Hoyts
Encyclopedia
The Hoyts Group is an Australian company consisting of Hoyts Exhibition, Hoyts Distribution and Val Morgan.
Hoyts Exhibition manages 450 screens across 40 Australian and 10 New Zealand
cinema complexes; making it Australia's second largest cinema chain. Val Morgan, the cinema advertising arm of the Hoyts group, dominates the cinema advertising market with over 95% market share. Finally, Hoyts Distribution is the largest independent film distributor in Australia; a business centred around the purchase of rights to, and subsequent management of, distributing independent films in Australia through theatrical, television and home entertainment channels.
The Hoyts Group is presently a wholly owned subsidiary of the Sydney-based Pacific Equity Partners
.
In the exhibition business, the largest part of The Hoyts Group, their main rivals are Village
, Greater Union
and, to a lesser extent, Wallis Cinemas
, Palace Cinemas and Dendy.
On 17 March 2010 Australia’s Hoyts Corporation announced its intention to expand its New Zealand Cinema operations with the purchase of Barrie Everard’s Berkeley Cinema Group. The two companies completed the transaction in June 2010 after regulatory approval.
At the start of the 20th century dentist Dr Arthur Russell, who was, in his spare time, a cornet player and a magician, purchased a share in a small American travelling circus, known as Hoyts Circus, and travelled with them as the resident magician. After a financially disastrous run, Russell returned to his work as a dentist.
Undeterred, he leased the old St. Georges Hall in Bourke Street, Melbourne
(later known as the Hoyts Esquire), and began showing short films on Saturday nights. Unlike his previous venture, it was successful, and as a result, he formed a new company called Hoyts Pictures Pty. Ltd. By the time he died at the end of World War I, Hoyts had expanded into the suburbs of Melbourne, and into Sydney
.
In 1926, Hoyts and two other companies, Electric Theatres Pty. Ltd. and Associated Theatres Pty. Ltd., merged to become Hoyts Theatres Limited. In 1932, the Fox Film Corporation (now Twentieth Century Fox) secured a major shareholding in the company.
In August 1982, Twentieth Century Fox sold Hoyts to a group of four Melbourne businessmen. In April 1985, the Fink family subsequently bought out the other partners to become the sole owner. The Finks began to expand the company, into areas such as film distribution, home entertainment, and cinema operations in New Zealand
, USA, South America
and Europe
.
In 1987, the corporation was restructured and two of the companies in the corporation were listed on the Australian Stock Exchange
: Hoyts Media and Hoyts Entertainment. However, the company that owned the cinemas, Hoyts Cinemas, was not floated until 1996. The years between 1987 and 1996 saw considerable expansion, so that by 1994, Hoyts was the 10th biggest cinema chain in the world and was owned by an American investment company—Hellman and Friedman—directors and senior management, and the Australian company Lend Lease Corporation
.
In 1996, Hoyts Cinemas was floated and in 1999, the late Kerry Packer's private family company, Consolidated Press Holdings, bought the chain for $620 million (A$745.3 million). After that, Hoyts began to sell off cinemas. This trend began in 1999 when their Polish
operations were sold, and in 2000 when their UK operations were also sold. In 2003, Hoyts sold its Hoyts America operations to Regal Entertainment Group
.
In 2004, it joined forces with Village Roadshow and AHL to bail out Val Morgan Cinema Advertising, eventually taking their stake to 100% in 2005. In December that year, PBL and West Australian Newspapers purchased the company from Consolidated Press Holdings.
On 29 March 2007, Hoyts opened their latest cinema in Sylvia Park
, in Auckland
, New Zealand
- featuring what is now the largest 35 mm film screen in the world and bean bag
seating.
In September 2007, PBL and WAN sold each of their 50% shares in the Hoyts Group to Sydney-based private equity firm Pacific Equity Partners
. The sale valued the company at A$440 million.
In October 2008, Hoyts announced a takeover bid for Australian Multiplex Cinemas (AMC). The purchase did not proceed, although at the time Hoyts still hoped to return to Queensland, where previously they had owned theatres in Brisbane and a three cinema complex in Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast.
In March 2010, Hoyts announced its intention to expand its New Zealand Cinema operations with the purchase of Barrie Everard’s Berkeley Cinema Group. The deal is subject to a number of matters being resolved and regulatory approval the deal once completed will add four multiplexes to Hoyts New Zealand presence in Auckland.
