Houston Gets Its First Fancy Outdoor Movie Theater: It’s All About the Rooftop at This London Import

A London-based movie theater chain is ready to raise the roof — and your expectations for a trip to the movies. Rooftop Cinema Club wants Houstonians to take in films in the fresh air. But this isn’t your typical drive-in of days gone by.

It’s sky-high screenings on a rooftop. Lofty goals and even higher elevations.

Space City’s first rooftop theater will open at BLVD Place, at 1700 Post Oak on the corner of San Felipe, on October 3. Don’t spend your time looking for it on street level. You’ll have more luck if you look up to the tippy top — on top of the BLVD Place parking garage and Whole Foods.

The theater will be fitted with a state-of-the-art HD screen and a clever novelty. Each moviegoer gets a set of wireless headphones to use during the movie. The volume will be perfect for each individual viewer, meaning you can feel free to chat with friends and family during the show without bothering anyone.

All the mingle, none of the glares, threats or thrown popcorn. Here’s hoping your clueless friend doesn’t take the opportunity to ask tons of premature questions about the plot you couldn’t possibly know the answer to.

You can enjoy new releases and cult classics alike with a healthy dose of popcorn, bites and boozy beverages at this new Galleria-area theater-with-a-twist.

Tickets go on sale on August 29th, with prices starting at $17 for a single deck chair and $20 for a deck chair and bottomless popcorn. If it’s your idea of a dream date, the loveseat and popcorn combo goes for $24 per person.

The BLVD Place theater will be the first rooftop movie theater the chain opens in Texas.

The Lone Star State owes this innovation to Gerry Cottle Jr., a circus owner’s son and former high flyer. The aerial master-turned-PR guy traded in his daredevil ways for the pursuit of his true passion: film. And while he’s not soaring overhead on a trapeze anymore, it’s clear he’s got a thing for heights.

He opened his first Rooftop Cinema in London in 2011. Since then, the open-air sensation has spread to Los Angeles, San Diego and New York.

The Bayou City’s already shown an interest in these outdoor sunset showings, like the ones Miller Outdoor Theatre have been offering for free for the past 10 years or so. Then there are the smaller-scale cinematic pop-ups at Discovery Green and Market Square Park.

This is a whole new upgrade, a boutique box-office experience. It looks like Rooftop Cinema Club is taking the high ground.