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| History | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2>
The story of Greater Union begins in 1910, when Thomas James West established West's Pictures. Over the next three years the company merged with other existing film distributors, first becoming 'the General Film Co of Australasia', then 'Union Theatres and Australasian Films'
During the 1920s the organisation grew further, developing a relationship with Queensland's Birch, Carroll & Coyle, a brand that Greater Union maintains to this day. The Great Depression of the 1930s caused significant changes for the group. Union Theatres was liquidated, and its assets purchased by Greater Union Theatres. British Empire Films, the National Theatre Supply Co., and Cinesound all derived from 'Union Theatres and Australasian Films'[citation needed].
In 1945 the Rank Organisation purchased 50% of the now stable Greater Union Theatres. The name changed to 'Greater Union Organisation', or GUO in the 1950s, a time which saw the formation of strategic alliances with Hoyts and the predecessor to Village Roadshow (1955 and 60) in order to exploit opening markets. GUO expanded by acquiring the MGM Theatres cinema chain in 1971, the Western Australia based Ace Group in 1986, and completing their acquisition of Birch, Carroll & Coyle in 1991. The majority of the GUO sites are a joint venture with Village Cinemas (trading as: Australian Theatres). In NSW, ACT, QLD, SA and WA they trade under the GU and BCC brands but in Victoria under the Village banner. GUO has since expanded into Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates.[2] acquired control from the Rank Organisation in 1984, and continues to run the company today.
In 2003, AHL sold 50% of its Australian cinema operations to Village Roadshow in exchange for a partnership to form a joint venture, Australian Theatres[citation needed].
The group has rebranded several of its premier Australian and New Zealand cinemas as Event Cinemas since 2009.[3][4]
A recent development application to the City of Sydney for new signage for the George Street Cinemas,[5] an expo for new employees in an area traditionally served by the Birch, Carol and Coyle brand[6] and the launch of the V-Max brand (replacing G*MAX and including a new logo for Gold Class) was an indication that AHL planned to re-brand part of its operations under the "Event Cinemas" banner.
Event Cinemas opened at Castle Hill's Castle Towers on 20 June 2009, replacing the old 6 screen complex built in 1993. It was architecturally designed by Sydney's INDYK Architects with five auditoriums and a bar. This new location, while marketed as "completely new", is functionally identical to other "Gold Class" locations in Greater Union and Birch, Carrol and Coyle cinemas[citation needed]. Since then Event Cinemas has been rolled out across the nation at premier sites.
Amalgamated Holdings purchased a chain of New Zealand and Fijian cinemas from Skycity Entertinment Group in February 2010, having received New Zealand Government consent under the state's Overseas Investment Act.[7][8] Event Cinemas New Zealand has previously operated as Skycity Cinemas under Skycity Entertainment Group, Village Sky City under a Village Roadshow-Skycity Entertainment Group joint venture, and Village Roadshow Cinemas under Village Roadshow ownership.
[edit] Tags:Type,Subsidiary,Cinema,Australia,Cinema Multiplexes,New Zealand,Fiji,Village Roadshow,Australian Theatres,Edit,Queensland,Great Depression,Rank Organisation,Hoyts,Western Australia,Singapore,United Arab Emirates,Castle Towers,Fijian,Skycity Entertinment Group,New Zealand Government,Skycity Entertainment Group,Village Cinemas,Loyalty Programme,New South Wales,Drive In Theater,Westfield Bondi Junction,Cbd,George Street,Stockland Glendale,Westfield Hornsby,Westfield Hurstville,Westfield Liverpool,Westfield Miranda,Westfield Parramatta,Top Ryde City Shopping Centre,Westfield Tuggerah,Australia Fair Shopping Centre,Myer Centre,Cairns,Westfield Chermside,Mount Gravatt,Westfield Garden City,Sunshine Plaza,Pacific Fair,Robina Town Centre,Westfield Strathpine,Innaloo,Morley,Centro Galleria,Westfield Whitford City,Lakeside Joondalup,South Australia,Arndale,Kilkenny,Westfield Marion,Megaplex Marion,Northern Territory,Victoria,Russell Street,Melbourne,Canberra,Manuka, | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| V-Max | 3>
V-Max (written as Vmax) cinemas feature stadium style seating with a giant state-of-the-art 20m+ silver screens capable of showing the latest in digital 3D film product as well as all the latest blockbusters. Each V-Max cinema contains stadium style seating and extra leg room. These cinemas were previously branded as G-Max cinemas. V-Max cinemas can also be found at Village Cinemas complexes.