In October 2010 it was announced that Hoyts will acquire Australian Multiplex Cinemas
. This purchase was successfully completed in November 2010.
, with a selection of food and drinks. Food can also be delivered to a customers seat if he or she wants to eat or drink during the screening. In Australia, La Premiere is open all day, which is now the case in New Zealand, however La Premiere used to only be open from 6pm in New Zealand.
screens at Carousel, Entertainment Quarter and Highpoint. The first film shown in IMAX was the 2008 remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still
. Both 2D and 3D
films are shown in Hoyts IMAX. Only selected IMAX films are shown.
equipment within an ambitious 18 month window, in preparation for the sale of the Hoyts group. The modernization of the equipment to the current Hollywood mandated Digital Cinema standard, is expected to cost the group somewhere in the order of 30 million AUD. This amount is subsidized by the Virtual Print Fee received from the participating Hollywood Studios. This 30M AUD cost is also expected to be offset by the significant reduction in staffing requirements (exhibitors in the USA are claiming a 90% reduction in projection staff post modernization). If Hoyts follow through with their capital investment plans, they stand a chance of relinquishing their position as the lowest capital investor in the Australian cinema exhibition industry.
. In 2002, the company was brought back to life, distributing primarily films produced by Nine Films and Television
, Channel 9
's film production arm, and major independent studios, such as Lions Gate Entertainment
as a division of Roadshow Film Distributors.
Distribution:
Summit Entertainment
(2007–present)
Sony Pictures Releasing (1980–present)
Cannon Films (1980–1995) (when MGM Home Entertainment
replaced distribution)
Hoyts Exhibition also operates 8 cinemas across New Zealand.
Asterisk indicates IMAX installation in 2008.
multiplex. The building will become the new home of the Lower Hutt Baptist Church.
Hoyts also operated the MidCity 5-plex in Wellington from 1990 until its closure in May 2003, following the opening of Reading Cinemas on nearby Courtenay Place
. The site was later redeveloped into Conservation House, the headquarters of the Department of Conservation.
Hoyts also operated Movieland 5-plex (Rotorua) and Movieland 4-plex (Invercargill) both from 1993 to 2005, which have since been both taken over by Reading Cinemas; Movieland 3-plex (Timaru) 1997 to 2000, now owned by independent operators; Whangaparaoa 5-plex from 1996 to 1999 (taken over by Berkeley Group).
Wellington's Regent on Manners complex was closed in late 2009, and is being redeveloped as a Le Cordon Bleu
cooking school. The cinema was previously operated by the Kerridge Odeon group and Everard Cinemas before its acquisition by Hoyts.
Christchurch's Regent on Worcester, and Moorhouse complexes have been closed indefinitely following the Christchurch earthquake on 22 February 2011.
(also an Australian firm). Hoyts also operated the 'Gallery' upmarket subsection to the Bluewater cinema. A couple of years later, Hoyts decided to exit the UK market to concentrate on their operations in Australia and New Zealand, as the Bluewater site was their only UK operation, making the operation uneconomical. Showcase Cinemas
, an established UK cinema operator, took over operation of the Bluewater cinema, though retained much of the fabric, layout and design that had been introduced by Hoyts, including The Gallery. (Showcase also operate the Cinema de Lux
brand of upmarket cinema but as of 2009 have not introduced this branding to the Gallery at Bluewater).
Val Morgan holds the advertising rights to virtually all advertising screens in Australia and almost all screens in New Zealand. In Australia, this includes the circuits of Hoyts, Greater Union, Village, Birch Carroll & Coyle, Wallis, Reading Cinemas, Australian Multiplex Cinemas
, Skycity Cinemas, Regent Cinemas and the majority of independent cinemas.
In addition to on-screen advertising, Val Morgan is involved in such cinema-based advertising opportunities as co-branding, poster boxes, foyer displays and live advertisements.
Through a joint-venture with Motivate Publishing, the Gulf's leading publisher of magazines and books, Val Morgan expanded its operations into the United Arab Emirates, representing the advertising interests of many key cinemas in the region. It also began advertising in shopping centres in Australia, displaying the local weather forecast, film trailers and general advertising on television screens that can be found in selected shopping centres.
