AMC Theatres

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search
AMC Entertainment, Inc.
Type Public
Founded 1920 in Kansas City, Missouri
Headquarters 920 Main Street
Kansas City, Missouri 64105
Key people Edward Durwood, Founder
Gerardo Lopez, CEO and President
Industry Entertainment (movie theaters)
Products AMC Theatres
Revenue $2.5 billion (FY 2007)
Net income $134 million (FY 2007)
Owner(s) CCMP Capital, Apollo Management
Employees 21,000
Parent Marquee Holdings
Website http://www.amcentertainment.com

AMC Theatres (American Multi-Cinema), officially known as AMC Entertainment, Inc., is the second largest movie theater chain in North America with 4,612 screens[1] and one of only four national cinema chains (National Amusements, Inc., Cinemark Theaters and Harkins Theatres being the others) of the 12 largest on the continent that did not go bankrupt during the 2001-2002 recession,[2] due in part to the fact that its theatres often dominate lists of the top 50 most profitable theatres in North America.[3] Its mascot is the animated filmstrip Clip who has starred in the pre-show policy trailers from 1991 until a brief hiatus for most of 2009 until the autumn of 2009. While it also has locations in Canada, within the United Kingdom, France, and Hong Kong the chain is known as AMC Cinemas.[4][5][6] Within Spain the chain is known as AMC Cines.[7]

Contents

[edit] History

AMC Promenade 16 multiplex in the Woodland Hills area of Los Angeles, California.
AMC Citywalk Stadium 19 with IMAX in Universal City, California.
AMC Empire 25, Times Square, New York City.
Corporate headquarters in Kansas City

The company was founded in 1920 by the Dubinsky Brothers (Maurice, Edward and Barney) who had been traveling the Midwest performing melodramas and tent shows with actress Jeanne Eagels. They purchased the Regent Theatre on 12th Street between Walnut and Grand in downtown Kansas City, Missouri.[8]

The Dubinskys eventually changed their name to Durwood and the company was called Durwood Theatres.

In 1961, Edward's son, Stanley, took control of Durwood Theatres when his father died. Stanley had attended Harvard University and served as a navigator in the U.S. Air Force during World War II.

He renamed Durwood Theatres to "American Multi-Cinema, Inc.", and began to apply military management and the insights of management science to revolutionize the movie theatre industry.[9] As he later explained to Variety, "We needed to define what our company was doing in the (exhibition) business. My dad wasn't that organized."[10]

It was founded on the belief that every "guest" (as AMC calls them) was to be treated first.

In 1963, AMC opened the two-screen Parkway Twin in a shopping center on Kansas City's Ward Parkway. Durwood later claimed that "in 1962 he was standing in the lobby of his 600-seat Roxy in Kansas City mulling over its poor grosses when he realized he could double his box office by adding a second screen and still operate with the same size staff."[11] This insight arises from the fact that the real-time labor demands of a movie theatre are not constant. Rather, they come in bursts at the start and end of the movie. At the start, a large number of employees have to sell tickets, process tickets at an access point, sell food at the concession stand (a theatre's primary profit center), make sure the theatre is not overcrowded, and run the film projector. While the movie plays, a small number of employees are needed for security and access control, while the others are relatively idle, allowing them to restock concession items, clean restrooms, and clean the lobby. At the end of the movie, a number of employees are needed to clean the theatre for the next showing. When the start times for movie showings in several physically connected auditoriums are staggered correctly, one team can continually keep all of them operational with minimal downtime. An additional advantage is that a different movie can be shown in each auditorium, which increases the choices available at a theatre's box office at any given time, and minimizes the possibility that disappointed moviegoers will take their business to a different theatre altogether.[12]

In retrospect, Durwood's idea seems simple, but it took a lot of trial and error to get the bugs out. For example, when the Parkway Twin opened, both screens were showing the same movie, The Great Escape.[13] Next, Durwood followed up on the Parkway Twin with a four-screen theatre in 1966 and a six-screen theatre in 1969. It expanded nationwide in the 1980s.