[edit] | Tags: Gold Class | 3>
Gold Class Cinema interior with Sponsoreship
Gold Class cinemas have between 24 to 40 recliner seats and are offered at a premium rate. The seating is superior to a traditional cinema layout and the experience is complemented by a full bar service including an in-house menu. Food and drink are ordered prior to the screening and delivered at predetermined times during the movie.[9] The experience is also offered at Village Cinemas[10]
[edit] | Tags: Allocated Seating | 3>
At the beginning of 2007, allocated seating was rolled out in the majority of Greater Union and Birch Carroll & Coyle cinemas nationwide, which had much dislikeness by people. Tickets were sold online incurring an additional booking fee allowing patrons to purchase their ticket in advance. This initiative was launched under the banner Jump the Queue.[11]
[edit] | Tags: Cine Buzz Club | 3>
The Cine Buzz Club is a loyalty programme exclusive to Greater Union, Birch Carroll & Coyle and Event Cinemas. Cine Buzz members are given a rewards card with unique number and are prompted to offer this number at the time of ticket purchase. Once ten movies are recorded against the Cine Buzz number a free movie is credited to the members' card.[12]
[edit] | Tags: New South Wales | 3>
In New South Wales there are numerous locations including:
Beverly Hills
Blacktown Drive-In is Sydney's last Drive In Theater cinema complex.[13][14] It comprises 2 screens featuring 35mm and 70mm projection, as well as Dolby Stereo Sound and is branded Greater Union.
Bondi Junction is located at Westfield Bondi Junction and is branded as Event Cinemas.
Burwood, is branded as Event Cinemas.
Campbelltown, is branded as Event Cinemas.
Castle Hill MEGAPLEX, is branded as Event Cinemas.
Coffs Harbour, is branded as Birch Carroll & Coyle.
Cronulla
George Street, a 16 screen complex in the CBD, located on George Street and branded as Event Cinemas.
Glendale, located at Stockland Glendale, was launched as Greater Union, but was rebranded as Event Cinemas in 2011.
Hornsby, is located at Westfield Hornsby was re-branded as Event Cinemas in April 2011.
Hurstville, is located at Westfield Hurstville and is branded as Greater Union.
Lismore, is located in the Lismore town centre and is branded as Birch Carroll & Coyle.
Liverpool, is located at Westfield Liverpool and was previously branded as Greater Union which is now Event Cinemas.
Macquarie MEGAPLEX, is branded as Event Cinemas, has three Gold Class cinemas, twelve Senstadium cinemas, as well as one new concept cinema Silverscreen cinema and bar.[15]
Miranda, is located at Westfield Miranda and is branded as Greater Union.
Mosman, is branded as Greater Union.
Newcastle, is branded as Greater Union.
Parramatta, is located at Westfield Parramatta and is branded as Event Cinemas.
Top Ryde, is located at Top Ryde City Shopping Centre and is branded as Event Cinemas with 7 traditional cinemas and one V-max cinema with its own bar and lounge.
Shellharbour, is branded as Greater Union.
Tuggerah, is located at Westfield Tuggerah and is branded as Greater Union.
Wollongong, is located on Burelli Street, Wollongong and is branded Greater Union.