RCA/Columbia Pictures/Hoyts released approximately 12 New Video Titles every month. These Titles were typically made up of 2 A Titles, 2 B Titles, 6 C Titles - which would have included a "Kids" Movie and a "Classic" Movie, and 1 or 2 "Sell Through" Titles. Sell Through Titles being the name that was given, back then, to the Videos that were put on sale to the Public, via their Local Video Store.
Potentially one of the most successful Video Tiles released by RCA/Columbia Pictures/Hoyts back in the late 80's was the original RoboCop, starring Peter Weller.
It was later known as Columbia Tristar Hoyts Home Video, but Hoyts soon dropped out of the business. Hoyts Distribution releases are distributed on DVD and Blu-Ray by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
.
There was also four imprints the company had: First Release Home Entertainment, Video Box Office, Magic Window (children's videos) and RCA-Columbia Pictures International Video.
Hoyts also had a joint venture with Polygram
, forming Hoyts Polygram Video at the around the same time as their joint venture with RCA-Columbia Pictures Home Video. Their only well known release was the film version of New Zealand
comic strip Footrot Flats
, entitled Footrot Flats: The Dog's Tale
.
Hoyts Exhibition manages 450 screens across 40 Australian and 10 New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
cinema complexes; making it Australia's second largest cinema chain. Val Morgan, the cinema advertising arm of the Hoyts group, dominates the cinema advertising market with over 95% market share. Finally, Hoyts Distribution is the largest independent film distributor in Australia; a business centred around the purchase of rights to, and subsequent management of, distributing independent films in Australia through theatrical, television and home entertainment channels.
The Hoyts Group is presently a wholly owned subsidiary of the Sydney-based Pacific Equity Partners
Pacific Equity Partners
Pacific Equity Partners is a private equity investment firm focusing on leveraged buyout and growth capital transactions primarily in Australia and New Zealand...
.
In the exhibition business, the largest part of The Hoyts Group, their main rivals are Village
Village Cinemas
Village Cinemas is an Australian cinema chain. Its Australian sites are owned and operated by Village Roadshow-Amalgamated Holdings Limited joint venture Australian Theatres. The group has rebranded several of its premier Australian and New Zealand cinemas as Event Cinemas since 2009. Village...
, Greater Union
Greater Union
Greater Union, Birch Carroll and Coyle, Event Cinemas, Skycity Cinemas and Damodar Village Cinemas together form a chain of cinema multiplexes across Australia, New Zealand and Fiji...
and, to a lesser extent, Wallis Cinemas
Wallis Cinemas
Wallis Cinemas is a South Australian company that operates cinema complexes, cinemas and drive-ins in the city of Adelaide and its suburbs.-History:...
, Palace Cinemas and Dendy.
On 17 March 2010 Australia’s Hoyts Corporation announced its intention to expand its New Zealand Cinema operations with the purchase of Barrie Everard’s Berkeley Cinema Group. The two companies completed the transaction in June 2010 after regulatory approval.
History
Undeterred, he leased the old St. Georges Hall in Bourke Street, Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
(later known as the Hoyts Esquire), and began showing short films on Saturday nights. Unlike his previous venture, it was successful, and as a result, he formed a new company called Hoyts Pictures Pty. Ltd. By the time he died at the end of World War I, Hoyts had expanded into the suburbs of Melbourne, and into Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
.
In 1926, Hoyts and two other companies, Electric Theatres Pty. Ltd. and Associated Theatres Pty. Ltd., merged to become Hoyts Theatres Limited. In 1932, the Fox Film Corporation (now Twentieth Century Fox) secured a major shareholding in the company.
In August 1982, Twentieth Century Fox sold Hoyts to a group of four Melbourne businessmen. In April 1985, the Fink family subsequently bought out the other partners to become the sole owner. The Finks began to expand the company, into areas such as film distribution, home entertainment, and cinema operations in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, USA, South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
In 1987, the corporation was restructured and two of the companies in the corporation were listed on the Australian Stock Exchange
Australian Stock Exchange
The Australian Securities Exchange was created by the merger of the Australian Stock Exchange and the Sydney Futures Exchange in July 2006. It is the primary stock exchange group in Australia....