AMC pioneered the first North American megaplex when it opened the AMC Grand 24 in Dallas, Texas, in 1995, though the first megaplex in the world had been built by European chain Kinepolis in 1988. AMC has continued to open megaplex theaters and now operates the busiest theater in the country at the AMC Empire 25 theater in New York City, New York, located near Times Square.

In 1997, AMC formed a joint partnership with Planet Hollywood to develop Planet Movies by AMC.

In the 1980s, AMC built and operated a number of multiplex ten-screen cinemas in the UK, including sites at locations such as Dudley and Tamworth. These were subsequently bought and taken over by UCI. In January 2002, the 16-screen Great Northern was opened in Manchester, which was later supplemented by the opening of a 12-screen cinema on the Broadway Plaza site in Birmingham in October 2003. United Kingdom outlets serve a dual function, they also cater to business conferences and companies can display spreadsheets and other things through a projector onto the cinema screen, this is in addition to the normal cinema functions.

On February 24, 2009, AMC's Board of Directors announced that long time CEO Peter Brown would be replaced by Gerardo Lopez as CEO and President effective March 2, 2009. Previously, Lopez was the Executive Vice President and President Consumer Products Group, Seattle's Best Coffee and Foodservice at Starbucks.

On March 26, 2009, AMC Entertainment announced that it will equip 1,500 of its screens with Real D projectors in the months ahead.

On March 28, 2009 AMC announced that it closed on a $315 million deal with Sony to replace all of its movie projectors with digital cinema projectors starting in the second quarter of 2009 and completing in 2012.[14]

