NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Movie theatres

A movie theater (American English) or cinema is a location, usually a building, for viewing movies. Colloquial expressions, mostly used for cinemas collectively, include the silver screen and the big screen (contrasted with the "small screen" of television). Generally, theaters are not owned by individuals, but rather operated by corporations and visited by the general public: one can attend the film showing after buying a ticket. The film is projected with a movie projector onto a large projection screen at the front of the auditorium. A 30-screen AMC Theatres movie theatre (actually a megaplex) at the Ontario Mills shopping mall in Ontario, California. ... A 30-screen AMC Theatres movie theatre (actually a megaplex) at the Ontario Mills shopping mall in Ontario, California. ... A typical AMC Theatres megaplex. ... A 20-screen AMC Theatres megaplex in Rolling Hills Estates, California. ... Ontario Mills is a large premium outlet shopping center located in Ontario, California. ... Ontario Mills Ontario is a city located in San Bernardino County, California. ... American English is the form of the English language used mostly in the United States of America. ... Film refers to the celluloid media on which movies are printed Film is a term that encompasses motion pictures as individual projects, as well as the field in general. ... A movie projector is an opto-mechanical device for displaying moving pictures. ... Projection screens are installations consisting of blank surface and a support structure used for projecting an image for the view of an audience. ...

Design

Traditionally a movie theater, like a stage theater, consists of a single auditorium with rows of comfortable seats, as well as a lobby area containing a box office, refreshment facilities, and washrooms. Stage theaters are sometimes converted into movie theaters by placing a screen in front of the stage and adding a projector; this conversion may be permanent, or temporary for purposes such as showing art house fare to an audience accustomed to plays. The familiar characteristics of relatively low admission and open seating can be traced to Samuel "Roxy" Rothapfel, an early movie theatre architect. For other usages see Theatre (disambiguation) Theater (American English) or Theatre (British English and widespread usage among theatre professionals in the US) is that branch of the performing arts concerned with acting out stories in front of an audience using combinations of speech, gesture, music, dance, sound and spectacle — indeed... A lobby can be: An entryway or waiting area, such as a foyer, from the Latin word lobium, or vestibule. ... The term box office can refer to either: A place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to a venue The amount of business a particular production, such as a movie or theatre show, does. ... A movie projector is an opto-mechanical device for displaying moving pictures. ... A showman of the 1920s silent screen era, Samuel Roxy Rothafel was the impresario for many of the great movie palaces such as the Capitol, the Strand, and the self-named Roxy Theater in New York City. ... Architect at his drawing board, 1893 An architect/Building designer is a person involved in the planning, designing and oversight of a buildings construction, whose role is to guide decisions affecting those building aspects that are of aesthetic, cultural or social concern. ...

The first permanent structure designed for screening of movies was Tally's Electric Theater, completed in 1902 in Los Angeles, California. The 1913 opening of the Regent Theater in New York City signalled a new respectability for the medium, and the start of the two-decade heyday of American cinema design. Los Angeles promoter Sid Grauman began the trend of theatre-as-destination with his ornate "Million Dollar Theatre", which opened on Broadway in downtown Los Angeles in 1918. In the next ten years, as movie revenues exploded, independent promoters and movie studios (who owned their own proprietary chains until an antitrust ruling in 1948) raced to build the most lavish, elaborate, attractive theatres. These forms morphed into a unique architectural genre—the movie palace—a unique and extreme architectural genre which came to an end with the deepening of the Great Depression. The movie chains were also amoung the first industries to install to a large extent air conditioning systems which gave the theatres an addition lure of comfort in the summer period. 1902 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... The Downtown Los Angeles skyline. ... 1913 is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... Midtown Manhattan, looking north from the Empire State Building, 2005 New York City (officially named the City of New York) is the most populous city in the United States, and is at the center of international finance, politics, communications, music, fashion, and culture. ... This article is about the largest city in California. ... Sidney Patrick Grauman (March 17, 1879 - March 5, 1950) was an American showman who created one of Southern Californias most recognizable and visited landmarks, Graumans Chinese Theater. ... The Bunker Hill district of Downtown Los Angeles as seen from USC, which makes up most of Downtowns skyline. ... 1918 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Movie palace is a synonym for movie theater, but nowadays usually used for the grand art deco cinemas of the 1910s to 1940s, contrasting with modern multiplexes. ... The Great Depression was a massive global economic recession (or depression) that ran from 1929 to 1941. ... Note: in the broadest sense, air conditioning can refer to any form of heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning. ...