: Hoyts Media and Hoyts Entertainment. However, the company that owned the cinemas, Hoyts Cinemas, was not floated until 1996. The years between 1987 and 1996 saw considerable expansion, so that by 1994, Hoyts was the 10th biggest cinema chain in the world and was owned by an American investment company—Hellman and Friedman—directors and senior management, and the Australian company Lend Lease Corporation
Lend Lease Corporation
Lend Lease Group is a global property and infrastructure company headquartered in Sydney, Australia...
.
In 1996, Hoyts Cinemas was floated and in 1999, the late Kerry Packer's private family company, Consolidated Press Holdings, bought the chain for $620 million (A$745.3 million). After that, Hoyts began to sell off cinemas. This trend began in 1999 when their Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
operations were sold, and in 2000 when their UK operations were also sold. In 2003, Hoyts sold its Hoyts America operations to Regal Entertainment Group
Regal Entertainment Group
Regal Entertainment Group also known as REG is a movie theater chain headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee. Regal operates the largest and most geographically diverse theater circuit in the United States, consisting of 6,775 screens in 548 locations in 39 states and the District of Columbia as of...
.
In 2004, it joined forces with Village Roadshow and AHL to bail out Val Morgan Cinema Advertising, eventually taking their stake to 100% in 2005. In December that year, PBL and West Australian Newspapers purchased the company from Consolidated Press Holdings.
On 29 March 2007, Hoyts opened their latest cinema in Sylvia Park
Sylvia Park
Sylvia Park is a large business park and shopping centre in the Auckland, New Zealand suburb of Mount Wellington. Less commonly known, the area around the centre is also called Sylvia Park...
, in Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
- featuring what is now the largest 35 mm film screen in the world and bean bag
Bean bag
A bean bag is a sealed bag containing dried beans, PVC pellets or expanded polystyrene, with various applications.-Games:...
seating.
In September 2007, PBL and WAN sold each of their 50% shares in the Hoyts Group to Sydney-based private equity firm Pacific Equity Partners
Pacific Equity Partners
Pacific Equity Partners is a private equity investment firm focusing on leveraged buyout and growth capital transactions primarily in Australia and New Zealand...
. The sale valued the company at A$440 million.
In October 2008, Hoyts announced a takeover bid for Australian Multiplex Cinemas (AMC). The purchase did not proceed, although at the time Hoyts still hoped to return to Queensland, where previously they had owned theatres in Brisbane and a three cinema complex in Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast.
In March 2010, Hoyts announced its intention to expand its New Zealand Cinema operations with the purchase of Barrie Everard’s Berkeley Cinema Group. The deal is subject to a number of matters being resolved and regulatory approval the deal once completed will add four multiplexes to Hoyts New Zealand presence in Auckland.
In October 2010 it was announced that Hoyts will acquire Australian Multiplex Cinemas
Australian Multiplex Cinemas
Australian Multiplex Cinemas is a chain of multiple-screen movie cinemas headquartered in Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia.-Acquisition by Hoyts:...
. This purchase was successfully completed in November 2010.
La Premiere
La Premiere is a luxury cinema located in prime viewing positions of certain auditoriums in selected complexes. La Premiere ticket holders can use an exclusive bar and lounge before or after their chosen filmFilm
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, with a selection of food and drinks. Food can also be delivered to a customers seat if he or she wants to eat or drink during the screening. In Australia, La Premiere is open all day, which is now the case in New Zealand, however La Premiere used to only be open from 6pm in New Zealand.
Director's Suite
Director's Suite is similar to the La Premiere Lounge, except Director's Suite is a separate cinema, whilst La Premiere is located at the back of general admission cinemas. It also houses leather recliner seats, provides in cinema food and beverage service as well as operating a separate bar and lounge exclusive to Director's Suite patrons.Bean Bag Cinema
Bean Bag Cinema replaces ordinary cinema seating with oversized bean bags. Bean Bag cinemas are designed to create a relaxing environment where customers can "chill out". In May 2010 the name was changed to Bean Bag Cinema replacing 'thehalfpipe'.Xtremescreen
Xtrememscreen cinemas boast the biggest screen and best sound in the complex, with the screen at Hoyts Blacktown being the largest at 28 metres wide.Hoyts IMAX
In 2008, Hoyts launched the first joint venture with IMAX outside North America and opened three digital IMAXIMAX
IMAX is a motion picture film format and a set of proprietary cinema projection standards created by the Canadian company IMAX Corporation. IMAX has the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems...
screens at Carousel, Entertainment Quarter and Highpoint. The first film shown in IMAX was the 2008 remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still
The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008 film)
The Day the Earth Stood Still is a 2008 science fiction film, a remake of the 1951 film of the same name. The screenplay is based on the 1940 classic science fiction short story "Farewell to the Master" by Harry Bates, and the 1951 screenplay adaptation by Edmund H...
