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Carmike Cinemas
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Carmike Cinemas is a movie theatre corporation headquartered in Columbus, Georgia in the United States of America. It currently operates 311 theaters in 37 states, making it the fourth largest theatre company in the United States.
Carmike was founded when its present President and CEO, Michael W. Patrick, and his father, Carl L. Patrick, Sr. acquired Martin Theatres from Fuqua Industries in 1982.[1] The theatre name comes from a combination of Carl L. Patrick, Sr.'s two sons, Carl Jr. and Michael, hence Carmike. Actual operations are largely carried out by Vice President of Theater Operations, Gary Krannacker and Vice President of Concessions Matt Shirley.
Carmike theaters are largely positioned in rural or suburban areas. Most of its older theaters are six or eight auditoriums deep. Carmike sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2000 after failing to make $9 million in interest payments. The company was about $650 million in debt. Since declaring bankruptcy, many theaters 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 by the company dropped from 448 to just over 300. One such theater which closed as a result of the bankruptcy was the historic Indian Hills Theater in Omaha, Nebraska, which contained a 70 foot wide Cinerama screen, the largest in the United States. Indian Hills was later demolished in August 2001. Actress Patricia Neal called the destruction of the theater "a crime."[2]
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In 2006, Carmike Cinemas launched a contract with Christie Digital Systems to convert all its auditoriums to Texas Instruments DLP projection technology over the course of the next few years. Some theaters have experienced a large failure rate of the projectors early on, such as split screens, overheating, and compatibility issues, due to the fact some studios still have not begun to film in digital format.
- ^ Fuqua to Sell Theater Unit, nytimes.com; retrieved February 2007
- ^ Thiessen (2001).
- "Company News; Judge Approves Chapter 11 Plan For Carmike Cinemas". (January 4, 2002). The New York Times. Retrieved on August 23, 2007.
- Thiessen, Mark (July 18, 2001). "Historic Theater Threatened". CBS News. Retrieved on August 23, 2007.