‘Jaws’ movie party at Alamo Drafthouse + new merchandise
We attended a “Jaws” movie party at Alamo Drafthouse in Los Angeles, where we also got a sneak peek of new merchandise celebrating the classic film.
Universal is celebrating the 50th anniversary of “Jaws,” the first blockbuster, all summer long. With the anniversary comes a bunch of specialty merchandise in honor of the milestone celebration. Alamo Drafthouse in Los Angeles was the perfect spot to showcase these new collectibles alongside a “Jaws” movie party.
‘Jaws’ movie party at Alamo Drafthouse
Alamo Drafthouse has locations spanning the country. If you’ve never been, it’s a special place to watch a movie.
The screening of “Jaws” I attended was one of Alamo Drafthouse’s movie party offerings. A movie party is more like a “Rocky Horror Picture Show” experience, where guests are given props, like a shark fin, to interact with the movie. During these screenings, the theater’s “quiet rule” is less enforced when it comes to shouting out famous quotes from the film (like “We’re gonna need a bigger boat” during “Jaws”). This style of play is a nice addition to a classic movie you’ve seen countless times.
Ordering food at Alamo Drafthouse
Silence during regular movie screenings at Almo Drafthouse is expected and enforced. Plus, you can order all kinds of food right from your theater seat while waitstaff quietly rush around picking up order slips and delivering food.
The Alamo Drafthouse menu has something for everyone. I admittedly wasn’t quite sure how I would like this experience — eating a full meal during a movie — as it seemed the likelihood of messiness would be great. But all of that was taken into consideration when creating the food I ordered, and I assume for the whole menu.
Even a chicken sandwich that has the potential of being messy was crafted in a way where it didn’t fall apart. And the plating it was delivered on helped keep things tidy. I appreciate the thought that went into the food design, plating and tabletops at Alamo Drafthouse.
To keep things quiet during the movie, each theater seat is equipped with paper and pen to write down your order. You then hit a call button to get the waitstaff’s attention to pick up the order. To help read the menu, there is a dim light beneath each tabletop arm in order to not disturb the projected movie. Once again, this process is well thought out to keep the movie going experience as distraction-free as possible.
‘Jaws’ merchandise
Considering the art of filmmaking and the likes and dislikes of audiences has changed drastically over the years, it really is quite impressive when a movie can still be so beloved 50 years later. It’s as if time stands still for a piece of art that became timeless.
To celebrate, Universal Pictures teamed up with many different brands to create unique “Jaws” consumer products. Along with Captain Quint and Chief Brody visiting from Universal Studios Hollywood for a photo op, a lot of this new merchandise was on display in the Alama Drafthouse lobby.
As seen below, Loungefly created a mini-backpack featuring the sunset with a boat floating and a movable shark fin peeking out of the water. Plus, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment rereleased the movie for at-home enjoyment, along with special features and the new documentary, “Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story.”
Goodr created some limited-edition, beach-inspired sunglasses with the famous “Jaws” letter font on the top right corner.
Fior di Sole is a wine company located in the heart of Napa Valley. For the special occasion, they have three different wine offerings for sale. This includes Amity Island Red, Amity Island White, and Jaws Tropical Blue Spritzer. This last one’s bottle design is particularly cleaver, as it recreates the iconic movie poster of the shark beneath the water and the swimmer floating above.
In addition to all these adult offerings, specialty “Jaws” merchandise has been created for children as well, including “Big Shark, Little Boat: A Book of Opposites” by Penguin Random House. There’s also a Fisher-Price Little People collector set, a Scholastic coloring book, and a deck of playing cards.
For music lovers, Mondo released the John Williams “Jaws” score on vinyl. And if you’re a fan of popcorn buckets, Alamo Drafthouse has its very own “Jaws” shark popcorn bucket available at their theaters.
If you’re like so many who enjoy watching “Jaws” every 4th of July or summer season, there are even more ways to celebrate this year with all this unique merchandise celebrating the 50th anniversary of Steven Spielberg’s masterpiece, “Jaws.”
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