. Both 2D and 3D
3-D film
A 3-D film or S3D film is a motion picture that enhances the illusion of depth perception...
films are shown in Hoyts IMAX. Only selected IMAX films are shown.
Digital Cinema capital investment plans
Hoyts Exhibition has announced plans to replace all film equipment with Digital CinemaDigital cinema
Digital cinema refers to the use of digital technology to distribute and project motion pictures. A movie can be distributed via hard drives, optical disks or satellite and projected using a digital projector instead of a conventional film projector...
equipment within an ambitious 18 month window, in preparation for the sale of the Hoyts group. The modernization of the equipment to the current Hollywood mandated Digital Cinema standard, is expected to cost the group somewhere in the order of 30 million AUD. This amount is subsidized by the Virtual Print Fee received from the participating Hollywood Studios. This 30M AUD cost is also expected to be offset by the significant reduction in staffing requirements (exhibitors in the USA are claiming a 90% reduction in projection staff post modernization). If Hoyts follow through with their capital investment plans, they stand a chance of relinquishing their position as the lowest capital investor in the Australian cinema exhibition industry.
Hoyts Distribution
Hoyts Distribution is the film distribution arm of the company. It existed in its own right in the 1980s-early 1990s, and was later merged with the distribution operations of Columbia Tristar and 20th Century Fox20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
. In 2002, the company was brought back to life, distributing primarily films produced by Nine Films and Television
Nine Films and Television
Nine Films and Television is the film and television production arm of the Nine Network.It produces content primarily for the network and its affiliates NBN and WIN, but also produces feature films for release in cinemas.-Television:...
, Channel 9
Nine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
's film production arm, and major independent studios, such as Lions Gate Entertainment
Lions Gate Entertainment
Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation is a North American entertainment company. The company was formed in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1997, and is headquartered in Santa Monica, California...
as a division of Roadshow Film Distributors.
Distribution:
Summit Entertainment
Summit Entertainment
Summit Entertainment LLC is an independent film studio headquartered in Santa Monica, California with international offices in London.-History:...
(2007–present)
Sony Pictures Releasing (1980–present)
Cannon Films (1980–1995) (when MGM Home Entertainment
MGM Home Entertainment
MGM Home Entertainment is the home video and DVD arm of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.-History:The home video division of MGM started in 1979 as MGM Home Video, releasing all the movies and TV shows by MGM. In 1980, MGM joined forces with CBS Video Enterprises, the home video division of the CBS television...
replaced distribution)
Hoyts Exhibition
Hoyts Exhibition, the largest and most well-known arm of The Hoyts Group, manages cinemas in five Australian states; the Australian Capital Terrirtory, New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia.Hoyts Exhibition also operates 8 cinemas across New Zealand.
Australian Locations
| ACT | NSW | SA | Vic | WA | Qld | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belconnen | Bankstown | Norwood | Broadmeadows | Carousel* | Stafford ** | |
| Woden | Blacktown | Salisbury | Chadstone | Sunnybank ** | ||
| Broadway | Tea Tree Plaza, Modbury | Eastland | Garden City | Redcliffe ** | ||
| Charlestown | Millennium | Tweed ** | ||||
| Chatswood Westfield | Forest Hill (recently reopened) | Queensgate | ||||
| Chatswood Mandarin | Greensborough | Southlands | ||||
| Cinema Paris, Moore Park | Highpoint* | |||||
| Eastgardens | Melbourne Central | ** Former AMC cinemas | ||||
| Entertainment Quarter* | Northland | |||||
| Erina | Victoria Gardens | |||||
| Mount Druitt | Watergardens | |||||
| Penrith | Frankston (ex AMC) | |||||
| Warringah Mall | ||||||
| Wetherill Park | ||||||
| Warrawong |
Asterisk indicates IMAX installation in 2008.
- It is believed that Hoyts operated its Southlands complex in partnership with Ace Cinemas. Despite Southlands Shopping Centre signage stating this, the partnership never existed.
