Speedway

Muvico Theaters

Muvico Theaters
Company typePrivate company
Founded1984 in Coral Springs, Florida
Defunct2017
FateAcquired by AMC Theatres
HeadquartersOakland Park, Florida

Muvico Theaters was a movie theater chain headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.[1][2] Muvico had seven complexes in Florida, one in the Chicago metropolitan area (Rosemont), and one in Thousand Oaks, California.[3] Muvico's theaters were known for the use of decorative themes at several theaters, such as the Egyptian, 1950s drive-in, French opera house, Mediterranean palace, and 1920s grand movie palace themes.

Corporate history

Muvico Theaters started in 1984 by Hamid Hashemi, Iranian-born entrepreneur, with the acquisition of the Movie Center 3 theater in Coral Springs, Florida.[4] Between 1985 and 1995, Muvico bought or built eight theaters totaling 59 screens; the California Club Six in North Miami was among these eight theaters. However, in 1995, Muvico sold all of its theaters and three leases, except for the Palm Harbor 10 located in Palm Harbor, Florida. The purpose of that sale was to allow Muvico to operate more efficiently against its competition – namely, Regal Entertainment Group, Cinemark, and AMC Theatres.

A year later, Muvico bought five theaters from United Artist Theaters (now owned by Regal Entertainment Group) in South and Central Florida, totaling 43 screens. Muvico built its first themed megaplex theater in 1998 in Orlando; it is called Muvico Pointe 21 with a "book of dreams" theme. They subsequently opened an 18-screen theater in Pompano Beach, Florida with a 50's drive in theme, and a 24-screen megaplex in Davie, Florida with the Egyptian theme.

Entrance to the Egyptian-themed Muvico located at Arundel Mills in Maryland. This theater was sold to Cinemark in 2009.
The 4 story lobby of the Muvico Parisian 20 theater in West Palm Beach, FL before its closure in 2023.[5]

In 2000, Muvico opened four more megaplexes in Florida and one in Arundel Mills in Hanover, Maryland, totaling 104 screens. The Muvico Egyptian 24 in Hanover is fitted with Egyptian murals and a 12-foot statue of Anubis.[6] In 2001, Muvico opened the Peabody Place 22 in Memphis, Tennessee with a train station theme as part of the Peabody Place Retail & Entertainment Center.[7] Muvico sold Pointe Orlando 21 to Regal Cinemas and opened new theaters in Coconut Pointe, FL and in Boynton Beach, FL. In 2007, the Baywalk 20 theater in St. Petersburg, FL opened an IMAX theater in time for the launch of Spider-Man 3,[8] with an IMAX theater also added to the Parisian 20 location in West Palm Beach, FL.

Hashemi's tenure with Muvico came to a controversial end in early 2006 when he was fired by the company's board of directors after a failed attempt to buy the company. This led to a legal dispute, with Hashemi alleging breach of contract and the board accusing him of charging personal expenses to the company.[9][6] Hashemi would later go on to found IPIC, a premier dining and movie theatre chain.[4]

Muvico opened an 18-screen theater in Rosemont, IL on September 14, 2007, taking design cues from 1920s movie palaces and motifs of classic Hollywood.[10] The theater featured Bogart's Bar and Grill and the Premier Theaters on the upper level. The Bogart's restaurant has since closed,[11] with the space remaining open under the AMC Theatres brand starting in 2017.[12]

Muvico sold its Maryland Egyptian 24 location and three of its Florida locations, The Palace 20 in Boca Raton, the Boynton Beach 14 in Boynton Beach, FL and the Paradise 24 in Davie to Cinemark in March 2009.[13] Muvico also sold its Coconut Pointe 16 location in Estero to Hollywood Theaters in 2009.