Several movie studios achieved vertical integration by acquiring and constructing theater chains. The so-called "Big Five" theater chains of the 1920s and 1930s were all owned by studios: Paramount, Warner, Loews (owned by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer), Fox, and RKO. All were broken up as a result of the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in the 1948 United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc. anti-trust case. A movie studio is a company which develops, equips and maintains a controlled environment for the making of a film. ... In microeconomics and strategic management, the term vertical integration describes a style of ownership and control. ... Sometimes referred to as the Jazz Age or primarily in North America as the Roaring Twenties. // Events and trends Technology John T. Thompson invents Thompson submachine gun, also known as Tommy gun John Logie Baird invents the first working television system (1925) Charles Lindbergh becomes the first person to fly... // Events and trends The 1930s were spent struggling for a solution to the global depression. ... The Paramount Pictures logo used from 1987 to 1995. ... Warner Bros. ... Loews Theatres, founded in 1904 by Marcus Loew, is the oldest theatre chain still operating in North America today. ... For alternate meanings of MGM, see MGM (disambiguation). ... Related articles FOX Television Network Fox Searchlight Pictures Fox Entertainment Group List of Hollywood movie studios List of movies Variant of current 20th Century Fox logo External links 20th Century Fox Movies official site Twentieth Century Fox is also the punning title of a song by The Doors on their... The classic logo of RKO Radio Pictures. ... The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C. The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C., (large image) The Supreme Court of the United States, located in Washington, D.C., is the highest court (see supreme court) in the United States; that is, it has ultimate judicial authority within the United States... 1948 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... United States v. ... Media:Example. ...

Since the mid-1960s in many areas the traditional theater has been largely replaced by multiplex cinemas, where a single lobby is shared between several auditoriums (the term "cinema" or "theater" may then mean either the whole complex or a single auditorium; sometimes "screen" is used with the latter meaning). This arrangement allows the operating company to show more movies with fewer staff. Sometimes a popular movie is shown on multiple screens at the same multiplex, reducing the choice of movies but offering more choice of viewing times. Two or three screens may be produced by dividing up an existing cinema, but newly built multiplexes usually have at least 6 to 8 screens. A very large, modern multiplex with 15 or more screens is called a megaplex. AMC Theatres is credited with creating the first multiplex; Kinepolis pioneered the first megaplex. The 1960s, or The Sixties, in its most obvious sense refers to the decade between 1960 and 1969, but the expression has taken on a wider meaning over the past twenty years. ... Multiplex is either a word derived from multi- + plex (fold) or a synthetic portmanteau combining the words multiple and complex and can be another word for many or (literally) manifold. ... A typical AMC Theatres megaplex. ... A 20-screen AMC Theatres megaplex in Rolling Hills Estates, California. ...

IMAX is a system using oversized film to produce image quality far superior to conventional film. IMAX theaters require an oversized screen as well as special projectors. The first permanent IMAX theater was at Ontario Place in Toronto, Canada. An IMAX dome in Guayaquil, Ecuador IMAX (for Image Maximum) is a film projection system that has the capacity to display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film display systems. ... Ontario Place is a Government of Ontario owned entertainment attraction, located approximately 4 km west of downtown Toronto on the shore of Lake Ontario and just south of Exhibiton Place. ... Motto: Diversity Our Strength Map of Ontario Counties, Toronto being red Area: 641 sq. ...

