Famous Players Limited Partnership, DBA Famous Players, is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

-based subsidiary of Cineplex Entertainment. As an independent company, it existed as a

film exhibitor A movie theater (American English), cinema (British English), or cinema hall ( Indian English), also known as a movie house, picture house, the movies, the pictures, picture theater, the silver screen, the big screen, or simply theater is a ...

and

cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with bro ...

service provider. Famous Players operated numerous

movie A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

locations in Canada from

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic Canada, Atlantic region. The province comprises t ...

. The company was owned by Viacom Canada but was sold to Onex Corporation-owned Cineplex Galaxy LP in 2005.

History

Beginnings

Famous Players Canadian Corporation dates back to the early days of

Famous Players Film Company The Famous Players Film Company was a film company founded in 1912 by Adolph Zukor in partnership with the Frohman brothers, powerful New York City theatre impresario. History Discussions to form the company were held at The Lambs, a famous th ...

(later Paramount Pictures), founded in 1912, as its earliest predecessor, though that company did not have any operations in Canada until 1920, when it bought Nathan Nathanson's Paramount Theatre chain, which Nathanson had established four years earlier.The Canadian "Paramount Theatre" chain was not affiliated with the American chain with the same name. Nathanson, along with being the 5th richest person in the world, became the first president of the resulting entity, Famous Players Canadian Corporation Limited. In 1923, Famous Players bought out rival Allen Theatres, acquiring many buildings in the process . The Famous Players Theatres chain was always strongly linked with Paramount, and was a wholly owned subsidiary of Paramount Communications at the time that firm was acquired by Viacom in 1994. Some of the most high-profile and popular theatres in the Famous Players chain were the Imperial and the Uptown in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

; and the Capitol, Orpheum,

Stanley Stanley may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film * ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy * ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short * ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...

, and Strand in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

. Originally began with 13 theatres located in Ontario and British Columbia, the company quickly expanded its holdings to 100 by the end of 1926. Until the 1950s, the company continued to build its operations in the movie theatre sector. In 1952, however, Famous Players began to invest in the new technology. First, the company purchased the rights to a coinbox system that connected to television sets. A year later, it purchased its first broadcasting assets,

CKCO-TV CKCO-DT (channel 13) is a television station in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. Part of the CTV Television Network, it is owned-and-operated station, owned and operated by network parent Bell Media alongside London, Ontario, London-based CTV 2 statio ...

Kitchener, Ontario ) , image_flag = Flag of Kitchener, Ontario.svg , image_seal = Seal of Kitchener, Canada.svg , image_shield=Coat of arms of Kitchener, Canada.svg , image_blank_emblem = Logo of Kitchener, Ontario.svg , blank_emblem_type = ...

and

CFCM-TV CFCM-DT, virtual channel 4.1 ( UHF digital channel 17), is a TVA owned-and-operated television station licensed to Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The station is owned by the Groupe TVA subsidiary of Quebecor Media. CFCM-DT's studios are located o ...

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is t ...

. At the end of the 1950s, the company acquired the first of many cable TV companies it would come to own, thus adding control over the distribution of its TV product. As the industry grew, starting in the mid-1960s, so did the assets of Famous Players in this segment. In 1971, the company sold off the majority of its shareholdings in its movie theatre and other non-TV-related entertainment holdings to Gulf + Western Canada and subsequently changed its name to Canadian Cablesystems Limited, reflecting the new focus of its operations. Canadian Cablesystems was the owner and operator of Metro Cable, which served parts of

Metro Toronto The Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto was an upper-tier level of municipal government in Ontario, Canada, from 1953 to 1998. It was made up of the old city of Toronto and numerous townships, towns and villages that surrounded Toronto, whic ...

, as well as a minority shareholder in several other cable companies, until it was purchased by Rogers Cablesystems Ltd. (founded by Ted Rogers) in 1978. Most famously, Famous Players Theatres allowed the lease on a property containing the entrance of one of its flagship

locations, the Imperial Six, to lapse in 1986. Cineplex immediately took over the lease, denying Famous Players Theatres access to the portion of the property that they already owned outright. Famous Players eventually sold its property to Cineplex Odeon Cinemas, on the condition it never again be used to show filmed entertainment. Cineplex's live-theatre division renovated the theatre; renamed the Pantages Theatre, it hosted ''

The Phantom of the Opera ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (french: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra) is a novel by French author Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serial in from 23 September 1909 to 8 January 1910, and was released in volume form in late March 1910 by Pier ...

'' for ten years. The theatre was renamed the Canon in 2001 and then again in 2011 as the

Ed Mirvish Theatre The Ed Mirvish Theatre, also currently known by naming rights sponsorship as CAA Ed Mirvish Theatre, is a historic film and play theatre in the downtown core of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was initially known as the Pantages Theatre, then becam ...

, which it is currently known, in honour of the popular businessman and ironically Mr. Drabinsky's main competitor in live theatre in Toronto.

Growth and challenges

Famous Players expanded throughout the 1990s. In 1993 Barbara Turnbull made a complaint with the

Ontario Human Rights Commission The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) was established in the Canadian province of Ontario on March 29, 1961, to administer the Ontario Human Rights Code. The OHRC is an arm's length agency of government accountable to the legislature through ...

over lack of accessibility in cinemas operated by Famous Players; in 2001 the commission ruled in her favor, however two cinemas were closed instead of made fully accessible. Under chairman John Bailey, Famous Players re-built its infrastructure from 1996 to 2003 with new "megaplex" theatre brands featuring

stadium seating Stadium seating or theater seating is a characteristic seating arrangement that is most commonly associated with performing-arts venues, and derives its name from stadiums, which typically use this arrangement. Description In stadium seating, ...

