Hoyts
 |
|
| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Film exhibition, film distribution, cinema advertising |
| Founded | September 29, 1909; 107 years ago |
| Headquarters | Sydney, Australia |
|
Area served
|
Australia, New Zealand |
|
Key people
|
Damian Keogh (Group CEO) Vincent Lloyd (Group CFO) Dan Hill (MD – Val Morgan) |
| Products | Hoyts Cinema |
|
Number of employees
|
Estimated 4000 |
| Parent | Wanda Group |
| Website | www |
The Hoyts Group is an Australian group of companies, including Hoyts Exhibition, Hoyts Kiosk and Val Morgan.
Hoyts Exhibition manages 450 screens across 40 Australian and 10 New Zealand cinema complexes, making it Australia's second largest cinema chain. Val Morgan, the cinema advertising arm of the Hoyts Group, dominates the cinema advertising market with over 95% market share. Hoyts Distribution is the largest independent film distributor in Australia; a business centred on the purchase of rights to, and subsequent management of, distributing independent films in Australia through theatrical, television and home entertainment channels.
In June 2015, the Hoyts Group was wholly acquired by Wanda Cinema Line, a subsidiary of Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group, the largest commercial property developer in China and world's largest cinema chain operator.
In the exhibition business, the largest part of the Hoyts Group, their main competitor is Event Cinemas (partnered with Village Cinemas in Victoria and Tasmania) and smaller competitors include Wallis Cinemas, Palace Cinemas, Dendy and Reading Cinemas (whom operate on a small scale in Australia).
At the start of the 20th century dentist Dr Arthur Russell, who was, in his spare time, a cornet player and a magician, purchased a share in a small American travelling circus, known as Hoyts Circus, and travelled with them as the resident magician. After a financially disastrous run, Russell returned to his work as a dentist.
Undeterred, he leased the old St. Georges Hall in Bourke Street, Melbourne (later known as the Hoyts Esquire), and began showing short films on Saturday nights. Unlike his previous venture, it was successful, and as a result, he formed a new company called Hoyts Pictures Pty. Ltd. By the time he died at the end of World War I, Hoyts had expanded into the suburbs of Melbourne, and into Sydney.
On September 29, 1926, Hoyts and two other companies, Electric Theatres Pty. Ltd. and Associated Theatres Pty. Ltd., merged to become Hoyts Theatres Limited. On March 27, 1936, the Fox Family Pictures logo (now Twentieth Century Fox) secured a major shareholding in the company.
...
Wikipedia