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Cinema United, formerly known as the National Association of Theatre Owners ( NATO), is an American trade organization whose members are the owners of . Most of the operators of worldwide major theater chains are members, as are hundreds of independent theater operators; collectively, they account for the operation of over 35,000 motion picture screens in all 50 U.S. states and over 33,000 screens in 100 other countries.
NATO was founded in 1965 by the merger of the largest movie theater trade organizations; the Theater Owners of America and the Allied States Association of Motion Picture Exhibitors. The long-running official magazine of NATO is Boxoffice (now Boxoffice Pro); between 2001 and 2007, they also published In Focus. On March 18, 2025, NATO rebranded as Cinema United, to honor and support movie theaters.
In 1921, the first predecessor of NATO was founded, the largely affiliated Motion Picture Theater Owners of America (MPTOA), soon followed by the independent Allied States Association of Motion Picture Exhibitors (Allied), Unaffiliated Independent Motion Picture Exhibitors of America, National Independent Theatre Exhibitors, and more, to demand better pricing and access to first-runs. Unlike the others, the MPTOA embraced affiliated theaters, and soon became the largest organization.
During World War II, many theaters joined the new War Activities Committee, after the war becoming the Theatre Activities Committee and soon American Theatre Association (ATA), which strongly supported United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc., the antitrust case against all of the major studios. A plan to merge with MPTOA, which strongly supported the studios, ran into friction, with many affiliated theaters leaving the ATA over its stance; conversely Allied, the largest purely-independent group, refused to join over the presence of affiliates. The merger went ahead in 1947, minus affiliates of Loews, RKO, and Warner Bros., and they became the Theater Owners of America (TOA) with about 10,000 theaters.
After divestiture in the fallout of the 1948 Paramount decision, many formerly-affiliated theaters ended up joining either TOA or Allied. During the post-war period, theater revenue collapsed as television became widespread, even as film rental became more expensive, and thousands of theaters closed, particularly in city centers hard hit by White flight. Finally, in 1966 TOA and Allied merged into the National Association of Theatre Owners, largely based on TOA's structure but headed by Marshall Fine, former Allied chairman.
The 1970s were difficult for NATO; although the blockbuster The Godfather revitalized theater-going and revenue, in 1975 a new National Independent Theatre Exhibitors (NITE) came together to challenge NATO, eventually numbering almost a thousand theaters, and governance reforms were pushed by members as well. When the reforms stalled, the entire California and Illinois chapters pulled out in 1977, along with many small chains around the nation. After 1980, many of the requested reforms were finally implemented, including a full-time president and a full-time lobbyist in Washington, as well as moving its headquarters from New York to Los Angeles; by the end of the decade, NITE had folded back into NATO, leaving only one dominant organization.
The 1980s saw a relaxation of antitrust regulation and subsequent purchasing of many chains by distributors and large conglomerates, including 120 theaters by Paramount and Warner; by the end of the decade, consolidation left the top 10 owners in control of 55 percent of the industry. In the 1990s, theater growth exploded, and by 1999, movie screens peaked at 36,448, the vast majority of which were affiliated with NATO.
Renamed CinemaCon in 2011, the convention is NATO's only official convention of theater owners controlled by the organization itself. The first gathering took place in March 2011 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada, with the second held April 23–26, 2012, at the same venue. CinemaCon (official site). Retrieved May 3, 2012. Archived from the original on May 3, 2012
CinemaCon is now a stand-alone movie theater industry Trade fair or exposition originally established by NATO in 1975, usually held in Las Vegas in March.
On March 11, 2020, NATO canceled CinemaCon 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
ShoWest Convention 1976
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ShoWest Convention 2014
Rebranding
In March 2025, the National Association of Theatre Owners announced that it had rebranded to Cinema United and a new slogan, "Moviegoing is Our Mission", as part of an effort to honor and support movie theaters by emphasizing audiences viewing movies theatrically. The new name also avoids confusion with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the military alliance known as NATO.
Events
CinemaCon
As ShoWest, the convention was formerly one of four major worldwide annual events owned by the Film Group unit of Nielsen Company before being sold in 2011 to e5 Global Media and operated exclusively by NATO.
Other conventions
The remaining Nielsen Media event properties include CineEurope held in Barcelona, Spain in June, CineAsia held in early December in varying locations throughout Southeast Asia, and ShowEast, held in late October or early November in the Southeastern United States, usually somewhere in the Miami-Dade area.
American Movie Awards
In 1980, NATO initiated the American Movie Awards, held at the Wilshire Theater, Beverly Hills, California, and broadcast on NBC, with the winners selected based on voting by theater patrons. Various legal difficulties prevented the awards from being presented in 1981, and the event was discontinued after the 1982 awards due to competition from other awards shows.
CinemaCon Awards 2011
Source: "2011 Press Releases" , CinemaCon.com. Archived from the original on May 23, 2012
CinemaCon Awards 2012
Source:
National Cinema Day
Cinema Foundation, the nonprofit arm of NATO, announced National Cinema Day for September 3, 2022, in which over 3,000 theaters would offer showings for .
National Cinema Day occurred again on August 27, 2023, in which 3,000 theaters offered showings for . A similar event was held in the United Kingdom on September 3, 2023, in which all cinema tickets were £3. The UK event will occur again on August 31, 2024, but ticket prices will increase to £4.
Average U.S. movie ticket price
NATO provides an annual average movie ticket price, in April, each year. In 2019, at $9.16, this stopped, due to Covid closures. In 2022, box office receipts were 66 percent of 2019, yet attendance levels were 55 percent of 2019. In 2022, IndieWire concluded that average movie ticket prices rose, at least 20 percent, to $11, based on the 2022 second-quarter AMC Theatres earnings call which stated a 22 percent ticket revenue rise compared to the 2019 second-quarter.
See also
External links
Categories: Official Website, 1965 Establishments In The United States, 2025 Establishments In Washington, D.c., Cinemas And Movie Theaters In The United States, Exhibitions In The United States, Film Organizations In The United States, Organizations Established In 1965, Trade Associations Based In The United States, Trade Shows In The United States
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