Once it was just popcorn with your movie.

Now Houston is getting an influx of specialty cinema venues, each of which seems intent on outdoing the others with amenities like table service for gourmet dining, craft beer and cocktails, reclining leather seats, even pillows and blankets.

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, which is opening its second area location Thursday in Vintage Park Shopping Village, just announced that it will open a third location in the Inner Loop mixed-use project Regent Square, where it will also show outdoor movies in a park there.

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The recently announced iPic Theater in River Oaks District will offer "Premium Plus" seating, which includes the reclining leather seats, pillows, blankets, table service for gourmet finger food and free popcorn when it opens next year.

By offering meals and alcohol, these cinemas can bring in more revenue than traditional movie houses and can serve as strong retail anchors, experts say.

The specialty cinema movement may have begun with the arrival of stadium-style seating, said Howard Davidowtiz, chairman of Davidowitz & Associates, a national retail consulting and investment banking firm in New York City.

Many people go to a movie and then dinner afterward. But, Davidowitz said, "With specialty cinemas, they can do it all at once as a package."

It's a smart business strategy, he said, because the owner takes in more revenue from each customer, with high profit margins on food and alcohol.

"But it's not a layup," he said. "It has to be well executed."

At Regent Square, occasional outdoor movies will be among such other park activities as concerts and farmer's markets, said James Linsley, president of its Boston-based developer, GID Development Group.

Outdoor showings

The park plaza will feature a portable movie screen and serve as "another anchor," Linsley said.

"Since Alamo Drafthouse is the premier theater operator, we thought we should collaborate with them on programming the outdoor movies," he said.

The 4.2 million-square-foot Regent Square project, already under construction, will include a 21-story luxury apartment high rise at 3233 West Dallas and other retail and residential components.

The Alamo Drafthouse, part of the project's phase 2, will begin construction later this year.

Maureen McAvey, senior resident fellow at the Urban Land Institute, said Regent Square's outdoor programming has the potential to be a big draw.

"If it really clicks," she said, it could allow Regent Square to differentiate itself in the market.

Alamo Drafthouse already has experience showing movies outdoors, said Neil Michaelsen, CEO of Triple Tap Ventures, owner of its Houston-area locations.

Michaelsen said Alamo's "Rolling Road Show" has included movies at Market Square Park downtown and Whole Foods Markets.

'Jaws' on the lake

Michaelsen said the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, where the chain began in 1997, once showed "Jaws" on a lake to viewers sitting in inner-tubes while Alamo employees dove under-water to grab their ankles.

The new Alamo Drafthouse in northwest Houston's Vintage Park and the Mason Park location in Katy have their own special events such as quote-along and sing-along movies.

They also offer gourmet burgers, sandwiches and other foods, craft beer on tap and table service.

Michaelsen said the average adult customer spends about $22 at the theater.

The new Alamo and iPic venues will join downtown's Sundance Cinema, the River Oaks Theater and Edwards Greenway Grand Palace Stadium 24, which also offer specialized amenities and services inside the Loop.

Looking in Midtown

Alamo Drafthouse had previously announced plans for a Midtown location at a proposed development on Louisiana, but Michaelsen said his group now is "reviewing alternate sites in Midtown for an Alamo and is committed to bringing the concept to that market."

He declined to elaborate.

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Founded in 2006, Boca Raton, Fla.-based iPic Entertainment has nine locations, including one in Austin and one in Fairview, near Dallas.

Hamid Hashemi, president and CEO of iPic, said his cinemas feature private memberships that offer rewards programs and the chance to attend special screenings with a movie's director.

Chronicle reporter Nancy Sarnoff contributed.