[edit] | Tags: Queensland | 3>
The organisation has its greatest presence in Queensland, where its cinemas are branded as Birch Carroll & Coyle, except as stated. Locations include:
The Myer Centre in Brisbane showing Cinema Signage
Australia Fair Cinema, located at Australia Fair Shopping Centre
Brisbane City Myer Centre, located at the Myer Centre on Elizabeth Street
Brisbane City Regent
Browns Plains
Cairns Central
Cairns City
Cairns Earlville
Capalaba
Carindale
Chermside MEGAPLEX, located at Westfield Chermside and branded as Event Cinemas
Coolangatta
Garden City Mount Gravatt, located at Westfield Garden City
Indooroopilly MEGAPLEX, branded as Event Cinemas
Ipswich
Mackay City
Mackay Mount Pleasant
Maroochydore, Sunshine Plaza
Morayfield
Pacific Fair
Robina, located at Robina Town Centre and branded as Event Cinemas
Rockhampton North
Strathpine, located at Westfield Strathpine
Toowoomba Grand Central
Toowoomba Strand
Townsville Cinemas
[edit] | Tags: Western Australia | 3>
Galleria Morley, a Greater Union Location
In Western Australia, there are two locations:
Innaloo, branded as Event Cinemas,[4] and
Morley, at Centro Galleria, branded as Greater Union.
The group also holds the lease to cinemas at Westfield Whitford City and Lakeside Joondalup which are subleased to Grand Cinemas.[16] The Innaloo site is Western Australia's largest cinema complex[4] and includes four Gold Class screens and a function centre. Even though it is the largest complex in the state, it only has one more screen than Hoyts Carousel, which has 15 screens.
Greater Union Joondalup is sub-leased to Grand Cinemas
[edit] | Tags: South Australia | 3>
There are currently two cinemas located in South Australia.
Arndale, located in the suburb of Kilkenny is branded as Greater Union.
Marion MEGAPLEX, located at Westfield Marion and branded as Event Cinemas. It opened as Greater Union in 1997, after Westfield Marion underwent a major renovation. In late 2003 to early 2004, Megaplex Marion underwent renovations, which resulted in 7 of the small cinemas being converted in to 3 Gold Class cinemas, capable of seating up to 90 people, 30 in each cinema. In March 2009, Marion Megaplex underwent further renovation to include two V-Max Cinemas and was re-branded as Event Cinemas[citation needed].
[edit] | Tags: Northern Territory | 3>
There are two cinemas located in the Northern Territory, branded as Birch Carroll & Coyle:
Casuarina, located at Casuarina Square Shopping Centre, and
Darwin, located in the city on the cnr Mitchell & Briggs Streets.
[edit] | Tags: Victoria | 3>
In Victoria, there is a single Greater Union cinema:
Melbourne City Cinema, located on Russell Street, in the Melbourne City Centre.
[edit] | Tags: ACT | 3>
In Canberra, there is one Greater Union cinema:
Manuka Cinemas. A previous location in Civic closed late 2007 to make way for rival cinema chain, Dendy, which opened at the Canberra Centre around the same time[citation needed].
[edit] | Tags: New Zealand | 3>
Event Cinemas New Zealand owns 106 cinema screens in 14 multiplexes across New Zealand. The brand was launched with live 3D screenings of FIFA World Cup 2010 matches, and Amalgamated Holdings promises to introduce 3D screens to all cinemas by 2011 and to make all screens digital by 2013.[17] New Zealand's most visited cinema multiplex and the chain's New Zealand flagship is located at Skycity Metro on Auckland’s Queen Street and features New Zealand’s largest cinema screen as part of an IMAX sub-complex. Other multiplexes are located at:
Broadway
Westfield Manukau City
Westfield St Lukes
Westfield WestCity
Centreplace Mall
Westgate
Westfield Queensgate
The Embassy
Westfield Chartwell
Westfield Albany
Whangarei
New Plymouth
In addition, Events also co-owns metropolitan art-house cinema chain Rialto Cinemas with Reading Entertainment, a chain which Village Roadshow, Rialto and Skycity Entertainment Group have all previously co-owned.[18]
[edit] | Tags: Greater Union and Hoyts | 2>
Greater Union had previously ran in partnership with Hoyts in several locations in Sydney, Perth, Brisbane including Sydney's CBD location. As of December 2005, Hoyts and Greater Union have separated their joint ventures in these locations [19]
[edit] | Tags: See also | 2>
Australian Theatres
Regent Cinemas
Reading Cinemas
The Movie Masters Cinema Group
Village Cinemas
Wallis Cinemas
Warner Village Cinemas
[edit] | Tags: References | 2>
^ http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=81676239
^ "Amalgamated Holdings Limited". http://www.ahl.com.au/. Retrieved unknown.
