Greater Union Organisation Pty Ltd, trading as Event Cinemas, Greater Union, GU Film House, Moonlight Cinema and Birch Carroll & Coyle (BCC Cinemas), is the largest movie exhibitor in Australia and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, with over 140 cinema complexes currently operating worldwide. The Greater Union Organisation is a subsidiary of the ASX-listed Event Hospitality and Entertainment, a corporation that owns and operates brands in the entertainment, hospitality and leisure sectors, mainly within

Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologi ...

History

The Event Cinemas cinema chain has had a great impact on the Australian culture and film industry, and has a history of

mergers and acquisitions Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred to or consolidated with another company or business organization. As an aspect ...

and liquidations that span over a century.

Early 20th century

From 1906 to 1911, during the silent era, Australia was the most prolific producer of feature films in the world, a period which included the creation of the first feature-length film The Kelly Gang. This creative and fertile period in Australian film history was largely created by competition between West's Pictures, Spencer's Pictures and Amalgamated Pictures. On 4 May 1912 the three joined to form The General Film Company of Australasia. On 4 January 1913 it then merged with The Greater J.D. Williams Amusement Co and restructured to become The Combine, a famous partnership between exhibition wing Union Theatres and the production and distribution wing Australasian Films. The Combine monopoly was highly influential on the early twentieth-century Australian film industry. However, it came under heavy criticism for its low interest in producing Australian films, its preference for imported cinema, and its reluctance to exhibit Australian films by other producers. Film icon and director

Raymond Longford Raymond Longford (born John Walter Hollis Longford, 23 September 18782 April 1959) was a prolific Australian film director, writer, producer and actor during the silent era. Longford was a major director of the silent film era of the Australian ...

, whose independent production company had come under attack by the group, said in 1927 that "had it not been for the activities of that firm in its endeavour to crush it in its infancy, the local picture would now be 10 years at least advanced to the height now attained by the Americans." Historians have traced the sharp decline of the Australian film industry in 1913 to the repercussions of these series of takeovers and mergers. James Sabine has said that "the stranglehold of The Combine forced a decline in local production and contributed to many Australian production companies closing their doors." 1930 Cinesound studios and Crew

The Combine continued to grow into the 1920s during the genesis of the Hollywood era with its focus on exhibiting American films. The Great Depression saw Union Theatres being liquidated in 1931 and its assets purchased by newly formed Greater Union Theatres. This new company split from Australasian Films, established the Hollywood-model subsidiary

Cinesound Productions Cinesound Productions Pty Ltd was an Australian feature film production company, established in June 1931, Cinesound developed out of a group of companies centred on Greater Union Theatres, that covered all facets of the film process, from produ ...

, expanded into radio and newspaper, and kept its major focus on building and managing cinemas. Due to The Depression, Greater Union Theatres merged into the General Film Corporation with

Hoyts The Hoyts Group of companies in Australia and New Zealand includes Hoyts Cinemas and Val Morgan. Hoyts operates more than 450 cinema screens and 55,000 seats, making it Australia's second largest movie exhibitor after Event Hospita ...

, a competitor who had secured Fox Film as a shareholder. In 1937

Norman Rydge Sir Norman Bede Rydge CBE (18 October 190014 May 1980) was an Australian businessman. Biography Rydge was born in Sydney to blacksmith William Henry Rydge and Margaret, ''née'' McSweeney. He attended Woollahra Superior Public School and Fort S ...

became managing director and removed the company from the previous merger.

1945–: post-war expansion

In 1945, the last year of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, there was a box office boom and the British

Rank Organisation The Rank Organisation was a British entertainment conglomerate founded by industrialist J. Arthur Rank in April 1937. It quickly became the largest and most vertically integrated film company in the United Kingdom, owning production, distrib ...

purchased a half share in Greater Union Theatres. During this time Greater Union acquired the rights of ownership of many theatres across the country including what became the

Phoenician Club The Phoenician Club is a former entertainment venue in Sydney, Australia. It was located in Ultimo, New South Wales at the corner of Broadway and Mountain Street, opposite St Barnabas Church. The venue itself had gone through various uses and h ...

Broadway, Sydney Broadway is a road in inner city Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The road constitutes the border between the suburbs of Ultimo (to the north) and Chippendale (to the south). Broadway is also an urban locality. Broadway connects the sou ...

in 1943, originally owned by McIntyre's Broadway Theatres and established as a cinema in 1911. It acquired the

Clifford Theatre Circuit Dan Clifford (1887 – 9 December 1942) was a well-known cinema entrepreneur and philanthropist in South Australia. He was also a keen promoter of the cinema industry, and owned 20 cinemas across the state at the time of his death, including se ...