[edit] Theatre locations

[edit] United States

Name City
AMC Arrowhead 14 Glendale, Arizona
AMC Westgate 20 Glendale, Arizona
AMC Mesa Grand 24 Mesa, Arizona
AMC Ahwatukee 24 Phoenix, Arizona
AMC Arizona Center 24 Phoenix, Arizona
AMC Deer Valley 30 Phoenix, Arizona
AMC Desert Ridge 18 Phoenix, Arizona
AMC Esplanade 14 Phoenix, Arizona
LOEWS Foothills 15 Tucson, Arizona
AMC Fiesta Square 16 Fayetteville, Arkansas
AMC Downtown Disney 12 Anaheim, California
AMC Santa Anita 16 Arcadia, California
AMC Burbank 16 Burbank, California
AMC Burbank Town Center 6 Burbank, California
AMC Burbank Town Center 8 Burbank, California
AMC Century City 15 Century City, California
AMC Otay Ranch 12 Chula Vista, California
AMC Covina 30 Covina, California
MAGIC JOHNSON Crenshaw 15 Crenshaw, California
AMC Cupertino Square 16 Cupertino, California
AMC Bay Street 16 Emeryville, California
AMC Fullerton 20 Fullerton, California
AMC Glendora 12 Glendora, California
AMC Puente Hills 20 Industry, California
AMC La Jolla Village 12 La Jolla, California
AMC Marina Pacifica 12 Long Beach, California
AMC Pine Square 12 Long Beach, California
LOEWS Marina Del Rey 6 Marina Del Rey, California
AMC Montebello 10 Montebello, California
AMC Plaza Bonita 14 National City, California
AMC Norwalk 20 Norwalk, California
AMC Ontario Mills 30 Ontario, California
AMC The Block 30 Orange, California
AMC Victoria Gardens 12 Rancho Cucamonga, California
AMC Southbay Galleria 16 Redondo Beach, California
AMC Tyler Galleria 16 Riverside, California
AMC Fashion Valley 18 San Diego, California
AMC Mission Valley 20 San Diego, California
AMC Palm Promenade 24 San Diego, California
LOEWS Metreon 16 San Francisco, California
AMC Van Ness 14 San Francisco, California
AMC Eastridge Mall 15 San Jose, California
AMC Saratoga 14 San Jose, California
AMC Mercado 20 Santa Clara, California
LOEWS Broadway 4 Santa Monica, California
AMC Santa Monica 7 Santa Monica California
AMC Del Amo 18 Torrance, California
AMC Rolling Hills 20 Torrance, California
AMC Tustin 14 Tustin, California
AMC CityWalk Stadium 19 Universal City, California
AMC Avco Center 4 Westwood Village, California
AMC Promenade 16 Woodland Hills, California
AMC Flatiron Crossing 14 Broomfield, Colorado
AMC Highlands Ranch 24 Highlands Ranch, Colorado
AMC Orchard 12 Westminster, Colorado
AMC Westminster Promenade 24 Westminster, Colorado
LOEWS Danbury 16 Danbury, Connecticut
LOEWS Plainville 20 Plainville, Connecticut
LOEWS Georgetown 14 Washington, D.C.
AMC Mazza Gallerie 7 Washington, D.C.
LOEWS Uptown 1 Washington, D.C.
AMC Altamonte Mall 18 Altamonte Springs, Florida
AMC Aventura 24 Aventura, Florida
AMC Regency 20 Brandon, Florida
AMC Celebration 2 Celebration, Florida
AMC Tri-City Plaza 8 Clearwater, Florida
AMC Coral Ridge 10 Fort Lauderdale, Florida
AMC Regency Square 20 Jacksonville, Florida
AMC Pleasure Island 24 Lake Buena Vista, Florida
AMC Lake Square 12 Leesburg, Florida
AMC Mall of the Americas 14 Miami, Florida
AMC Merchants Crossing 16 North Fort Myers, Florida
AMC West Oaks 14 Ocoee, Florida
AMC Woodlands Square 20 Ocoee, Florida
AMC Orange Park 24 Orange Park, Florida
LOEWS Universal Cineplex 20 Orlando, Florida
AMC Sarasota 12 Sarasota, Florida
AMC Sunset Place 24 South Miami, Florida
AMC Tallahassee Mall 20 Tallahassee, Florida
AMC Veterans Expressway 24 Tampa, Florida
AMC Westshore Plaza 14 Tampa, Florida
AMC Indian River 24 Vero Beach, Florida
AMC Mansell Crossing 14 Alpharetta, Georgia
AMC Fork & Screen Buckhead 6 Atlanta, Georgia
AMC Parkway Pointe 15 Atlanta, Georgia
AMC Phipps Plaza 14 Atlanta, Georgia
AMC Avenue Forsyth 12 Cumming, Georgia
AMC North Dekalb Mall 16 Decatur, Georgia
AMC Barrett Commons 24 Kennesaw, Georgia
AMC Colonial 18 Lawrenceville, Georgia
AMC Discover Mills 18 Lawrenceville, Georgia
AMC Stonecrest 16 Lithonia, Georgia
AMC Southlake Pavilion 24 Morrow, Georgia
LOEWS 600 North Michigan 9 Chicago, Illinois
AMC Ford City 14 Chicago, Illinois
LOEWS Pipers Alley 4 Chicago, Illinois