New Zealand Locations
| Auckland Auckland The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world... |
Christchurch Christchurch Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of... |
Dunedin Dunedin Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until... |
Hamilton Hamilton, New Zealand Hamilton is the centre of New Zealand's fourth largest urban area, and Hamilton City is the country's fourth largest territorial authority. Hamilton is in the Waikato Region of the North Island, approximately south of Auckland... |
Wellington Wellington Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range... |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sylvia Park | Moorhouse | Octagon | The Base opening 18 August | Regent on Manners-closed late 2009 |
| Wairau Park | Northlands | |||
| Hibiscus Coast | Regent on Worcester | |||
| (Berkeley) Takapuna | Riccarton | |||
| (Berkeley) Mission Bay | ||||
| Botany Downs |
Defunct locations in New Zealand
Hoyts Lower Hutt 5-plex, opened in 1993, closed on 6 February 2008, with the opening of Sky City's QueensgateWestfield Queensgate
Westfield Queensgate is the largest shopping centre in the Wellington Region, New Zealand. Commonally known just as 'Queensgate' The centre underwent a large scale development that was completed in August 2006.The centre features:...
multiplex. The building will become the new home of the Lower Hutt Baptist Church.
Hoyts also operated the MidCity 5-plex in Wellington from 1990 until its closure in May 2003, following the opening of Reading Cinemas on nearby Courtenay Place
Courtenay Place, Wellington
Courtenay Place is the main street of the Courtenay Quarter in the Wellington, New Zealand inner-city district of Te Aro.Courtenay Place is known for its entertainment and nightlife. Many restaurants are open late and most of the bars stay open until dawn...
. The site was later redeveloped into Conservation House, the headquarters of the Department of Conservation.
Hoyts also operated Movieland 5-plex (Rotorua) and Movieland 4-plex (Invercargill) both from 1993 to 2005, which have since been both taken over by Reading Cinemas; Movieland 3-plex (Timaru) 1997 to 2000, now owned by independent operators; Whangaparaoa 5-plex from 1996 to 1999 (taken over by Berkeley Group).
Wellington's Regent on Manners complex was closed in late 2009, and is being redeveloped as a Le Cordon Bleu
Le Cordon Bleu
Le Cordon Bleu is the world's largest hospitality education institution, with 35 schools on five continents serving 20,000 students annually. Its primary education focus is on hospitality management and the culinary arts...
cooking school. The cinema was previously operated by the Kerridge Odeon group and Everard Cinemas before its acquisition by Hoyts.
Christchurch's Regent on Worcester, and Moorhouse complexes have been closed indefinitely following the Christchurch earthquake on 22 February 2011.
Bluewater
Hoyts were the original operator of the multi-screen cinema at the Bluewater shopping mall in the UK, having been signed up by Bluewater developer Lend Lease CorporationLend Lease Corporation
Lend Lease Group is a global property and infrastructure company headquartered in Sydney, Australia...
(also an Australian firm). Hoyts also operated the 'Gallery' upmarket subsection to the Bluewater cinema. A couple of years later, Hoyts decided to exit the UK market to concentrate on their operations in Australia and New Zealand, as the Bluewater site was their only UK operation, making the operation uneconomical. Showcase Cinemas
Showcase Cinemas
Showcase Cinemas is a movie theater chain owned and operated by National Amusements. Operating more than 1,354 indoor screens in the United States, United Kingdom and Latin America.-USA:* Connecticut* Massachusetts* Ohio* New Jersey* Rhode Island...
, an established UK cinema operator, took over operation of the Bluewater cinema, though retained much of the fabric, layout and design that had been introduced by Hoyts, including The Gallery. (Showcase also operate the Cinema de Lux
Cinema de Lux
Cinema de Lux is a chain of cinemas in the United States and the United Kingdom, owned by Showcase Cinemas, which in turn is owned by National Amusements. Cinema de Lux aims to be more upmarket and luxurious than Showcase.-History:...
brand of upmarket cinema but as of 2009 have not introduced this branding to the Gallery at Bluewater).
Val Morgan
Australian Multiplex Cinemas
Australian Multiplex Cinemas is a chain of multiple-screen movie cinemas headquartered in Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia.-Acquisition by Hoyts:...
, Skycity Cinemas, Regent Cinemas and the majority of independent cinemas.
In addition to on-screen advertising, Val Morgan is involved in such cinema-based advertising opportunities as co-branding, poster boxes, foyer displays and live advertisements.