^ Neil Dowling and Michael Bennet (10 May 2009). "Greater Union to give cinemas major makeover". Perth Now. http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/greater-union-unveils-event/story-0-1225710850110. Retrieved 10 December 2009. [dead link]
^ a b c Ben-Rutherford (19 May 2009). "Going to the Movies is now an EVENT!". Movieblog. http://movieblog.greaterunion.com.au/index.asp?id=1342. Retrieved 29 December 2009.
^ City of Sydney Development Application D/2008/1530/A
^ "Jobs Expo". http://jobs.careerone.com.au/texis/jobsearch/details.html?id=49d7087248d8a90. Retrieved 31 December 2008.
^ "Sky City cinemas sold". Stuff.co.nz. Reuters. 24 November 2009. http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/market-data/3092826/Sky-City-cinemas-sold. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
^ "Sky City cinema deal moves". Stuff.co.nz. NZPA. 7 January 2010. http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/3212687/Sky-City-cinema-deal-moves. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
^ Cronulla Cineas Reviews. "What is Gold Class?". http://www.cronullacinemas.com.au/GoldClass. Retrieved 29 December 2009. [dead link]
^ Village Cinemas. "Village Cinemas Gold Class". http://www.villagecinemas.com.au/goldclass/. Retrieved 29 December 2009.
^ "Jump the Queue". http://www.eventcinemas.com.au/online-ticketing/movies/movietimes.asp?search=movie&movieID=7370. Retrieved 29 December 2009.
^ "CINE BUZZ Club; Watch 10 movie and get 1 FREE". http://www.topbargains.com.au/s/cine-buzz-club-watch-10-movie-and-get-1-free. Retrieved 29 December 2009.
^ "Greater Union Blacktown Cinema Info". http://www.eventcinemas.com.au/Cinema/Details/5. Retrieved 29 December 2009.
^ "Bass Hill Greater Union Drive In". http://sydney.diarystar.com.au/bass-hill-greater-union-drivein-theatre/. Retrieved 29 December 2009.
^ "Greater Union Homepage". http://www.greaterunion.com.au/. Retrieved unknown.
^ Total Travel .com (10 May 2009). "Greater Union Whitford City". http://www.totaltravel.com.au/travel/wa/pertharea/sunsetcoast/attractions/cinema/10012409. Retrieved 10 December 2009.
^ "What do you dislike about going to the cinema?". The New Zealand Herald. 1 June 2010. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10648863. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
^ http://www.rialto.co.nz/vistait/village/Default.aspx?Control=AboutUs
^ "ACCC approves Hoyts - GU divorce". The Sydney Morning Herald. 7 December 2005. http://smh.com.au/news/BUSINESS/ACCC-approves-Hoyts-GU-divorce/2005/12/07/1133829653515.html. Retrieved unknown.
[edit] | Tags: External links | 2>
Event Cinemas Australia Official Site
Greater Union Official Site
Amalgamated Holdings Limited Official Site
Event Cinemas New Zealand Official Site
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Event_Cinemas&oldid=493136256"
Categories: Cinema chains in AustraliaCinemas in New ZealandHidden categories: All articles with dead external linksArticles with dead external links from October 2010All articles with unsourced statementsArticles with unsourced statements from December 2009
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