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The AMC/Loews Cineplex Merger Column for August 1, 2005

<%FloatImg "images/flinn/suburban1.jpg", "Suburban Detroit Ford-Tel", "left", "location.asp?id=466&type=5"%> On June 21, the AMC Theatre chain (based in Kansas City, MO) and the Loews Cineplex chain (based in New York City) announced a merger with the merged company adopting the AMC name. The merger of #2 AMC with #3 Loews would create a strong #2 behind the #1 chain in the USA, Regal Entertainment Group (which previously absorbed United Artists Theatres) whose theaters in Michigan are in Monroe and Walled Lake. AMC and Loews combine more than 180 years in the exhibition business. <%FloatImg "images/flinn/ud1.jpg", "United Detroit Norwest", "right", "location.asp?id=705&type=5"%> AMC began in 1920 when Edward Durwood opened the Durwood Theatre in Kansas City, Missouri. His son, Stanley H. Durwood, joined the small theater chain in 1945 and became president of Durwood Theatres in 1960. Stanley began experimenting in theater configurations in the 1950s which led to the first twin theater located in a shopping mall in Kansas City in 1963. He built the first four-screen muliplex theater in 1966 and the first six-screen theater in 1969. Also in 1969, Stanley Durwood changed the name of Durwood Theatres to American Multi-Cinema, Inc., or AMC, to honor Durwood’s creation of the multiplex cinema. Stanley Durwood died in 1999. AMC began in Michigan with the Meridian Theatres in the Meridian Mall in Okemos near Lansing which had four screens originally and would peak with 14 screens on three sites (the 4 East, the 4 West and the Outer 6) at the Meridian Mall. AMC entered the Detroit market by buying two local theater chains, Suburban Detroit Theatres and Nicholas George Theatres in the mid-1980s. You can read more about AMC Theatres’ history at http://www.amctheatres.com/aboutamc/ourhistory.html <%FloatImg "images/flinn/amc2.jpg", "AMC Eastland 2 Lobby", "left", "location.asp?id=940&type=5"%> The Loews name is the oldest one in the movie exhibition business. It was founded in 1904 by Marcus Loew. Loew is more famous for his creation in 1924 of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to create a source of quality movies for his theaters. Unfortunately, Mr. Loew would not be able to enjoy MGM’s success for he died in 1927. As part of anti-trust action against the motion picture industry, MGM and Loews had to part company in 1954. Loews branched out into hotels, tobacco and Bulova watches among other things and sold the theater chain in 1985. The Loews Corp. URL is http://www.loews.com The history of Loews Theatres is well represented on the Internet and you will find several examples using your favorite search engine. The official Loews history page is at http://www.enjoytheshow.com/corpinfo/history.html <%FloatImg "images/flinn/amc1.jpg", "AMC Forum 30", "right", "location.asp?id=1184&type=5"%> The present Loews Cineplex was established 1998 by the merger of Loews Theatres with the Cineplex Odeon theater chain which was founded in Canada in 1979. Cineplex Odeon entered the American marketplace with the purchase of Plitt Theatres in 1985. Plitt was founded in 1974 by ABC Theatres executive Henry Plitt who bought part of the ABC Theatre chain including the locations in Michigan. ABC Theatres’ history goes back to the old Paramount Theatres monopoly including United Detroit Theatres. More about that at http://www.cobbles.com/simpp_archive/simpp_1948detroit.htm Because there are ample resources about AMC and Loews Cineplex on the Internet which I do not need to duplicate, I will devote the rest of this column to a pair of former theater owners, married to each other and to the theater business who became a Michigan success story. So I salute Jim and Barrie Lawson Loeks, founders of Loews-owned Star Theatres. <%FloatImg "images/flinn/star1.jpg", "Star Lincoln Park 8", "left", "location.asp?id=1012&type=5"%> Jim Loeks was born into the theater business as his father was Jack Loeks whose theater chain he founded is still a major player in Michigan at http://www.bigscreenmovies.com Jim met his future wife Barrie while they were both students at the University of Michigan. After graduation, Jim worked for his father’s theater chain while Barrie was originally a practicing attorney before she was asked to join Jack Loeks Theatres as a vice president and general counsel. Jim and Barrie developed their own ideas about how a movie theater should be run and left Jack Loeks Theatres to strike out on their own. In 1983, they determined that Detroit lacked ‘a really great movie theater’ and bought a twin theater in the Winchester Mall in Rochester. The theater was only secondary. Jim and Barrie were about to introduce "Star Service." The philosophy was so simple it amazed the Loekses that they were the first to bring it to the Detroit market: customers always first, customers always right, next-in-line service, managers on call, free drink refills, after-theater mints, friendly greetings from tuxedoed employees. And, if customers had a problem, employees were instructed to solve it immediately, and throw in a free Coke for good measure. <%FloatImg "images/flinn/star2.jpg", "Star Southfield 20", "right", "location.asp?id=1175&type=5"%> The Winchester Twin Theater was so successful that they built a concept multiplex, the eight-screen Star Theatre in Lincoln Park. This became the prototype for the Star Theatres which followed. The success of Jim and Barrie’s Star Theatre got the attention of Columbia Pictures Entertainment which owned the Loews Theatre chain at that time. In 1988, Columbia/Loews invested a 50% interest in what became Loeks-Star Theatres. With the additional money, Jim and Barrie went on a building binge building additional Star Theatres in metro Detroit, Holland and Grand Rapids. Sony inherited Loews Theatres and their interest in Loeks-Star Theatres when they bought Columbia Pictures Entertainment in 1989. The Star Theatres were wildly successful and led to the closing of rival theaters run by such chains as AMC and National Amusements. The Star Southfield megaplex caused the AMC Southfield (formerly Americana) to close. The Star Great Lakes Crossing in Auburn Hills forced National Amusements to completely pull out of the Pontiac area. Jim and Barrie were promoted to run the entire Loews theater chain in 1992. Loews Cineplex bought out Jim and Barrie’s interest in Loeks-Star Theatres in 2002 for $69 million. The Star Theatres at that point became a wholly owned subsidiary of Loews Cineplex which still maintains the URL http://www.startheatres.com <%FloatImg "images/flinn/star3.jpg", "Star Great Lakes Crossing", "left", "location.asp?id=371&type=5"%> What are Jim and Barrie Loeks doing nowadays? They’ve turned to the Broadway stage as producers and are part of the Dramatic Forces production company. That company’s Broadway productions are listed at http://www.ibdb.com/person.asp?id=104806 AMC presently operates the Laurel Park 10 and Livonia 20 in Livonia, the Forum 30 in Sterling Heights and the Meridian Mall 6 (formerly the Outer 6) in Okemos outside Lansing. The Star Theatres which Loews Cineplex operates are listed at http://www.startheatres.com/theatres/star.cfm By request, my next planned column will be devoted to a theater chain mentioned in this column which is the dominant theater operator in the Flint area.

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