San Antonio theater chain Santikos plans new cinema, entertainment complex on U.S. 281 North

Theater chain Santikos Entertainment will develop a $30 million cinema, retail and entertainment center northwest of the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort, the San Antonio Business Journal reports.

The 33-acre project, located along U.S. Highway 281 North in the Trinity Oaks area, will include a 10-to-12-screen movie house along with a sports bar and a gaming area that includes bowling lanes, the publication reports, citing executives at the San Antonio-based company.

The Current reached out to Santikos officials Thursday morning for additional details but got no immediate response.

Construction of the theater, which is expected to include two AVX large-format screens, is expected to wrap up in 2027, the Business Journal reports.

Although the publication didn’t include a completion date for other phases of the Trinity Oaks entertainment center, space has already been committed to a “restaurant tenant with a significant South Texas presence,” according to the report. A multifamily residential development is reportedly planned for a later stage of the project.

Santikos, founded in 2011, operates nearly 30 theater locations spread across Texas and seven other states. Eight of those are in the Alamo City. It nearly tripled its size in 2023 when it bought 17 cinemas from VSS-Southern Theaters LLC, a New York-based private equity firm.

Santikos officials told the Business Journal the new project is part of a theater-centered retail development strategy pioneered by the late John L. Santikos, who led the company for decades. The business bought the land along U.S. Highway 281 more than a decade ago and sat on it until northward growth caught up, they added.

“This was actually the last piece of property he purchased before he passed away in 2014,” Santikos Vice President of Real Estate Joe McChesney told the Business Journal.

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This article appears in Jul 23 – Aug 6, 2025.