Then there's the generally knowledgeable staff, not to mention there are always events, like a 'Little Women' brunch or an 'Elf' movie party and late-night horror films under the 'Graveyard Shift' banner. The eight-screen venue programs mainstream hits but also peppers the schedule with classics, cult favorites and indie films - such as Owen Kline's 'Funny Pages,' the horror thriller 'Hypochondriac,' or 'Her Smell,' starring Elisabeth Moss - that aren't screening elsewhere. The Austin-based chain's only Houston-area location, which opened in 2018, ranks high in all categories, even attracting customers from across the region who don't live anywhere near it. The exterior of Alamo Drafthouse LaCenterra in Katy. Note that admission prices are subject to change.

The criteria were pretty basic - programming, projection, comfort, food options (if any), price, staff, parking - the things most audiences care about when seeing a movie. With that in mind, we have compiled our favorite places in the Houston area - that don't involve living rooms, pajamas or pressing pause - to see a commercially released film. So, as 'Avatar: The Way of Water' makes its big splash this week and the holiday season is underway, many people are going to be heading to the theaters. MORE MOVIE NEWS: Why can't Houston get a new movie theater inside the Loop? The 'burbs got 'em.

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