AMC River East 21 Chicago, Illinois
LOEWS Chicago Ridge 6 Chicago Ridge, Illinois
LOEWS Country Club Hills 16 Country Club Hills, Illinois
LOEWS Crestwood 18 Crestwood, Illinois
LOEWS Quarry Cinemas 14 Hodgkins, Illinois
AMC Yorktown 18 Lombard, Illinois
AMC Randhurst 16 Mount Prospect, Illinois
LOEWS Norridge 10 Norridge, Illinois
AMC Northbrook Court 14 Northbrook, Illinois
LOEWS Streets of Woodfield 20 Schaumburg, Illinois
LOEWS Gardens 1-6 Skokie, Illinois
LOEWS Gardens 7-13 Skokie, Illinois
AMC South Barrington 30 South Barrington, Illinois
AMC Cantera Pavilion 30 Warrenville, Illinois
LOEWS Woodridge 18 Woodridge, Illinois
AMC Castleton Square 14 Indianapolis, Indiana
AMC Greenwood 14 Greenwood, Indiana
AMC Town Center 20 Leawood, Kansas
AMC Studio 30 Olathe, Kansas
AMC Newport on the Levee 20 Newport, Kentucky
AMC Hammond Palace 10 Hammond, Louisiana
AMC Elmwood Palace 20 Harahan, Louisiana
AMC Westbank Palace 16 Harvey, Louisiana
AMC Houma Palace 10 Houma, Louisiana
AMC Clearview Palace 12 Metairie, Louisiana
AMC Security Square 8 Baltimore, Maryland
LOEWS White Marsh 16 Baltimore, Maryland
LOEWS Center Park 8 Beltsville, Maryland
AMC Columbia 14 Columbia, Maryland
LOEWS Rio Cinemas 18 Gaithersburg, Maryland
LOEWS White Flint 5 Kensington, Maryland
MAGIC JOHNSON Capital Center 12 Largo, Maryland
AMC Country Club Mall 6 La Vale, Maryland
LOEWS Lexington Park 6 Lexington Park, Maryland
AMC Owings Mills 17 Owings Mills, Maryland
LOEWS Valley Center 9 Owings Mills, Maryland
AMC Towson Commons 8 Towson, Maryland
LOEWS St. Charles Town Center 9 Waldorf, Maryland
LOEWS Boston Commons 19 Boston, Massachusetts
AMC Braintree 10 Braintree, Massachusetts
AMC Burlington 10 Burlington, Massachusetts
LOEWS Harvard Square 5 Cambridge, Massachusetts
AMC Chestnut Hill 5 Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
LOEWS Liberty Tree Mall 20 Danvers, Massachusetts
LOEWS Methuen 20 Methuen, Massachusetts
AMC North Dartmouth Mall 12 North Dartmouth, Massachusetts
AMC Tyngsboro 12 Tyngsboro, Massachusetts
STAR Great Lakes 25 Auburn Hills, Michigan
STAR Gratiot 21 Clinton Township, Michigan
STAR Fairlane 21 Dearborn, Michigan
STAR Holland 8 Holland, Michigan
AMC Livonia 20 Livonia, Michigan
STAR John R 15 Madison Heights, Michigan
AMC Meridian Mall 6 Okemos, Michigan
STAR Rochester Hills 10 Rochester Hills, Michigan
STAR Southfield 20 Southfield, Michigan
AMC Forum 30 Sterling Heights, Michigan
STAR Grand Rapids 18 Walker, Michigan
AMC Eden Prairie Mall 18 Eden Prairie, Minnesota
AMC Southdale 16 Edina, Minnesota
AMC Arbor Lakes 16 Maple Grove, Minnesota
AMC Rosedale 14 Roseville, Minnesota
AMC Chesterfield 14 Chesterfield, Missouri
AMC Creve Coeur 12 Creve Coeur, Missouri
AMC West Olive 16 Creve Coeur, Missouri
AMC Independence Commons 20 Independence, Missouri
AMC BarryWoods 24 Kansas City, Missouri
AMC Main Street 6 Kansas City, Missouri
AMC Ward Parkway 14 Kansas City, Missouri
AMC Crestwood Plaza 10 St. Louis, Missouri
AMC Esquire 7 St. Louis, Missouri
AMC Oak View 24 Omaha, Nebraska
AMC Brick Plaza 10 Brick, New Jersey
AMC Bridgewater Commons 7 Bridgewater, New Jersey
LOEWS Cherry Hill 24 Cherry Hill, New Jersey
AMC Clifton Commons 16 Clifton, New Jersey
AMC Deptford 8 Deptford, New Jersey
AMC Deptford Mall 6 Deptford, New Jersey
LOEWS East Hanover 12 East Hanover, New Jersey
LOEWS Monmouth Mall 15 Eatontown, New Jersey
LOEWS Jersey Gardens 20 Elizabeth, New Jersey
LOEWS Menlo Park 12 Edison, New Jersey
LOEWS Freehold Metroplex 14 Freehold, New Jersey
AMC Hamilton 24 Hamilton, New Jersey
LOEWS Newport Centre 11 Jersey City, New Jersey
AMC Aviation 12 Linden, New Jersey
AMC Marlton 8 Marlton, New Jersey
AMC Mountainside 10 Mountainside, New Jersey
LOEWS New Brunswick 18 New Brunswick, New Jersey
AMC Garden State 16 Paramus, New Jersey
LOEWS Ridgefield Park 12 Ridgefield Park, New Jersey
AMC Rockaway 16 Rockaway Township, New Jersey
LOEWS Meadow 6 Secaucus, New Jersey
AMC Seacourt 10 Toms River, New Jersey
AMC Wayne 14 Wayne, New Jersey
