Metropolitan Theatres is

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's oldest

movie theater A movie theater (American English) or cinema (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), also known as a movie house, cinema hall, picture house, picture theater, the movies, the pictures, or simply theater, is a business ...

chain. Opened in 1923, they filed for

Chapter 11 bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...

in 2024, at which point they owned 15 theaters: ten in

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(including seven out of eight in Santa Barbara), three in

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, and two in

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History

Metropolitan Theatres was founded by Joseph Corwin in 1923. At the time, the Corwin family operated almost every movie theater in

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's Broadway Theater District, the city's premiere theater venue until

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was built up in the 1920s and 30s. In the 1950s, Metropolitan Theatres expanded into Santa Barbara. In the 1970s, they shifted to

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films in their downtown Los Angeles theaters, in the 1980s, those same theaters shifted again, to

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cinema. The company at one point had more than 1000 employees. The company filed for

in 2024.

Chief Executive Officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

David Corwin blamed the bankruptcy on the

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, which he said was "devastating to the business," as well as the WGA and

SAG-AFTRA The Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists

strikes and increased labor, rent, and utilities expenses.

List of theatres

Notable theaters that have been either owned or operated by Metropolitan Theatres include:

Greater Los Angeles

Broadway Theater District

* Orpheum *

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* Roxie *

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* Cameo *

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Other

* El Miro,

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* El Portal,

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* Frida Cinema, Santa Ana *

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* Warrens, downtown Los Angeles * The Westlake, Westlake * WGA,

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Elsewhere in California

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, Santa Barbara * Paseo Nuevo, Santa Barbara * Orpheum,

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References

{{Movie theaters in Los Angeles Cinemas and movie theaters in Los Angeles Movie theatre chains in the United States Theatres in Los Angeles County, California Cinema of Southern California Companies based in Los Angeles Entertainment companies established in 1923 1923 establishments in California