Landmark Theatres
| Private | |
| Predecessor | Parallax Theatres |
| Founded | 1974 |
| Founder | Kim Jorgensen |
| Headquarters | Los Angeles, California |
|
Number of locations
|
56 theatres (2016) |
|
Area served
|
United States |
| Owner |
2929 Entertainment Todd Wagner, Mark Cuban |
| Subsidiaries | Silver Cinemas |
| Website | www |
Landmark Theatres is the United States' largest theatre chain dedicated to exhibiting and marketing independent and foreign films. Landmark showcases a variety of programming ranging from independent and foreign films to 3-D movies and mainstream films.
Since its founding in 1974, Landmark has grown to 56 theatres, 268 screens in 27 markets. Landmark Theatres is known for both its historic theatres, such as the Tivoli in St. Louis, the Inwood in Dallas and the Oriental in Milwaukee, and its newer theatres, including The Landmark in Los Angeles, the Sunshine Cinema in New York City, E Street Cinema in Washington, D.C., and The Landmark Theatre Greenwood Village in Denver.
Helmed by CEO Ted Mundorff, Landmark Theatres is part of the Wagner/Cuban Companies, a vertically integrated group of media properties co-owned by Todd Wagner and Mark Cuban that also includes theatrical and home entertainment distribution company Magnolia Pictures, production company 2929 Productions, and high definition networks AXS TV and HDNet Movies.
1970s: Landmark Theatre Corporation began as Parallax Theatres which was founded in 1974 by Kim Jorgensen with the opening of the Nuart in Los Angeles, Sherman in Sherman Oaks, The Rialto in South Pasadena, and Ken in San Diego. Steve Gilula and Gary Meyer became partners in 1976 as the chain expanded as Landmark.
In 1976, the River Oaks Theatre in Houston (which originally opened in 1939) and the single screen Oriental Theatre in Milwaukee were acquired. The Oriental originally opened in July 1927 and was the only standard movie palace ever built to incorporate East Indian decor. The Harvard Exit Theatre in Seattle was acquired in 1979. The film programming in Landmark Theatres was a mix of repertory/revival double-features that changed daily. This mix also included smaller independent and foreign films and allowed Landmark to grow into the largest repertory/revival movie-theatre circuit in the nation by the end of that decade.
1980s: In the early 1980s, Landmark reoriented most of their theatres to exhibit first-run specialized, foreign, and re-released classics on longer, open-ended runs. Larger single screens were converted into two or three screen theatres while preserving the external architecture.
In 1981, Landmark acquired the Neptune in Seattle. A year later, Landmark merged with Movie, Inc., from Santa Fe. Movie, Inc., another small company capitalizing on the excellence of foreign, alternative, and classic films. In 1988, The Oriental Theatre in Milwaukee was converted to a triplex by adding 2 theatres underneath the balcony. The original artwork of the main auditorium was left untouched. Additionally, Canal Place Cinema (4 screens) opened on the edge of New Orleans' French Quarter making it Landmark's first new build. 1989 brought a merger between Landmark and the Seven Gables theatre circuit from Seattle and Portland. Landmark was purchased by Heritage Entertainment.
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Wikipedia