AMC Theatres history

To celebrate both its centennial anniversary and the theater chain reopening after the COVID-19 shutdown, AMC is offering 1920s-era prices for movie tickets at 15 cents a pop on August 20th – the same price it cost for a ticket at the Kansas City theater in 1920.

Stanley Durwood graduated from Harvard in 1943 with a Bachelor of Arts degree.

Stanley therefore grew up with close ties to the movie industry, but he did not formally join the company until 1945.

In 1947 they expanded further with the acquisition of the Liberty Theater in downtown Kansas City which they remodeled and renamed the Roxy.

Loew's Midland Theater, Interior; 1954, before the theater was purchased by Durwood Theaters

When his father died in 1960, Durwood assumed control of the company and experimented further.

In 1961, after Ed died, Stanley took control of Durwood Theatres, which by then was a small ten-theatre chain.

1962 AMC opens the world's first multiplex, the Parkway Twin in Kansas City.

As the sites could not be combined, they opened two theaters side-by-side as the Parkway Twin theatre in 1963.

In 1965, Durwood bought out his brother's and sister's ownership interests.

In 1966, he introduced the first-ever four-plex and, three years later, he introduced the six-plex.

Stanley renamed Durwood Theatres as American Royal Cinema on October 1, 1968 after the American Royal livestock and horse show, but the latter's producers sought an injunction and the name was changed to American Multi-Cinema, Inc.

AMC boosted that figure in 1969 when it opened its first six-screen theater.

A former Marine Corp. captain and fighter pilot, Singleton had been with AMC since 1974.

The Parkway Twin continues operations until 1978.

He was joined by Peter C. Brown, who was appointed chief financial officer and had been with AMC since 1979.

The AMC chain included more than 500 screens in theaters scattered mostly around the Midwest by 1981.

He reluctantly sold about 12 percent of AMC’s stock in 1983 in a bid to raise expansion capital.

By the end of 1984, AMC had boosted the number past the 800 mark, making it the third largest theater company in North America behind General Cinema and United Artists.

Encouraged by healthy returns, Durwood earmarked $70 million for new construction, including at least 200 new screens by 1985.

So Why Does the Stock Sell for 27 Times Earnings?,” Forbes, September 22, 1986.

AMC established another milestone in 1987, when it opened the Century City multiplex in west Los Angeles.

While the first megaplex was built by European chain Kineopolis in 1988, AMC opened the first in North America.

1991 Introduces Clip®, a "film strip" character to serve as an ambassador of the brand and its Silence is Golden® program.

Robert W. Butler, "A Happy 30th Birthday to World's First Multiplex," The Kansas City Star, July 18, 1993.

In 1994, AMC was running 236 theaters with 1,603 screens in 22 states.

Having overseen a period of great expansion, Stanley Durwood's son Edward left the presidency of AMC in 1995, and Philip M. Singleton, chief operating officer, moved into the post.

On December 13, 1996, AMC opened the Ontario Mills 30, a 30-screen theater in Ontario, California, which at the time was the largest multiplex in the world.

In 1999, AMC was running 200 theaters with 2,800 screens in 23 states.

An industry leader in the development and operation of multi-screen cinemas, AMC generated annual ticket sales of nearly $1,030 million in 2000.

"movietickets.com announces agreement with yahoo!," 2 october 2001. available at http://www.investor.amctheatres.com.

But AMC was the first theater chain to introduce the concept in the movie theater space in 2002.

In 2004, AMC Theatres was acquired by Marquee Holdings Inc., an investment vehicle controlled by affiliates of J.P. Morgan Partners, LLC, the private equity arm of JPMorgan Chase, and Apollo Global Management, a private investment firm.

2005 AMC co-founds National CineMedia, which runs all of AMC's preshow entertainment and in-theatre advertising.

2006 AMC expands presence throughout the country with the acquisition of Loews Theatres

2007 AMC partners with IMAX to bring approximately 125 IMAX large-screen digital projection systems to AMC locations around the country.

2008 AMC launches Dine-In Theatres.

Gerardo I. Lopez succeeded Brown as president and CEO of AMC Theatres on March 2, 2009.

2010 AMC acquires Kerasotes theatres and expands its presence in the Midwest.

In September 2011, AMC Theatres announced plans to move its headquarters to a new $30 million four-story building designed by 360 Architecture in the Park Place development at 117th Street and Nall Avenue in Leawood, Kansas in suburban Kansas City.

Prior to joining the Library, he earned his Ph.D. in American history from the University of Kansas in May 2012.

2013 AMC goes public on the New York Stock Exchange.

Gerardo I. Lopez announced his resignation as CEO of AMC in August 2015.

In March 2016, AMC Theatres announced it would acquire competitor Carmike Cinemas.

In July 2017, AMC Theatres announced they would be cutting $30 million in expenses by the end of the year.

In September 2018, Silver Lake Partners made a $600 million investment in AMC Theatres, whose proceeds were used to repurchase approximately 32% of Wanda Group's class B common stock.

In October 2019, AMC began to offer on-demand rentals and purchases of digital film releases under the banner AMC Theatres On Demand.

On March 18, 2020, AMC announced the closure of all of its theaters due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in compliance with CDC guidance against any gathering of over ten people.

On January 26, 2021, AMC stated that it had raised $917 million in new funding, including $506 million in equity and new common shares, and commitments for $411 million in debt financing.