Carmike Cinemas
Encyclopedia
Columbus, Georgia
Columbus is a city in and the county seat of Muscogee County, Georgia, United States, with which it is consolidated. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 189,885. It is the principal city of the Columbus, Georgia metropolitan area, which, in 2009, had an estimated population of 292,795...
in the United States of America. As of December 31, 2010 it operates or has an interest in 239 theaters with 2,236 screens in 35 states, making it the fourth largest theatre company in the United States.
Carmike was founded when Carl L. Patrick, Sr. acquired Martin Theatres from Fuqua Industries in 1982. The theater name comes from a combination of Carl L. Patrick, Sr.'s two sons, Carl Jr. and Michael, hence Carmike.
Carmike theaters are largely positioned in rural
Rural
Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...
or suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
an areas with populations under 200,000. The company bills itself as "America's Hometown Theatre".
The Company's theatres are operated under various names and will generally have a name followed by the number of auditoriums at that location, for example "Carmike 15". Names currently in use include Carmike, Wynnsong, GKC, Cine, Cinema, Movies, Stadium, and other local variants such as "Fleming Island 12" in Fleming Island, FL.
Bankruptcy proceedings
Carmike sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2000 after failing to make $9 million in interest payments. The company had about $650 million in debt. Since declaring bankruptcy, many theaters (mostly smaller single, twin, and triple theatres) in dead markets were closed down, and some were renovated or relocated in areas with desirable market potential. Most of these newer theaters are 10 screens or larger. The number of theaters owned or operated by the company dropped from 448 to just over 300.During Bankruptcy, the company was forced to sell or close several historic theaters, including the Villa Theatre
Villa Theatre
The Villa Theatre is a now-closed movie theater in Salt Lake City, Utah, located at 3092 S. Highland Drive. The theatre was open from December 23, 1949 to February 18, 2003.-History:...
in Salt Lake City, Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
and The Indian Hills Theater
Indian Hills Theater
The Indian Hills Theater in Omaha, Nebraska, USA, was built in 1962 as a movie theater showcasing films in the Cinerama wide-screen format. The theater's screen was the largest of its type in the United States...
in Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
, the latter of which contained a 70 feet (21.3 m) wide Cinerama
Cinerama
Cinerama is the trademarked name for a widescreen process which works by simultaneously projecting images from three synchronized 35 mm projectors onto a huge, deeply-curved screen, subtending 146° of arc. It is also the trademarked name for the corporation which was formed to market it...
screen, the largest in the United States. The Indian Hills was later demolished in August 2001. Actress Patricia Neal
Patricia Neal
Patricia Neal was an American actress of stage and screen. She was best known for her film roles as World War II widow Helen Benson in The Day the Earth Stood Still , wealthy matron Emily Eustace Failenson in Breakfast at Tiffany's , middle-aged housekeeper Alma Brown in Hud , for which she won...
called the destruction of the theater "a crime."
Carmike exited bankruptcy in early 2002, having successfully restructured its debts and operations.
Recent Acquisitions
In 2005 Carmike purchased 30 GKC Theaters (263 screens) from the heirs of George Kerasotes for US$66 million. His George Kerasotes Corporation was the result of a split with other family members who jointly owned Kerasotes TheatresKerasotes Theatres
Kerasotes Showplace Theatres, LLC is a movie-theatre operator in the Midwestern United States. Based in Chicago, Kerasotes Showplace Theatres, LLC was the sixth-largest movie-theatre company in North America with 957 screens in 95 locations in California, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio,...
.
Change in management
Carmike Cinemas Inc.'s board of directors removed Michael Patrick as its chief executive on January 20, 2009, citing struggles with earnings and the company's $1 a share stock price, down from $26 a share in January 2007. S. David Passman III was selected as a temporary non-executive chairman.On June 4, 2009 the company announced that effective immediately, S. David Passman III, had been appointed President and Chief Executive Officer and that current Board member, Roland C. Smith, would succeed Mr. Passman as Carmike's Chairman of the Board. Fred Van Noy and Richard Hare remained with Carmike as Chief Operating Officer and as Chief Financial Officer.
Digital Projection & 3D
Christie (company)
The Christie group of companies are part of the Ushio group of companies, the ultimate parent of which is Ushio Inc., a publicly traded Japanese company, Japan...
to convert all its auditoriums to Texas Instruments
Texas Instruments
Texas Instruments Inc. , widely known as TI, is an American company based in Dallas, Texas, United States, which develops and commercializes semiconductor and computer technology...
DLP projection
Movie projector
A movie projector is an opto-mechanical device for displaying moving pictures by projecting them on a projection screen. Most of the optical and mechanical elements, except for the illumination and sound devices, are present in movie cameras.-Physiology:...
technology. This rollout was completed in 2007 and all of the company's first run theatres were converted to Digital Projection.
As of December 2009, the company remained a leader in Digital Projection with 2,141 digital screens of which 503 were capable of showing Real-D 3D movies.