Village Roadshow
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| Public | |
| Traded as | ASX: VRL |
| Industry | Media, Entertainment |
| Founded | 1954 |
| Founder | Roc Kirby |
| Headquarters |
The Jam Factory South Yarra, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
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Key people
|
Robert G. Kirby, CEO |
| Products | Cinemas, radio, theme parks, film studio, film distribution, |
| Revenue | A$1,256 million (2012, [1]) |
| Owner | Village Roadshow Corporation (majority) |
| Website | www.villageroadshow.com.au |
Village Roadshow Limited (doing business as Village Roadshow), is an Australian mass media and entertainment company with interests in a diversity of fields, including cinema, theme parks, film production and distribution. The company is a publicly listed entity on the Australian Securities Exchange. It is majority owned by Village Roadshow Corporation, run by CEO Robert Kirby, John Kirby and Graham Burke.
Village Roadshow originally commenced operations as Village Drive-Ins (later known as "Village Drive-ins and Cinemas" before becoming today's "Village Cinemas" brand), in 1954, when founder Roc Kirby began running one of Australia's first drive-in cinemas in the Melbourne suburb of Croydon. The drive-in was adjacent to a shopping strip called "Croydon Village"; hence the company adopted the "Village" name. The company later expanded into traditional cinemas in major areas, though it still operates the Coburg Drive-In in Coburg, Melbourne.
In the 1960s the company expanded to start its film distribution business (once a 50-50 joint venture with Greater Union) and moved into film production in the 1970s. The original cinema chain now became one of several businesses the company was involved in.
In the 1980s, Village Roadshow was one of the leading forces in creating state of the art multiplex cinema complexes. Innovations brought in during this period included using stadium-style seating, sophisticated sound systems and the latest in projection technologies. The cinemas of that era were the forerunners to the multiplexes of today.
In 1988, Village Roadshow took over De Laurentiis Entertainment Group, which brought on a change of name: Village Roadshow Limited. This allowed the company to raise more capital to fund further expansion.
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Wikipedia