, such as SilverCity and Coliseum, with food courts and video games. Around that time,

AMC Theatres AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. (d/b/a AMC Theatres, originally an abbreviation for American Multi-Cinema; often referred to simply as AMC and known in some countries as AMC Cinemas or AMC Multi-Cinemas) is an American movie theater chain fou ...

entered the Canadian market, and most of the traditional ties between the existing chains and the major studios began to unwind, putting all three chains in full-on competition in several major markets. The company once operated a number of drive-in theatres, but most have been closed and replaced with modern theatres. Until 2004, it operated theatres in the Maritimes, none of which were branded-concept theatres; these were sold to the region's dominant exhibitor, Empire Theatres.

Sale to Cineplex Galaxy and aftermath

In February 2005, Viacom announced the sale of Famous Players for $400 million. Cineplex Galaxy, controlled by Onex Corporation acquired Famous Players from Viacom for $500 million (about US$397 million) in June 2005, with the deal being completed on July 22. To satisfy antitrust concerns, on August 22, 2005, the group announced the sale of 27 locations in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

and

western Canada Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West or the Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a Canadian region that includes the four western provinces just north of the Canada� ...

to Empire Theatres. In December 2019, UK-based

Cineworld Cineworld Group plc is a British cinema operator headquartered in London, England. It is the world's second-largest cinema chain (after AMC Theatres), with 9,518 screens across 790 sites in 10 countries: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Irela ...

plans to acquire the now renamed Cineplex Entertainment which will see the former 47 Famous Players theatres into the fold. The sale will make Cineworld the largest cinema chain in North America with the ownership of

Regal Cinemas Regal Cinemas (also Regal Entertainment Group) is an American movie theater chain headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee. A division of Cineworld, Regal operates the second-largest theater circuit in the United States, with over 7,200 screens i ...

. The company stated that Cineplex's operations were to be integrated with Regal and that it planned to reach $120 million in cost efficiencies and revenue synergies including the adoption of a subscription service scheme similar to Regal and Cineworld. The deal between Cineworld and Cineplex Entertainment fell through due to breaches in agreement and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in June 2020. The last theatre operating in a major city under the Famous Players name was Famous Players Canada Square Cinemas, located at the intersection of Yonge and Eglinton. The multiplex opened in 1985 as a Cineplex Odeon and was a local favourite for its retro feel and independent film showings. Before the theatre closed on October 24, 2021, the theatre was acquired by Famous Players in 2001 due to expansion limitations at nearby SilverCity Yonge and Eglinton. Only three theatres in Lasalle, Prince George and Prince Rupert remain open under the Famous Players brand. However, the corporate entity, Famous Players LP, remains nominally active as a subsidiary of Cineplex.

Assets

Theatres

Prior to merging with Cineplex, Famous Players operated five theatre brands: Famous Players, SilverCity (french: StarCité), Coliseum (french: Colisée), Colossus and Paramount. Of these, Cineplex only preserved the first two brands, which amount to 20 locations as of 2019. The Coliseum and Colossus theatres sold to Cineplex were renamed to Cineplex Cinemas, though the unique features of the original brands were preserved. Similarly, Paramount theatres now use the Scotiabank Theatre brand since 2007. In addition,

Landmark Cinemas Landmark Cinema of Canada Inc. is a Canadian cinema chain. Based in Calgary, Alberta, Landmark operates 40 theatres with 325 screens, primarily in Ontario and western Canada. Its holdings include much of the former Empire Theatres chain which it a ...

also acquired many of the Famous Players theatres that were formerly operated by Empire Theatres. Many theatres had served

Pepsi Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961. History Pepsi wa ...

products in addition to popcorn with restaurants such as Burger King, New York Fries,

Wetzel's Pretzels Wetzel’s Pretzels is an American chain of fast-food restaurants, specializing in pretzels and hot dogs. The chain has more than 370 locations across the United States, Canada and Central America, mostly located in shopping malls, airports, them ...

Taco Bell Taco Bell is an American-based chain of fast food restaurants founded in 1962 by Glen Bell (1923–2010) in Downey, California. Taco Bell is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. The restaurants serve a variety of Mexican-inspired foods, includin ...

TCBY TCBY (The Country's Best Yogurt) is an American chain of frozen yogurt stores. It is one of the largest U.S. retailers of soft-serve frozen yogurt. History In 1981, Frank D. Hickingbotham opened the first TCBY in Little Rock, Arkansas. TCBY ...

, Baskin Robbins and Starbucks. Those were heavily replaced by

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlant ...

and Outtakes with some theatres retaining Starbucks. File:Colossus.svg, Colossus File:Paramount Theatre (Famous Players).svg, Paramount

Television stations

–

Quebec City, Quebec Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is the ...

Notes

References

External links

Famous Players Theatres website
(redirects to the Cineplex website)
List of FP theatres (incomplete)
{{Authority control 1920 establishments in Ontario Movie theatre chains in Canada Movie theatre chains in the United States Defunct cable and DBS companies of Canada Companies based in Toronto Entertainment companies of Canada Entertainment companies established in 1920 Mass media companies established in 1920 Communications in Ontario Former Viacom subsidiaries Cineplex Entertainment Canadian companies established in 1920 fr:Famous Players