Some movie theaters are outdoors and so can only be used when it is dark. A drive-in movie theater is basically a parking area with a screen at one end and a projection booth at the other. Moviegoers drive into the parking spaces which are usually provided with portable loudspeakers or the vehicle's sound system tunes to an FM station over which the soundtrack is played, and the movie is viewed through the car windscreen. Drive-in movies were mainly found in the United States, and were especially popular in the 1950s and 1960s, but are now almost extinct. Drive-ins are an important pop-culture memory for many. ... Closeup of a loudspeaker driver A loudspeaker is a device which converts an electrical signal into sound. ... // Events and trends The 1950s in Western society was marked with a sharp rise in the economy for the first time in almost 30 years and return to the 1920s-type consumer society built on credit and boom-times, as well as the height of the baby-boom from returning... The 1960s, or The Sixties, in its most obvious sense refers to the decade between 1960 and 1969, but the expression has taken on a wider meaning over the past twenty years. ...

Some outdoor movie theaters are just cleared areas where the audience sits upon chairs or blankets and watch the movie on a temporary screen, or even the wall of a convenient building.

In the late 1990s, student organisations in universities and schools started to show movies in auditoriums equipped with multimedia projectors. Before the ubiquity of classic and modern films in DVD and VHS formats, student groups at large universities often sponsored screenings of films on 16mm projectors in lecture halls as a way to raise money. Many small colleges also had student-run film groups that projected 16mm films on a regular basis to students. // Events and trends The 1990s are generally classified as having moved slightly away from the more conservative 1980s, but keeping the same mind-set. ...

Some alternative methods of showing movies have been popular in the past. In the 1980s the introduction of VHS cassettes made possible video-salons, small rooms where visitors viewed the film on a large TV. These establishments were especially popular in the Soviet Union, where official distribution companies were slow to adapt to changing demand and so movie theaters could not show popular Hollywood and Asian films. // Events and trends The 1980s marked an abrupt shift towards more conservative lifestyles after the momentous cultural revolutions which took place in the 60s and 70s and the definition of the AIDS virus in 1981. ... Top view VHS cassette with US Quarter for scale Bottom view of VHS cassette with magnetic tape exposed The Video Home System, better known by its acronym VHS, is a recording and playing standard for video cassette recorders (VCRs), developed by JVC (with some of its critical technology under lucrative... ...

Movies are also commonly shown on airliners in flight, using large screens in each cabin or smaller screens for each group of rows or each individual seat; the airline company sometimes charges a fee for the headphones needed to hear the movie's sound. Movies can also be shown on trains. An airliner is a large fixed-wing aircraft (an aeroplane/airplane) initially designed for the transport of paying passengers, and usually operated by an airline company (which owns or leases the aircraft). ... A Boeing 747-400 of Virgin Atlantic Airways, one of the UKs largest airlines. ... Headphones (also known as earphones, stereophones, headsets, or the slang term cans) are a pair of transducers that receive an electrical signal from a media player or receiver and use speakers placed in close proximity to the ears (hence the name earphone) to convert the signal into audible sound waves. ... There are various types of trains designed for particular purposes, see rail transport operations. ...

Programming

Mainstream is, generally, the common current of thought. ... Pornographic movies appeared shortly after the creation of the movie technology that made them possible. ... An IMAX dome in Guayaquil, Ecuador IMAX (for Image Maximum) is a film projection system that has the capacity to display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film display systems. ... An IMAX dome in Guayaquil, Ecuador IMAX (for Image Maximum) is a film projection system that has the capacity to display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film display systems. ... Documentary film is a broad category of cinematic expression united by the intent to remain factual or non-fictional. ...

Admission

According to motion picture rating systems, children or teenagers below a certain age may be forbidden access to theaters showing certain movies, or simply subject to parental guidance. Motion picture rating systems are issued to give moviegoers an idea of the suitability of a movie for children and/or adults in terms of issues such as sex, violence and bad language. ...

Crowd control

As movie theaters have grown into multiplexes and megaplexes, crowd control has become a major concern. An overcrowded megaplex can be rather unpleasant, and in an emergency can be extremely dangerous. Therefore, all major theater chains have implemented crowd control measures.

The most well-known measure is the ubiquitous holdout line which prevents ticketholders for the next showing of that weekend's most popular movie from entering the building until their particular auditorium has been cleared out and cleaned.