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

in March 1947. The purchase price of £300,000 for the 22 suburban and regional cinemas was "believed to be the largest motion picture transaction ever made in Australia". The Clifford name was retained as a tribute to the entrepreneur Dan Clifford, and South Australian staff were retained. In 1958 the four holding companies in the Greater Union Theatres group were merged into the Rydge family Amalgamated Holdings Limited (AHL), and in 1965 Greater Union Theatres was renamed the Greater Union Organisation (GUO). In 1980 billionaire Alan Rydge was appointed Chairman of AHL to become the youngest chairman of an Australian public company. In 1975 Greater union bought the old Metro Theatre in

Hindley Street Hindley Street is located in the north-west quarter of the Adelaide city centre, centre of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. It runs between King William Street, Adelaide, King William Street and West Terrace, Adelaide, West Terrace. Th ...

, Adelaide, and redeveloped it as a modern four-screen cinema complex, called Hindley Cinemas 1–4. In October 1980 the company bought the building that had once housed the first cinema in Adelaide, West's Olympia, also in Hindley Street, reopening a rebuilt complex in December 1982 as Hindley Cinemas 5–6. In 1984 AHL regained control over the now-defunct Rank Organisation's half share, meaning that it once again became fully Australian-owned. In 1987 GUO merged with

Village Roadshow Village Roadshow Limited is an Australian company which operates cinemas and theme parks, and produces and distributes films. Before being acquired by private equity company BGH Capital, the company was listed on the Australian Securities Ex ...

to form the distribution company Roadshow Film Distributors, and by that time, GUO and Village Roadshow partnered on a $100 million cinema chain that will see 200 circuits expanded by use by 1990. In 1991 GUO acquired Birch, Carroll & Coyle. In the same year, Hindley Cinemas 1–4 and 5–6 closed.

21st century

In 2003 AHL and Village Roadshow combined to form Australian Theatres. Since 2009 a number of cinemas have been renamed from Greater Union Cinemas to Event Cinemas. On 22 December 2015 AHL was renamed Event Hospitality and Entertainment. In 2019, Birch Carroll & Coyle was inducted into the

Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame In 2009 State Library of Queensland, the Queensland Library Foundation and the QUT Business School The QUT Business School is one of six faculties at the Queensland University of Technology. It is home to the QUT Graduate School of Business, a ...

in recognition of being Australia's leading provincial film distributor and its industry leadership throughout Queensland for 80 years. Event Cinemas (6888281952)

Locations

Australia

Event Cinemas have over sixty cinema venues around Australia, many of which are located in large shopping centres. The cinema complexes comprise multiple screens. The below locations do not include sites that operate under the joint venture between

Village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...

Roadshow and Event Hospitality & Entertainment known as Australian Theatres. New South Wales * Beverly Hills - trading as GU Filmhouse * Blacktown - trading as Skyline Drive-In * Bondi Junction * Burwood * Campbelltown * Castle Hill * Coffs Harbour - trading as BCC Cinemas * Cronulla - trading as GU Filmhouse * Ed Square * Glendale * Hornsby * Hurstville * Kotara * Lismore * Liverpool * Macquarie * Miranda * Parramatta * Shellharbour - trading as Greater Union * Sydney CBD - colloquially known as George St * Top Ryde City * Tuggerah * Wollongong - trading as Greater Union Northern Territory * Casuarina - trading as BCC Cinemas * Palmerston Queensland * Brisbane City * Broadbeach - colloquially known as Pacific Fair * Browns Plains * Cairns Central * Cairns Earlville - trading as BCC Cinemas * Cairns Smithfield * Capalaba - trading as BCC Cinemas * Carindale * Chermside * Coolangatta - trading as BCC Cinemas - Permanently Closed March 9th 2022 * Coomera * Indooroopilly * Kawana * Loganholme * Mackay City - trading as BCC Cinemas - Permanently Closed December 19th 2019 * Mackay Mount Pleasant - trading as BCC Cinemas * Maroochydore - trading as BCC Cinemas * Mt Gravatt - colloquially known as Garden City * Morayfield - trading as BCC Cinemas - Permanently Closed April 13 2022 * Noosa - trading as BCC Cinemas * North Lakes * Robina * Rockhampton North - trading as BCC Cinemas * Southport - colloquially known as Australia Fair * Springfield * Strathpine - trading as BCC Cinemas * Toombul - trading as BCC Cinemas * Toowoomba - trading as BCC Cinemas Grand Central * Toowoomba - trading as BCC Cinemas Toowoomba Strand * Townsville - trading as Event Cinemas Townsville Central * Townsville - trading as Event Cinemas Townsville City South Australia * Adelaide - trading as GU Filmhouse – Permanent Closure announced October 2020 * Arndale - trading as Greater Union – Permanent Closure announced August 2020 * Glenelg - trading as GU Filmhouse * Marion Western Australia * Innaloo * Morley - trading as Greater Union * Whitford With cinema admissions in decline, Event Cinemas has continued to experience growth by raising the price of admissions and offering "premium experiences" such as "Gold Class" which offers more luxury seating and food, "Vmax" which offers a larger screen, and alternate content including

