SXSW 2027 Shifts Film Premieres from Paramount Theatre to ACL Live, Adds Podcast Festival — SkimNews
Get the Culture newsletter
Daily culture — film, music, books, the trends and ideas worth your attention. Free.
- SXSW announced that Austin's Paramount Theatre will be out of commission for the 2027 edition due to construction, with film premieres and red carpets moving to music venue ACL Live before returning to the Paramount in 2028.
- The Paramount Theatre and its iconic marquee typically host all of the festival's Headliners-section premieres and serve as SXSW's unofficial center, though the festival also uses venues like Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar and Zach Theater.
- SXSW is adding a podcast festival running March 17-20, 2027, featuring live tapings and conversations with podcast industry leaders, positioned as a new pillar alongside its concurrent tech, film, music, and comedy festivals.
- Greg Rosenbaum, SXSW SVP of programming, said 2027 PanelPicker submissions and Music and Film & TV festival applications are up as much as 50 percent so far, crediting feedback from the 2026 edition's distributed layout.
- The Austin Convention Center, which hosted the majority of panels and speakers, closed for redevelopment in late 2025 and is currently expected to reopen in time for the 2029 edition.
- SXSW 2027 runs March 15-21 in Austin, Texas, with badges on sale now.
Why it matters: The Paramount pivot marks SXSW's second straight year absorbing major venue disruptions after the Austin Convention Center's late-2025 closure, and the 50 percent application spike suggests creators haven't been deterred by the nomadic setup. Adding a standalone podcast festival gives brands and creators a dedicated March 17-20 platform in Austin and formalizes a medium SXSW previously folded into adjacent programming.
Ask SkimNews
