Loews Cineplex Entertainment

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Not to be confused with Lowe's.

Loews Cineplex Theatres Inc.
Industry
MEGABOX
Websiteamctheatres.com (United States)
cineplex.com (Canada)

Loews Cineplex Entertainment, also known as Loews Incorporated, was an American theater chain operating in North America.

The company was originally called "Loew's," after the name of its founder, Marcus Loew. In 1969, when the Tisch brothers acquired the company, it became known as "Loews." The company merged with Canadian-based Cineplex Odeon Corporation in 1998, only to go bankrupt in 2001 (as did many other large theater chains around this time). The company merged with AMC Theatres on January 26, 2006, while the Canadian operations merged with Cineplex Galaxy in 2003.

The Loews Theatres name was used until 2017 when AMC simplified their branding to focus on three main lines: AMC, AMC Classic, and AMC Dine-In after their purchase of

MEGABOX
brands. Its corporate offices were located in New York and Toronto.

From 1924 to 1959,

Universal Studios and operated theatres in the United States, Canada, South Korea, Spain and Mexico
.

History

Loew's Theatre in Toronto, Canada, in 1945

Loew's Theatres Incorporated was formed in 1904 in Cincinnati, Ohio, by entrepreneur Marcus Loew. Loew founded a chain of nickelodeon theaters which showed short silent films in storefront locations. Soon the company opened vaudeville houses and movie palaces. Loew's theaters were found in cities throughout the United States, but primarily in East Coast and Midwest states.

To provide films for his theaters, Loew founded

U.S. Supreme Court ruling United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc.
The two companies officially split in 1959.

Loews Corporation, the successor company to the original firm founded by Marcus Loew, announced on April 9, 1985 that it was negotiating to sell Loews Theatres to a group headed by A. Jerrold Perenchio.[1][2][3] Loews Corporation by this time was a holding company owned by brothers Robert and Laurence Tisch that specialized in hotels and insurance. Perenchio completed the acquisition for $160 million on July 11.[4]

On October 20, 1986, when federal regulations had been relaxed,

Sony Pictures Entertainment) was bought from Coca-Cola by Sony
in 1989, Sony inherited the theaters.

On April 19, 1994, Loews announced it would change its name to Sony Theatres.[13] On April 27, Sony partnered with basketball player Magic Johnson to form Magic Johnson Theatres, a mini-chain of theaters specifically geared toward the inner cities, particularly in Los Angeles.[14] A year before, Sony Dynamic Digital Sound was installed in several theatres, since the parent company used it to promote Sony's cinema sound division, which eventually shut down in 2002. Sony Theatres began reverting to the Loews Theatres name in October 1996.

In September 1997,

Universal Studios.[15][16] The combined company had theatres in the United States, Canada, Mexico, South Korea, and Spain. The company sold off its newly acquired subsidiary, Cineplex Odeon Films, to Alliance Atlantis, which was formed from the merger of Alliance Entertainment Corporation and Atlantis Communications that year.[17] In 2001 the company declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Among the changes was the closures of 46 theatres in North America including 21 Loews theatres in the U.S. and 25 Cineplex Odeon theatres in Canada.[18]

In 2002,

Carlyle Group.[21] Onex retained the Canadian Loews Cineplex and merged it with Galaxy Cinemas to form Cineplex Galaxy Income Fund
.

In 2005, AMC Theatres announced that it would merge with Loews Cineplex Entertainment and that the merged company would adopt the AMC name.[22] At the time of the merger, Loews operated 198 theaters with 2,235 screens. Many theaters were rebranded as AMC Loews until the Loews name was phased out in 2017.

Gallery

See also

References

  1. ^ "Perenchio Seeks to Buy Loews' Theater Chain". Los Angeles Times. April 9, 1985. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  2. ^ "Loew's Negotiating to Sell Theaters". The New York Times. April 9, 1985. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  3. ^ "Loews trying to sell its movie theater chain". United Press International. April 9, 1985. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  4. ^ "Loews Unit Sold". The New York Times. July 11, 1985. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  5. ^ "COMPANY NEWS; Tri-Star Pictures". The New York Times. October 21, 1986. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  6. ^ "Tri-Star Pictures to acquire theater chain". United Press International. October 20, 1986. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  7. ^ "THEATER CHAIN EYES TOP". Chicago Tribune. October 22, 1986. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  8. ^ "COMPANY NEWS; Tri-Star Planning Loews Expansion". The New York Times. May 29, 1987. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  9. ^ Harris, Kathryn (January 23, 1988). "Columbia Pictures Agrees to Acquire U.S.A. Cinemas for $165 Million". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 4, 2021.
  10. ^ "COLUMBIA TO BUY MOST OF ROTH'S LOCAL THEATERS". The Washington Post. August 2, 1988. Retrieved December 4, 2021.
  11. ^ "LOEWS WILL ACQUIRE M&R". Chicago Tribune. September 7, 1988. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  12. ^ "Loews Theatre Management Corp, has agreed to acquire JF Theatres, Inc". Los Angeles Times. September 9, 1988. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  13. ^ Evan Frook, John (April 19, 1994). "Loews theaters redubbed Sony". Variety. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  14. ^ "Magic and Sony announce theatre plans". United Press International. April 26, 1994. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  15. ^ "COMPANY NEWS: SONY'S LOEWS TO MERGE WITH CINEPLEX ODEON". The New York Times. October 1, 1997. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  16. ^ Segal, David (April 17, 1998). "CINEPLEX-LOEWS MERGER GETS FEDERAL APPROVAL". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  17. ^ Hoffman, Andy (September 18, 1998). "Odeon operating independently". Retrieved August 6, 2019.
  18. ^ "Onex-led investors buy beleaguered Loews Cineplex". CBC News. June 13, 2001. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
  19. ^ Chaney, Lindsay (August 6, 2002). "Loews get the IPO route". Variety. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  20. ^ "Loews Chain Filed for Stock Offering". Los Angeles Times. August 7, 2002. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  21. ^ "Onex To Sell Loews Cineplex To Investor Group For C$2.0 Billion; Bain Capital, Carlyle And Spectrum Equity To Purchase Loews" (Press release). Carylyle Group. June 20, 2004. Retrieved December 4, 2021.
  22. ^ "AMC-Loews merger to close soon". Cinema Treasures. January 26, 2006. Retrieved January 26, 2006.

Further reading

  • Sobel, Robert (1974). "Marcus Loew: An Artist in Spite of Himself". The entrepreneurs : explorations within the American business tradition. Weybright and Talley.
    ISBN 0-679-40064-8
    .

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Loew's theatres.
    • Historical business data for Loews Cineplex Entertainment Corp.:
    • SEC filings
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