Movie theaters fretting over the waning of Barbenheimer ticket sales might have another savior on the horizon: parties. In February, D.J. Brandon Lamont, 24, played at an AMC screening of Cocaine Bear in Midtown Manhattan. Before the film, as the audience rolled in, he spun a pump-up playlist of tunes mixed with the sounds of roaring bears. Guests were dressed in 1980s attire, in homage to the era in which the film is set, and mingled in the theater. Outfits were completed with Members Only jackets and Miami Vice–style neon blazers that had shoulder pads higher than the bears in the movie.
What made the evening unforgettable was the stealthiness. The hosts, Lucas King Weber and Keith Herron, didn’t formally rent out the space, so the theater staff was not aware of the party until guests arrived.