AMC Essex Green 9 West Orange, New Jersey
AMC Maple Ridge 8 Amherst, New York
LOEWS Bay Terrace 6 Bayside, New York
AMC Bay Plaza 13 Bronx, New York
LOEWS Fresh Meadows 7 Fresh Meadows, New York
LOEWS Roosevelt Field 8 Garden City, New York
LOEWS Shore 8 Huntington, New York
LOEWS Nassau Metroplex 10 Levittown, New York
LOEWS Galleria Metroplex 16 Middletown, New York
LOEWS 19th Street East 6 New York, New York
LOEWS 34th Street 14 New York, New York
LOEWS 72nd Street 1 New York, New York
LOEWS 84th Street 6 New York, New York
AMC Empire 25 New York, New York
MAGIC JOHNSON Harlem 9 New York, New York
LOEWS Kips Bay 15 New York, New York
LOEWS Lincoln Square 13 New York, New York
LOEWS Orpheum 7 New York, New York
LOEWS Village 7 New York, New York
LOEWS Port Chester 14 Port Chester, New York
LOEWS Fantasy 5 Rockville Center, New York
LOEWS Stony Brook 17 Stony Brook, New York
LOEWS Vestal Towne Square 9 Vestal, New York
LOEWS Webster 12 Webster, New York
LOEWS Raceway 10 Westbury, New York
LOEWS Palisades Center 21 West Nyack, New York
AMC Carolina Pavilion 22 Charlotte, North Carolina
AMC Northlake 14 Charlotte, North Carolina
AMC Concord Mills 24 Concord, North Carolina
AMC Ridge Park Square 8 Brooklyn, Ohio
AMC Easton Town Center 30 Columbus, Ohio
AMC Lennox Town Center 24 Columbus, Ohio
AMC Dublin Village 18 Dublin, Ohio
AMC Westwood Town Center 6 Rocky River, Ohio
AMC Crossroads Mall 16 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
AMC Quail Springs Mall 24 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
AMC Southroads 20 Tulsa, Oklahoma
AMC Tilghman Square 8 Allentown, Pennsylvania
AMC Neshaminy 24 Bensalem, Pennsylvania
AMC Woodhaven 10 Bensalem, Pennsylvania
AMC Colonial Commons 9 Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
LOEWS Waterfront 22 Homestead, Pennsylvania
AMC Granite Run 8 Media, Pennsylvania
AMC 309 Cinema 9 North Wales, Pennsylvania
AMC Franklin Mills Mall 14 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
AMC Plymouth Meeting 12 Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania
AMC Marple 10 Springfield, Pennsylvania
LOEWS Stroud Mall 7 Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania
AMC Painters Crossing 9 West Chester, Pennsylvania
AMC Dutch Square 14 Columbia, South Carolina
AMC Parks at Arlington 18 Arlington, Texas
AMC Barton Creek Square 14 Austin, Texas
AMC Northpark 15 Dallas, Texas
AMC The Grand 24 Dallas, Texas
AMC Valley View 16 Dallas, Texas
AMC Palace 9 Fort Worth, Texas
AMC Stonebriar Mall 24 Frisco, Texas
AMC Firewheel 18 Garland, Texas
AMC Grapevine Mills 30 Grapevine, Texas
AMC Highland Village 12 Highland Village, Texas
AMC Gulf Pointe 30 Houston, Texas
AMC Studio 30 Houston, Texas
AMC Willowbrook 24 Houston, Texas
AMC Deerbrook 24 Humble, Texas
AMC Irving Mall Cinemas 14 Irving, Texas
AMC Katy Mills 20 Katy, Texas
AMC Mesquite 30 Mesquite, Texas
AMC Huebner Oaks 24 San Antonio, Texas
AMC Rivercenter 9 San Antonio, Texas
LOEWS Spring 10 Spring, Texas
LOEWS Fountains 18 Stafford, Texas
AMC First Colony 24 Sugar Land, Texas
LOEWS Layton Hills 9 Layton, Utah
AMC Hoffman Center 22 Alexandria, Virginia
AMC Courthouse Plaza 8 Arlington, Virginia
LOEWS Shirlington 7 Arlington, Virginia
AMC Hampton 24 Hampton, Virginia
AMC Tysons Corner 16 McLean, Virginia
AMC Lynnhaven 18 Virginia Beach, Virginia
AMC Potomac Mills 18 Woodbridge, Virginia
LOEWS Factoria 8 Bellevue, Washington
LOEWS Cascade Mall 14 Burlington, Washington
AMC Kent Station 14 Kent, Washington
LOEWS Lakewood Town Center 12 Lakewood, Washington
LOEWS Alderwood Mall 16 Lynnwood, Washington
AMC Renton Village 8 Renton, Washington
AMC Cinerama 1 Seattle, Washington
LOEWS Oak Tree 6 Seattle, Washington
AMC Pacific Place 11 Seattle, Washington
LOEWS Uptown 3 Seattle, Washington
AMC Kitsap 8 Silverdale, Washington
AMC River Park Square 20 Spokane, Washington
AMC Southcenter 16 Tukwila, Washington
LOEWS Woodinville 12 Woodinville, Washington
AMC Mayfair 18 Wauwatosa, Wisconsin

