Cineplex Odeon Corporation was one of North America's largest movie theatre operators and live theatre, with theatres in its home country of Canada and the United States. The Cineplex Odeon brand is still being used by Cineplex Entertainment at some theatres that were once owned by the Cineplex Odeon Corporation, with newer theatres using the Cineplex Cinemas brand. The company was the result of Cineplex Corporation purchasing and merging with Canadian Odeon Theatres, which was the result of a merger between Canadian Theatres and Odeon Theatres of Canada in 1978, in 1984. Theatres formerly operated by the company are now operated by Cineplex Entertainment in Canada and as AMC Theatres in the United States.
History
Odeon Theatres of Canada
The oldest ancestor of Cineplex Odeon was Odeon Theatres of Canada, started as "Generals Theatre Corporation" by Paul Nathanson, son of Famous Players Canadian Corporation president Nathan L. Nathanson. The "Odeon Theatres of Canada" name was first used in January 1941. The elder Nathanson was rumoured to be involved in the chain, but it was not until early May 1941 that he resigned from Famous Players Canadian, and acknowledged his position in creating and operating Odeon. The chain, initially composed of independent theatres, was not originally affiliated with the British "Odeon Cinemas" circuit; it was sold to the British chain's owners, the Rank Organisation, in 1946. Following World War II, there was a wave of anglophilia in Ontario; Odeon emphasised its British ownership to capitalize on this sentiment, screening British films—particularly those made by Rank. Odeon Theatres of Canada merged with the Canadian Theatres chain in 1978, becoming known as Canadian Odeon Theatres.
Acquisition by Cineplex Corporation
Cineplex Corporation began operating in 1979. On April 19, 1979, Nathan "Nat" Taylor, inventor of the multiscreen theater, and Garth Drabinsky opened the first Cineplex location, an 18-screen complex in the basement of the Toronto Eaton Centre. At the time, the theatre's 1,600 seats earned it a place in the Guinness Book of World Records. After successfully challenging the Famous Players/Canadian Odeon duopoly and their exclusive contracts with major studios, in 1984, Cineplex bought Canadian Odeon Theatres, to become Cineplex Odeon. The Bronfman family was a major investor in the purchase. In 1985, Cineplex bought the Plitt Theatres chain. In 1986, Cineplex Odeon bought Essaness Theatres, Neighborhood Theatres of Virginia, and the RKO Century Theatres chain. Also, in 1986, when federal regulations had been relaxed, MCA purchased a stake in Cineplex Odeon. In 1987, Cineplex acquired the Walter Reade Organization from The Coca-Cola Company. In 1986, the corporation established a film distribution outlet, Cineplex Odeon Films, and a home videodistribution outlet, Cineplex Odeon Home Video replacing Pan-Canadian Video Presentations. It distributed all titles in Canada on MCA's behalf, but the film distribution outlet ceased operation in 1997 and the home video outlet a year later after MCA was renamed as Universal Studios. The company also operated Live Entertainment of Canada, which was established in 1989 after they acquired Pantages Theatre from Famous Players. Livent became an independent company after an internal conflict between Drabinsky and MCA. Cineplex Odeon had grown to become one of the largest film exhibitors in North America by 1993, with 1,630 screens and operations in 365 locations within North America. At this point, Cineplex Odeon accounted for roughly 8% of box office revenues in North America, competing mostly with Famous Players in the Canadian market. Cineplex Odeon and Famous Players were two dominant forces in the Canadian film industry, with both organizations accounting for roughly two-thirds of the industry's annual revenues. The key to the success of the two organizations was in large part due to their supply chain. Cineplex Odeon had exclusive first-run rights to films made by Columbia and Universal Studios, which allowed them to seize a hefty market share. Controversy surrounded the practices of both Cineplex Odeon and Famous Players in 1998. The two companies had been accused of operating as a duopoly, and choking off the film supply so smaller theatres could not show the same products. In April 1998, Cineplex Odeon Theatres merged with New York City-based Loews Theatres to form Loews Cineplex Entertainment. Alliance Atlantis purchased Cineplex Odeon Films assets along with its home video division the same year.
Post Loews Cineplex Entertainment
After the merger, the company ceased to exist and was merged into the operations of Loews Cineplex Entertainment. In 1999, Ellis Jacob and Steve Brown, former executives who left Cineplex Odeon Corporation during the ownership change, created Galaxy Entertainment designed to bring big-city entertainment to mid-sized markets across Canada. In 2001, Loews Cineplex Entertainment, the company that merged with Cineplex Odeon, filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. Lowes Cineplex was later acquired by Onex Corporation and Oaktree Capital Management in 2002. In 2004, Onex decided to sell Loews Cineplex and retain the Canadian operations, merging then with Galaxy to form Cineplex Galaxy Income Fund. At the time of the merger, Cineplex Odeon operated 40 locations in Canada.