Since the 1980s, some theater chains (especially AMC Theatres) have developed a policy of co-locating their theaters in shopping centers (as opposed to the old practice of building stand-alone theaters). They deliberately build lobbies and corridors that cannot hold as many people as the auditoriums, thus making holdout lines necessary. In turn, ticketholders will hopefully be enticed to shop or eat while stuck outside in the holdout line. For the traditional meaning of the word mall, see mall. ...

"The back row"

Sometimes couples go to a movie theater for the additional reason that it provides the possibility of some physical intimacy, where the dark provides some privacy (with additional privacy in the back-row). This applies in particular for young people who still live with their parents, and these parents tend to monitor and/or forbid certain activities. Compared with being together in a room without other people, it may also be reassuring for one or both of the couple (and for parents) that the intimacy is necessarily limited. A man and woman hugging Physical intimacy is: Physical closeness Touching, especially tenderly Touching intimate parts, outercourse Sexual penetration The list is logically in order of increasing degree, with each form implying the previous one, but of course, it is not necessarily in order of increasing enjoyment. ...

Arm rests may be a hindrance for intimacy. Some theaters have love seats: seats for two without armrest in the middle. The most modern theaters have movable armrests throughout the theater that when down can hold a food container as well as act as an armrest or partition between the seats and when up allow closer contact between the couple. More expensive theaters may have large comfortable sofas. Typical Western wooden chair A chair is a piece of furniture consisting of a seat, legs, back, and sometimes arm rests, for use by one person. ...

Other services

Movie theaters usually sell various snack foods and drinks at concession stands which often represents their primary source of income; movie studios in the US traditionally drive hard bargains entitling them to more than 70, 80, or 90% of the gross ticket revenue during the first week (and then the balance changes in 10% increments per week from there). Some movie theaters forbid eating and drinking inside the viewing room (restricting such activities to the lobby), while others encourage it, e.g. by selling large portions of popcorn. Concessions is currently a huge area of expansion with many companies in the US offering a wider range of snacks, including hot dogs and nachos. The noise of people eating, including the opening of wrappers, is frowned upon by many moviegoers. A snack food is seen in Western culture as a type of food that is not meant to be eaten as part of one of the main meals of the day (breakfast, lunch, supper). ... Popped kernels Popcorn or popping corn is a type of maize which puffs up when it is heated in oil or by dry heat. ... A large hot dog with ketchup A hot dog is classified as a type of sausage or, alternatively, a sandwich on a suitably shaped bun with the sausage and condiments on it. ... See also Nachos Instructional Operating System. ...

It is quite common for the lobby to include an arcade game area. Centipede by Atari is a typical example of a 1980s era arcade game. ...

Business practice controversies

A recent development in cinema programming has been the inclusion of commercial advertising shorts that have nothing to do with film. Many filmgoers have complained that these advertisements defeat the basic point of the experience of seeing films without this kind of commercialism interfering. Other critics like Roger Ebert have expressed concerns that these advertisement, plus an excessive number of movie trailers could lead to pressure to restrict the preferred length of the feature films themselves to facilitate playing schedules. So far, the theatre companies have typically been highly resistant to these complaints, citing the need for the supplementary income. // Background From the earliest days of the medium, television has been used as a vehicle for advertising in some countries. ... Roger Ebert (born June 18, 1942) is a film critic who writes for the Chicago Sun-Times; his reviews are syndicated to over 200 newspapers in the U.S. and abroad. ... Theatrical trailers are 2-3 minute advertisements for movies that play in cinemas before another movie. ...

Another major recent concern is that the dramatic improvements in stereo sound systems have lead to cinemas playing the soundtracks of presented films at unacceptably high volume levels. Usually, the trailers are presented at a very high sound level, presumably to overcome the sounds of a busy crowd. The sound is not adjusted downward for a sparsely occupied theater. A sound reinforcement system is an electromechanical system for accurately amplifying, reproducing, and sometimes recording audio, so that persons not near the original source may experience the sound as if they were. ...

