It ended with “Nomadland” and it’s starting again with “Joker: Folie à Deux.”
After more than three years in the dark, the River Oaks Theatre is again turning on the lights. Culinary Khancepts, the Houston-based company that operates the Star Cinema Grill chain and took over the lease of the shuttered historic Art Deco theater at 2009 W. Gray in 2022, announced today that the theater will start showing movies again on Oct. 3 with “Joker: Folie à Deux,” starring Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga, as the major attraction. The tradition of midnight showings of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” is also coming back, with the first screening set for Oct. 5, followed by another on Oct. 18.
Also opening Oct. 3 in the three-screen multiplex are the indie films “In the Summers,” Alessandra Lacorazza Samudio’s coming-of-age story starring Residente from the Puerto Rican musical duo Calle 13 and produced by Houstonian Sergio Lira, and the South Korean thriller “Sleep,” which has been a film festival favorite.
Coming up on the schedule are such special events as the 50th-anniversary showing of “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” (Oct. 5) and a screening of “The Herricanes” (Oct. 24), a documentary about Houston’s all-female tackle football team.
Cult classics are also in the spotlight, with showings set for “Fight Club” (Oct. 4), “Mulholland Drive” (Oct. 6), “10 Things I Hate About You” (Oct. 11), “Donnie Darko” (Oct. 11), “Office Space” (Oct. 18), “Eraserhead” (Oct. 20), “Amadeus” (Oct. 25) and “Halloween” (Oct. 31).
See here for the last update. To say the least, this was quite the journey. I’m very glad that this unique piece of Houston history and culture will continue on, hopefully for a long time. CultureMap has more.