Through a joint-venture with Motivate Publishing, the Gulf's leading publisher of magazines and books, Val Morgan expanded its operations into the United Arab Emirates, representing the advertising interests of many key cinemas in the region. It also began advertising in shopping centres in Australia, displaying the local weather forecast, film trailers and general advertising on television screens that can be found in selected shopping centres.
Home entertainment
In the 1980s and early 1990s, Hoyts operated the local operations of RCA-Columbia Pictures Home Video, known as RCA-Columbia Pictures-Hoyts Home Video.RCA/Columbia Pictures/Hoyts released approximately 12 New Video Titles every month. These Titles were typically made up of 2 A Titles, 2 B Titles, 6 C Titles - which would have included a "Kids" Movie and a "Classic" Movie, and 1 or 2 "Sell Through" Titles. Sell Through Titles being the name that was given, back then, to the Videos that were put on sale to the Public, via their Local Video Store.
Potentially one of the most successful Video Tiles released by RCA/Columbia Pictures/Hoyts back in the late 80's was the original RoboCop, starring Peter Weller.
It was later known as Columbia Tristar Hoyts Home Video, but Hoyts soon dropped out of the business. Hoyts Distribution releases are distributed on DVD and Blu-Ray by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is the home video distribution arm of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation. It was established in November 1979 as Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment, releasing 20 titles: The Anderson Tapes, Bell, Book and Candle, Born Free, Breakout,...
.
There was also four imprints the company had: First Release Home Entertainment, Video Box Office, Magic Window (children's videos) and RCA-Columbia Pictures International Video.
Hoyts also had a joint venture with Polygram
PolyGram
PolyGram was the name of the major label recording company started by Philips from as a holding company for its music interests in 1945. In 1999 it was sold to Seagram and merged into Universal Music Group.-Hollandsche Decca Distributie , 1929-1950:...
, forming Hoyts Polygram Video at the around the same time as their joint venture with RCA-Columbia Pictures Home Video. Their only well known release was the film version of New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
comic strip Footrot Flats
Footrot Flats
Footrot Flats was a comic strip written by New Zealand cartoonist Murray Ball. It ran from 1975 until 1994 in newspapers around the world, though the unpublished strips continued to be released in book form until 2000...
, entitled Footrot Flats: The Dog's Tale
Footrot Flats: The Dog's Tale
Footrot Flats: The Dog's Tale is a 1986 New Zealand animated film, based on cartoonist Murray Ball's popular comic strip, Footrot Flats. It was New Zealand's first feature-length animated film.-Plot:Wal Footrot and Cooch Windgrass are shearing sheep on Wal's farm...
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See also
- Australian TheatresAustralian TheatresAustralian Theatres is a joint venture between Village Roadshow and AHL which operates over 30 cinema sites across Australia. The venture was formed in 2003 and includes cinemas under the Village Cinemas, Greater Union, Birch, Carrol and Coyle and Event Cinemas brands...
- Birch Carroll & Coyle
- Event Cinemas
- Greater UnionGreater UnionGreater Union, Birch Carroll and Coyle, Event Cinemas, Skycity Cinemas and Damodar Village Cinemas together form a chain of cinema multiplexes across Australia, New Zealand and Fiji...
- Reading Cinemas
- The Movie Masters Cinema GroupThe Movie Masters Cinema GroupGrand Cinemas and Ace Cinemas are a Western Australian chain of cinema multiplexes. They are operated by The Movie Masters cinema group.-History:...
- Village CinemasVillage CinemasVillage Cinemas is an Australian cinema chain. Its Australian sites are owned and operated by Village Roadshow-Amalgamated Holdings Limited joint venture Australian Theatres. The group has rebranded several of its premier Australian and New Zealand cinemas as Event Cinemas since 2009. Village...
- Wallis CinemasWallis CinemasWallis Cinemas is a South Australian company that operates cinema complexes, cinemas and drive-ins in the city of Adelaide and its suburbs.-History:...
- Warner Village CinemasWarner Village CinemasWarner Village Cinemas UK was a chain of multiplex cinemas operated by Warner Brothers in the United Kingdom. Created in November 1996, it was a joint venture between Warner Bros.Intl. Theatres and Village Roadshow Australia. In the UK the chain was subsequently purchased by SBC International...