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

films, football, gaming, film festivals, opera and stand-up comedy events. Event Cinemas Whitford

Fiji

Within Fiji, Damodar Event Cinemas is a joint venture between

Village Cinemas Village Cinemas is an Australian-based multinational film exhibition brand that mainly shows blockbuster, mainstream, children and family films and some arthouse, foreign language and documentary films. Since 2003, its Australian sites becam ...

, and the Fijian-based Damodar Brothers, who operate the existing two-cinema chain under licence since 2010. The brand has since changed its name to "Damodar Cinemas". * Damodar City - trading as Damodar Event Cinemas

New Zealand

Event Cinemas operates cinemas in New Zealand's major urban centres, including the Embassy Theatre in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

. Hollywood blockbusters are regularly shown alongside arthouse features and film festivals such as the

New Zealand International Film Festival New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

. * Albany * Auckland - colloquially known as Queen St * Blenheim * Broadway * Chartwell * Coastlands * Dunedin - trading as Rialto Cinemas * Havelock North * Henderson - colloquially known as Westcity * Manukau * Mt Maunganui * Newmarket - trading as Rialto Cinemas * New Plymouth * Palmerston North * Sandringham - colloquially known as St Lukes * Tauranga * Tauranga Crossing * Queensgate * Wellington - trading as The Embassy * Westgate * Whangarei

Experiences

Gold Class

Gold Class cinemas, a luxury cinema format, is provided at a number of Event/BCC/Greater Union Cinemas locations in Australia, New Zealand & Fiji. Gold Class Cinemas include butlered refreshments, à la carte menu offerings and reclining seats in a cinema with a small number of seats.

first originated the concept of Gold Class, and has since popularised with the integration into the Event Group. All Gold Class Cinemas are operated in separate areas within regular cinema complexes. Event/BCC/Greater Union Gold Class branded cinemas are located at: In Australia: * Bondi Junction * Broadbeach - colloquially known as Pacific Fair * Campbelltown * Carindale * Castle Hill * Chermside * Coomera * Mt Gravatt - colloquially known as Garden City * Indooroopilly * Innaloo * Kawana * Kotara * Loganholme * Macquarie * Marion * Miranda * North Lakes * Parramatta * Robina * Southport - colloquially known as Australia Fair * Springfield * Sydney CBD - colloquially known as George St * Whitford In Fiji: * Damodar Event Cinemas In New Zealand: * Albany * Auckland - colloquially known as Queen St

V-Max

V-Max cinemas feature enhanced film display, picture quality, and immersive surround sound. The screens at V-Max used to be a minimum width of 25 meters or greater, however, that was lowered to 20 metres in 2010. V-Max cinemas are placed in large auditoriums which feature larger seats, stadium seating and wider arm-rests. Some locations also feature

Dolby Atmos Dolby Atmos is a surround sound technology developed by Dolby Laboratories. It expands on existing surround sound systems by adding height channels, allowing sounds to be interpreted as three-dimensional objects with neither horizontal, nor verti ...

. The V-Max format is also provided at many Event Cinemas sites in Australia and New Zealand. V-Max Cinemas are usually separate from the normal cinema complexes, like the Gold Class. There are certain locations that has Dolby Atmos surround sound included in their V-Max cinemas (brackets indicating). V-Max Cinema locations include: In Australia: * Adelaide (Dolby Atmos) * Bondi Junction * Brisbane City Myer Centre * Browns Plains * Burwood * Cairns Central * Cairns Smithfield (Dolby Atmos) * Campbelltown * Carindale * Castle Hill * Chermside * Coomera (Dolby Atmos) * Ed Square (Dolby Atmos) * Garden City Mt Gravatt * George Street (Sydney CBD) (Dolby Atmos) * Glendale * Hornsby * Hurstville (Dolby Atmos) * Indooroopilly * Innaloo * Kawana (Dolby Atmos) * Kotara (Dolby Atmos) * Liverpool * Loganholme * Marion * Miranda (Dolby Atmos) * North Lakes (Dolby Atmos) * Pacific Fair (Dolby Atmos) * Palmerston (Dolby Atmos) * Parramatta * Robina * Springfield (Dolby Atmos) * Top Ryde City * Townsville City * Tuggerah * Whitford (Dolby Atmos) In New Zealand: * Queensgate Shopping Centre (Dolby Atmos) * Westfield St Lukes * Westfield Manukau * Westfield Albany * Westfield Newmarket (Dolby Atmos) * Tauranga Crossing (Dolby Atmos)

