is relatively small — less than 700 out of 5,700 theaters nationwide, he said. But it’s one of the fastest-growing segments of the industry.

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“One of the keys for the industry is targeting your particular theater and location to the audience you have there,” Corcoran said. That concept “is being picked up faster and faster now.”

Using an eclectic film lineup and in-theater dining, Alamo Drafthouse has grown to 25 theaters across the U.S. with $170 million in annual sales. The company's latest theater-restaurant opens this month in New York City's Brooklyn borough, and there are nine more theaters on the way in Arizona, California, Texas, Virginia and Missouri.

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Other theater chains such as Movie Tavern and Studio Movie Grill have thrived in the movie-and-dinner concept, said Daniel Loria, editorial director at Boxoffice Media. But for the past six years or so, Alamo Drafthouse has risen as one of the most recognizable of the chains, he said.

“Cinema dining has really exploded in the U.S. the past few years,” Loria said. “The Alamo Drafthouse is one of the household names that has been able to brand itself in that field. It’s really caught on.”

Alamo opened in 1997 with a single-screen theater in Austin, said Tim League, founder and chief executive. On its first day, the theater screened a double feature of Raising Arizona and Spinal Tap to a packed house. On its second day, just three people showed up.

“I was immediately hit with the idea that this might be a disaster,” League said.

But League and wife Karrie persevered, serving up curated film selections, beer and food and gained a loyal following. More theaters opened, in Texas and across the U.S. In 2010, the company launched Drafthouse Films, distributing mostly foreign films and documentaries, which it screens in its theaters. The goal is to draw patrons to his theaters with Star Trek and other blockbusters and have them consider more offbeat films, League said.

“We make most of our money from blockbusters, " League said. "But we’re able to market some interesting, strange, smaller films for customers who are coming for the big tent movies."

Jervis is USA TODAY's Austin-based correspondent. Follow him on Twitter at: @MrRJervis.