The multiplex offers a great amount of flexibility to a theater operator, enabling multiple theaters to exhibit the same popular production in multiple theaters with staggered starting times. While

The colocation of theaters results in a great economy of scale for the sale of so-called "junk food" — sugary soda pop, popcorn, and the like. In addition to poor nutritional values, the foodstuffs sold are also characterised by extremely high markup and the profit their sales can form the bulk of the gross margin of a theater. Junk food is a derogatory term, used for any food that is perceived to be unhealthy and has low or poor nutritional value. ... There is more than one usage of the word markup. ... The term margin has many meanings: In telecommunication, margin has the following meanings: In communications systems, the maximum degree of signal distortion that can be tolerated without affecting the restitution, without its being interpreted incorrectly by the decision circuit. ...

Major movie theater companies

North America

A 20-screen AMC Theatres megaplex in Rolling Hills Estates, California. ... Century Theaters is a movie theater chain which operates many multiplexes in the western United States; primarily in California, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona. ... Cinemark Theaters is the third largest movie theatre chain in North America Cinemark Theaters can be found in most major countries. ... Cineplex Odeon Corporation is one of Canadas largest movie theatre operators, with theatres in its home country and the United States. ... State nickname: Tar Heel State Other U.S. States Capital Raleigh Largest city Charlotte Governor Michael Easley (D) Official languages English Area 139,509 kmÂ² (28th) - Land 126,256 kmÂ² - Water 13,227 kmÂ² (9. ... Regal Entertainment Group is North Americas largest movie theater chain, operating 6,119 screens in 562 locations in 39 states. ... Empire Theatres is the only major movie theater circuit operating in Atlantic Canada. ... Toronto ON-based Famous Players is a Canadian company which owns many movie theatres across Canada. ... Viacom (short for Video & Audio Communications) [pronunciation: pre-Redstone/pre-1987: vee-a-com; post-Redstone acquisition: vi-a-com] (NYSE: VIA), (NYSE: VIAB) is an international media conglomerate. ... Goodrich Quality Theaters, Inc. ... Landmark Theatres is the largest art-house movie theater chain in the United States. ... Marquee Cinemas is a chain of movie theaters operated out of Beckley, West Virginia since its 1979 inception. ... National Amusements is a chain of movie theaters spanning 1,300 screens, mainly in the New England area of the United States. ... Viacom (short for Video & Audio Communications) [pronunciation: pre-Redstone/pre-1987: vee-a-com; post-Redstone acquisition: vi-a-com] (NYSE: VIA), (NYSE: VIAB) is an international media conglomerate. ... Rainbow Cinemas and Magic Lantern Cinemas operate discount theatres acorss Canada. ... Regal Entertainment Group is North Americas largest movie theater chain, operating 6,119 screens in 562 locations in 39 states. ... Rave Motion Pictures, often called Rave, is a movie theater, or cinema, formed in 1999. ...

Asia

Golden Harvest (å˜‰ç¦¾) (HKSE: 1132) is a film production, distribution and exhibition company based in Hong Kong. ... World map showing location of Asia Asia is the central and eastern part of the continent of Eurasia, defined by subtracting the European peninsula from Eurasia. ... Golden Village is a cinema operator in Singapore which is a joint venture by Golden Harvest of Hong Kong and Village Roadshow of Australia. ... Village Roadshow is an Australian media company with interests in cinema, theme parks, film production and distribution. ... Golden Harvest (å˜‰ç¦¾) (HKSE: 1132) is a film production, distribution and exhibition company based in Hong Kong. ...

Europe

Cineworld is a UK chain of multiplex cinema theatres. ... Odeon Cinemas are a chain of cinemas in the United Kingdom. ... UGC is the largest European cinema operator with, as of October 2004, 92 sites and 929 screens across six countries: UK: 41 cinemas, 391 screens France: 40 cinemas, 365 screens Spain: 5 cinemas, 88 screens Belgium: 4 cinemas, 56 screens Ireland: 1 cinema, 17 screens Italy: 1 cinema, 12 screens... United Cinemas International or UCI is owned by Terra Firma Capital Partners. ... Vue is a cinema company in the UK. The company was formed in May 2003 when SBC International Cinemas bought Warner Village Cinemas. ...

Australasia

Hoyts are a Australian chain of cinema multiplexes. ... Village Roadshow is an Australian media company with interests in cinema, theme parks, film production and distribution. ...

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