Two independently owned movie theatres in Vancouver are being gobbled up by entertainment giant Cineplex Inc. (TSX:CGX)
Cineplex announced Friday it is buying Fifth Avenue Cinemas and the Park Theatre from Vancouver-based Festival Cinemas.
The two theatres have been owned for more than three decades by Tom Lightburn and Leonard Schein, who are retiring.
As detailed in Business in Vancouver last year, independent theatres in Vancouver have been in a long, steady decline.
According to Schein, Vancouver’s 50 independent theatres have dwindled to about 10 over the years.
“After 35 years, Tom Lightburn and I have decided to retire from theatre exhibition,” said Schein, president of Festival Cinemas.
“We are proud that Canada’s best theatre operator has agreed to purchase these theatres and we know Cineplex will provide our loyal guests Vancouver’s best moviegoing experience.”
Cineplex Entertainment CEO Ellis Jacob said, “We are pleased to add these two iconic Vancouver locations to our theatre circuit.
“We look forward to offering Vancouver movie-goers the many benefits Cineplex has to offer, including access to the SCENE loyalty program and our popular Front Row Centre Events, to name just a few examples.”
Michael Kennedy, executive vice president of Filmed Entertainment, said, “The 5th Avenue and the Park theatres are well known in Vancouver for programming the highest quality art, independent and foreign films.
“Cineplex is absolutely committed to continue to offer intelligent and artistic films from around the world in these theatres going forward.”
Cineplex said it will continue operate the Fifth Avenue and Park cinemas in their current locations “for the foreseeable future.”
Headquartered in Toronto, Cineplex operates 134 theatres across Canada.