[edit] Canada

Name City
AMC Interchange 30 Concord, Ontario
AMC Kanata 24 Kanata, Ontario
AMC Courtney Park 16 Mississauga, Ontario
AMC Winston Churchill 24 Oakville, Ontario
AMC Kennedy Commons 20 Scarborough, Ontario
AMC Yonge & Dundas 24 Toronto, Ontario
AMC Whitby 24 Whitby, Ontario
AMC Forum 22 Montreal, Quebec

[edit] United Kingdom

Name City
AMC Broadway Plaza 12 Birmingham, England
AMC Great Northern 16 Manchester, England

[edit] China

Name City
AMC Pacific Place 6 Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong
AMC Festival Walk 7 Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong

[edit] Features

AMC at Easton Town Center in Columbus, Ohio

AMC introduced stadium-style seating, in which the seats are placed on risers so that each person has an unobstructed view of the screen, and adjustable armrests that can be raised to create "loveseat" style seating. Both of these features have become standard for nearly all movie theaters built today by all major chains.[15]

The early versions of stadium-style seating as built in 1995 had auditoriums configured with an entrance to a flat area right in front of the screen for wheelchair-using guests. Able-bodied guests had to ascend up the stairs to sit in the middle of the risers in order to have a comfortable line-of-sight with the screen. Since many wheelchair users also have limited neck range as a result of the injuries that put them in wheelchairs to begin with, this configuration made AMC a popular target for ADA lawsuits.[15]

AMC subsequently solved the problem in newer theaters by building full-stadium auditoriums where the main entrance is through a ramp that emerges onto a platform in the middle of the risers, so that wheelchair users can enjoy optimal line-of-sight. However, the U.S. Department of Justice sued the company anyway and obtained an order from federal district judge Florence-Marie Cooper requiring AMC to retrofit over 1,990 screens in 95 multiplexes and megaplexes across the United States. The company successfully appealed the order to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which ruled on December 5, 2008 that the order was grossly overbroad and violated AMC's due process rights under the Constitution of the United States.[15]