In late 2010, Muvico equipped two of its South Florida locations with D-Box motion seat technologies, allowing the guest's seat to move to the action within the feature. Muvico currently then D-Box seats installed at all locations.[14]

On November 4, 2013, Carmike Cinemas agreed to purchase Muvico Theaters for just under $31.8 million. The deal closed at the end of 2013.[15] In December 2016, Carmike was in turn acquired by AMC Theatres for $1.1 billion making AMC the largest theatre company in the country.[16][17][18][19][20]

References

  1. ^ "Contact Us Archived 2011-01-11 at the Wayback Machine." Muvico. Retrieved on January 7, 2011. "Address: MUVICO THEATERS 3101 N. Federal Hwy. 6th Floor Fort Lauderdale, FL 33306-1042."
  2. ^ "Wayback Machine". oaklandparkfl.gov. Archived from the original on 2018-09-23. Retrieved 2025-03-06.
  3. ^ "Muvico Theaters at the Oaks". Behr Browers Architects Inc. Archived from the original on Mar 6, 2025. Retrieved 2025-03-06.
  4. ^ a b Thomason, John (2019-06-25). "Up Close: IPIC CEO Hamid Hashemi". Boca Raton Magazine. Archived from the original on May 28, 2023. Retrieved 2025-03-06.
  5. ^ Washington, Wayne (Apr 26, 2023). "End of an era: The last day of movies at The Square's AMC West Palm theater announced". The Palm Beach Post. Archived from the original on Apr 27, 2023. Retrieved 2025-03-06.
  6. ^ a b Metcalf, Andrew (2014-11-04). "iPic Theaters Concept Grew Out of Corporate Feud". Bethesda Magazine. Archived from the original on Mar 6, 2025. Retrieved 2025-03-06.
  7. ^ Myerson, Deborah (2002). "ULI Development Case Studies - Peabody Place Memphis, Tennessee" (PDF). p. 6. Archived (PDF) from the original on Mar 6, 2025.
  8. ^ Persall, Steve (Apr 26, 2007). "IMAX COMING TO BAYWALK NEXT MONTH". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 2025-03-06.
  9. ^ Romer, Lyle (Jan 28, 2006). "Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Interesting Muvico Article". www.film-tech.com. Archived from the original on Mar 6, 2025. Retrieved 2025-03-06.
  10. ^ "Muvico Rosemont 18". DDG. Archived from the original on 2020-04-27. Retrieved 2018-12-06.
  11. ^ "Bogart's At The Premier - CLOSED - Rosemont, IL". Yelp. Archived from the original on Mar 6, 2025. Retrieved 2018-12-06.
  12. ^ "AMC Rosemont 18, Low Ticket Prices Starting at $4.99+tax (before 2pm) plus FREE Parking". www.amctheatres.com. Retrieved 2018-12-06.
  13. ^ DiOrio, Carl (March 24, 2009). "Nat'l Amusements fails to attract bidders". The Hollywood Reporter. Nielsen Business Media. Archived from the original on Mar 28, 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-26.
  14. ^ Theaters, Muvico. "MUVICO ENTERTAINMENT TO UNVEIL NEW STATE OF THE ART TECHNOLOGY AT THE GRAND RE-OPENING OF THE HIALEAH 12 MOVIE COMPLEX-" (PDF). MUVICO ENTERTAINMENT TO UNVEIL NEW STATE OF THE ART TECHNOLOGY AT THE GRAND RE-OPENING OF THE HIALEAH 12 MOVIE COMPLEX-. Archived from the original (PDF) on Jan 18, 2013. Retrieved 4 March 2011.
  15. ^ "Carmike Cinemas to Acquire Nine Entertainment Complexes with 147 Screens from Muvico Theaters". The Wall Street Journal. November 4, 2013. Archived from the original on Nov 5, 2013.
  16. ^ "Peachtree Mall theater now showing new movies at reduced prices". Ledger-Enquirer. Archived from the original on Mar 6, 2025. Retrieved 2017-10-03.
  17. ^ Szalai, Georg (December 21, 2016). "AMC Theatres Closes Carmike Cinemas Acquisition to Become Largest U.S. Exhibitor". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on Dec 17, 2023. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
  18. ^ Davis, Mark (Feb 28, 2017). "AMC to drop Carmike brand, add AMC Classic brand for smaller, less-visited theaters". Kansas City Star. Archived from the original on Mar 6, 2025. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
  19. ^ Leiberman, David (Feb 28, 2017). "AMC Entertainment CEO Talks Up Premium VOD & Rebranding Plans". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on Oct 7, 2023. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
  20. ^ Copley, Rich (Aug 1, 2017). "Carmike 10 becomes AMC Classic, with first-run flicks at a discount". Lexington Herald-Leader. Archived from the original on Sep 24, 2020. Retrieved 2017-10-03.
Quelle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muvico_Theaters