IMAX with Laser

IMAX with Laser uses precision lasers a sharper brighter images. This technology is currently avaliable at Event Cinemas Auckland (Queen St) and Event Cinemas Queensgate (Wellington)

Digital 3D

GUO converted most of their Australian auditoriums and flagship cinemas to digital projectors. The installation of these projectors means that most auditoriums are now RealD Cinema 3D capable.

4DX

In late 2018, the first 4DX screen owned by the Event Group was opened in George Street (Sydney CBD). 4DX stimulates all five senses, featuring moving seats and special effects including wind, fog, water and scents that synchronise with the action on screen.

Boutique

EVENT Boutique cinemas feature recliners with footrest, and in-cinema food-and-drink service. Guests have access to the Boutique Cinema 30 minutes prior to their session. Boutique is currently available at Event Cinemas George St (Sydney CBD).

Moonlight Cinema

Moonlight Cinema is an Outdoor cinema, outdoor seasonal exhibitor that operates in most Australian metropolitan areas. Moonlight was acquired by EVENT in 2010 from Prime Media Group for $1.75million. The division continues to grow and has signed 3 new venue contracts since its acquisition, and currently operates in: New South Wales *

Centennial Parklands Centennial Parklands is the name given to a group of three urban parklands located in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Comprising approximately , the lands encompass Centennial Park, Moore Park and Queen's Park ...

, Sydney. *

Western Sydney Parklands The Western Sydney Parklands is an urban park system and a nature reserve located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The NSW government has spent around $400 million for the park. The park is governed by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife ...

, Sydney. Queensland * Roma Street Parkland,

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

. South Australia * Botanic Park,

. Victoria * Royal Botanic Gardens,

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. Western Australia * Kings Park,

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

. In addition, each venue offers 'Gold Grass' a luxurious outdoor-cinema experience, similar to the offerings of Event Cinemas' 'Gold Class'.

Cinebuzz Rewards

All cinema brands trading under EVENT, including Greater Union and BCC cinemas, share the benefits of the Cinebuzz Rewards Program. Free for members, the program grants access to advance screenings, ticket discounts, and one free movie ticket for every six movies viewed at EVENT. The program is aimed at encouraging brand loyalty and recognising VIP Customers and currently has over 3 million members in Australia.

Controversy

The exhibition and production company that became Event Cinemas has been widely criticised as the cause of the downfall of early Australian film, which was argued to be the best in the world at the time. In 2005, Event Cinemas banned people from bringing their own food and drink into the cinema. After negative public reaction and a threat of investigation by NSW Fair Trading, the company was forced to revoke the rule. People complained that Event Cinema's food was more than double the price of that in supermarkets and had less variety. In 2012, Australian journalist Tim Burrowes attended a screening of ''

Skyfall ''Skyfall'' is a 2012 spy film and the twenty-third in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions. The film is the third to star Daniel Craig as fictional MI6 agent James Bond and features Javier Bardem as Raoul Silva, the vill ...

'' at an Event Cinema. There were various technical difficulties which resulted in the audience being asked to leave and a manager threatening Burrowes for filming the crowd's reactions. In the lead up to the 2016 Australian Federal Election, Chairman Alan Rydge was reported to have donated to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's controversial political fund the Wentworth Forum. There have been numerous incidents of faulty popcorn machines causing fires to break out in Event Cinema complexes, including Top Ryde in 2011,

and Rockhampton in September 2015,

in December 2015, and Sydney in August 2016.

References

External links

Event Cinemas Australia Official SiteEvent Cinemas New Zealand Official SiteEvent Hospitality & Entertainment Limited Official SiteEvent Cinemas Australia FacebookEvent Cinemas Australia Twitter
{{CinemaofAustralia Cinema chains in Australia Cinemas in New Zealand Entertainment companies established in 1913 1913 establishments in Australia