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Times Square and Loews Theatre

Loews Theaters, founded in 1904 by Marcus Loew, was the oldest theater chain operating in North America until it merged with AMC Theatres on January 26, 2006.

It was noted for being the distribution arm and parent company for Hollywood giant Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) until, forced by a 1948 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, the two split in 1954.

In 1985, when federal regulations had been relaxed, Tri-Star Pictures acquired the Loews theater chain. Tri-Star later merged with Columbia Pictures, and when Columbia was bought by Sony in 1989, Sony inherited the theaters as well. For a while, Loews operated under the Sony Theaters banner.

In 1994, Sony partnered with Magic Johnson to form Magic Johnson Theaters, a mini-chain of theaters specifically geared toward the inner cities, particularly in Los Angeles.

In 1998, Cineplex Odeon Corporation merged with Loews Theaters to form Loews Cineplex Entertainment. The combined company was one of the largest movie exhibitors in the world, with theaters in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Korea, and Spain. In 2001, though, the company declared Chapter 11 as a result of absorbing Cineplex's financial woes.

In 2002, Onex Corporation and Oaktree Capital Management acquired Loews Cineplex. In 2004, they sold it, minus its Canadian assets, to a private group of investors which included the Carlyle Group.

In 2005, AMC Theatres announced that it would merge with Loews Cineplex Entertainment and that the merged company would adopt the AMC name. The Loews name would remain a brand under the new company.^[1] At the time of the merger, Loews operated 198 theaters with 2,235 screens. It is not affiliated with the Loews Corporation or Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse.

• Robert Sobel The Entrepreneurs: Explorations Within the American Business Tradition (Weybright & Talley 1974), luca 7, Marcus Loew: An Artist in Spite of Himself ISBN 0-679-40064-8.
• Wikipedia article, with links, about the Loew's "Wonder Theaters" constructed in New York City in 1929 and 1930
• Brief history of Loews Theaters, including the Sony acquisitions