AMC won by pointing out that the United States Access Board, for reasons unknown, had never amended its guidelines for movie theaters to specifically require theaters to provide line-of-sight for wheelchairs that was as good as the best sightlines from the elevated risers, versus merely providing an unobstructed view of the screen. The first time any government agency took that position was when DOJ filed an amicus brief in an unrelated case in 1998. Therefore, it was unfair to AMC to retroactively hold it to a standard which did not even exist at the time it started building stadium-style theaters and which it did not receive proper legal notice of; in contrast, AMC would have received constructive notice under the Administrative Procedure Act if the Access Board had ever bothered to amend its guidelines. The federal district court was ordered to identify the specific date after 1998 when AMC should have reasonably become aware that some agency in the federal government was taking the position at issue, and limit the retrofit order to theaters constructed after that date.

[edit] MovieWatcher program

AMC also created the MovieWatcher program that rewards frequent movie-goers similar to other rewards programs, but featuring innovative restrictions. It is based on points per movie ticket purchased, with rewards varying from concessions to movie passes based on point level. However, points are limited to a maximum of four points per three-hour time period - which is two tickets.[16] For those AMC cinemas which were not part of the Loews Cineplex acquisition and therefore ticketed by MovieTickets.com, the website's surcharge is waived for MovieWatcher members.

[edit] Other endeavors

AMC has also had some endeavors that did not prove as viable, such as experimenting with 16 mm film for projection and selling microwave popcorn at concession stands through a small test in the South[clarification needed] several years ago.[11] They also stumbled by agreeing to install the Sony Dynamic Digital Sound system in all their new locations, rather than the more popular Dolby Digital or DTS systems. While the majority of major releases have all three digital tracks, including SDDS, most independent and smaller-budgets films only have Dolby Digital tracks, leaving many films in AMC's otherwise ultra-modern megaplexes showing films in analog sound. Recently, AMC has begun installing Dolby Digital in all new auditoriums, and in 2003 began upgrading selected older auditoriums. AMC announced an agreement on March 26, 2009 to convert 1500 existing auditoriums to fully digital 3D screens using RealD technology.[17] On March 30, 2009 AMC announced they will convert all 4500 screens in their chain to 4K digital projectors provided by Sony.[18]

[edit] Acquisitions

The Loews Alderwood 16 in Lynnwood, Washington had opened in March 2005 before the merge with AMC.

AMC has been successful in integrating competitive theater circuits into its family. In March 2002, AMC bought General Cinema Corporation, which added 621 screens to the company assets as well as Gulf States Theaters which had 68 screens in the greater New Orleans area. In late 2003, AMC acquired MegaStar Theatres, adding top-quality assets to its Atlanta and Minneapolis-St. Paul markets. Then on January 26, 2006, AMC merged with Loews Cineplex Entertainment; AMC was the winner in the merger and the newly merged company continued with the name AMC Entertainment, Inc.

The company has interests in 358 theaters with 5,128 screens in six countries. Some of the U.S. theaters are named for basketball legend and businessman Earvin "Magic" Johnson, who became a partner of Loews in the mid-1990s.

AMC 12 Cinemas in Birmingham, United Kingdom.

The company has theaters in the United States and Canada. In addition the company operates two cinemas in the United Kingdom (in Birmingham and Manchester), one cinema in Dunkirk, France, and two in Hong Kong.[4][5][6][19] AMC used to operate theaters in Brazil, Chile, Japan, Mexico, Portugal, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, and Uruguay.[20][21][22]

The company's flagship theater is the AMC Empire 25 in New York, New York (as mentioned above, consistently rated the busiest theater in the world by AC Nielsen-EDI box office tracking.)[citation needed] The company's marquee theater is the AMC Studio 30 in Olathe, Kansas, which is nearby the company's world headquarters dubbed the "AMC Home Office".[citation needed]

On Tuesday, January 19, 2010, Kerasotes Showplace Theatres, LLC announced that they have signed a definitive agreement to sell most of the assets to AMC Entertainment, Inc., combining the nation's second- and sixth- largest movie theater chains.[23][24][25]

[edit] Sale to investment Partnership

In 2004, the company which at the time publicly traded on AMEX under the code AEN was acquired by Marquee Holdings Inc. Marquee is an investment vehicle controlled by affiliates of J.P. Morgan Partners, LLC, the private equity arm of JPMorgan Chase, and Apollo Management, a private investment firm.[26] The company continues to officially be headquartered in Kansas City although it has sold its headquarters building at Tenmain Center where it now leases space.[27]

In 2006, the company announced a new IPO expected to be worth approximately $789 million, however, adverse market conditions convinced the company's management to withdraw from such an offering on May 3, 2007. As of 2010, the company has no plans to file an IPO, citing economic concerns.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.natoonline.org/statisticscircuits.htm
  2. ^ Kathryn Harris, "AMC on Firm Footing as Others Stumble," Los Angeles Business Journal 23, no. 4 (Jan. 22, 2001): 14.
  3. ^ M. Doman, "AMC 3rd-quarter revenue up," Hollywood Reporter 366, no. 35 (Jan. 25, 2001): 6.
  4. ^ a b Home Page. AMC Cinemas (United Kingdom homepage). Accessed September 21, 2008.
  5. ^ a b Home Page. AMC 20 Dunkerque. Accessed September 21, 2008.
  6. ^ a b English home page." AMC Cinemas (Hong Kong homepage). Accessed September 21, 2008.
  7. ^ Home Page. AMC Cines. January 21, 2002.
  8. ^ The Dubinsky Brothers - Kansas City Public Library - Retrieved March 21, 2008
  9. ^ La Franco, Robert. "Coming soon: a megaplex near you." Forbes, August 12, 1996, p. 133.
  10. ^ Anonymous. "Durwood legacy packs 'em in." Variety, March 16, 1998, p. 42.
  11. ^ a b Klady, Leonard. "Obituaries: Stanley Durwood." Variety, July 19, 1999, p. 40.
  12. ^ Nan Robertson, "Multiplexes Add 2,300 Movie Screens in 5 Years," New York Times, November 7, 1983, C13.
  13. ^ Anonymous, "Stan Durwood: Multiplex Theater Pioneer," Los Angeles Times, July 16, 1999, A22.
  14. ^ AMC to Get Sony Digital Projectors - New York Times - March 29, 2009
  15. ^ a b c Kenneth Ofgang. "Ninth Circuit Overturns Ruling on Disabled Seating at Movie Theaters" Metropolitan News-Enterprise, 8 December 2008
  16. ^ http://www.amcentertainment.com/network
  17. ^ http://www.investor.amctheatres.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=373314
  18. ^ "AMC Entertainment to Convert Entire Circuit to Digital Cinema Projection with Sony 4K Systems". 2009-03-30. http://www.investor.amctheatres.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=373945. Retrieved 2009-04-06. 
  19. ^ "Locations Worldwide. AMC Theatres. Accessed September 21, 2008.
  20. ^ "AMC International - Locations." AMC Theatres. January 28, 2001.
  21. ^ "AMC, Loews Cineplex to merge." USA Today. June 21, 2005.
  22. ^ "AMC International - Locations." AMC Theatres. June 8, 2003.
  23. ^ AMC Entertainment and Kerasotes Theatres Announce Entry Into Definitive Agreement, AMC Entertainment, January 19, 2010
  24. ^ Kerasotes Plans Sale of Theatres to AMC, NWI.com, January 22, 2010
  25. ^ News About Kerasotes and AMC
  26. ^ Acquisition of AMC Entertainment by Affiliates of J.P. Morgan Partners and Apollo Management is Completed - amctheatres.com - December 23, 2004
  27. ^ HQ Building For AMC Sells - Kansas City Business Journal - December 16-22, 2005

[edit] External links