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Village Cinemas is an Australian-based multinational movie theater brand that mainly shows blockbusters, mainstream, children and family films and some arthouse, foreign language and documentary films.
Since 2003, its Australian sites became a joint venture between Village Roadshow and Event Cinemas, forming Australian Theatres. Previous to this, Village Cinemas was the founding entity of parent company, Village Roadshow from 1954 when the first drive-in theater was established, and from 1988 Warner Bros. owned a one-third share in the chain.
The Village Cinemas brand also operates in various forms within some international markets, either as a joint venture with Village Roadshow, or under licence, where they also operate within Event Cinemas, and many international cinema-chains. Village Cinemas has output deals with all major film distributors and selectively screens some independently sourced films depending on material.
Kirby rapidly expanded Village Drive-In Pty Limited through the late 1950s, with the circuit opening in the Melbourne suburbs of Rowville and Essendon; Victorian regional areas of Hamilton, Wangaratta and Stawell; and regional Tasmania in Launceston. Village also went into its first partnership with Greater Union to build a Geelong drive-in, and by the beginning of the 1960s, operated 27 drive-in theatres throughout the states of Victoria and Tasmania. Village Drive-In then began to expand throughout the rest of Australia, particularly after the company began adding so-called "hard-top" (enclosed) cinemas in the 1960s. While drive-ins catered to Australia's suburban and vast regional markets, the hard-top theatres targeted the country's growing inner-city areas where their populations were less reliant on private automobile ownership.
Joining Roc Kirby in the company's expansion were his sons, Robert and John, who helped out by serving popcorn and soft drinks, and Graham Burke, who commenced with the company in 1960 sweeping floors at one of its theatres. Burke later became integral to the business, joining the Kirbys in Village Roadshow's expansion beyond exhibition. In 1967, the company entered the film distribution side, founding Roadshow Distributors. That operation later grew into Australia's largest, while also adding film production to its portfolio during the 1970s.
The advent of home video in the late-1970s, however, spelled the end of the drive-in theatres. Although Village Roadshow continued to operate a number of drive-ins until the 1990s, the format itself faded quickly with the growing availability of videocassettes and VCRs (the original Croydon drive-in closed in 1990). However, Village Coburg Drive-In, within the inner-Melbourne suburb of Coburg North, survived this period and is the last drive-in still operated by Village to this day. However, Village Roadshow responded to these new trends, adding its own video distribution and video rental operations in 1985.
Village Roadshow responded to another expanding trend, that of the multiplex cinema in the 1980s and '90s. Multiplexes were a reaction by the movie exhibition industry to the rise of video; the multiplex offered a choice of screenings in a single building, some containing up to 20 screens. Village Roadshow became a pioneer in building and converting its existing single or 'twin' screen cinemas into the multiplex concept, investing in new sound and projection technologies and introducing new features, such as stadium-style seating. By this change in business operations, Village Roadshow and their competitor cinema operators were able to attract audiences back into their theatres and were the forerunners to the multiplexes of today.
In 1995, Village Roadshow added a new retail format from the creation of joint-venture, Village Nine Leisure, with Publishing & Broadcasting Limited and Westfield Group, to open a string of 'virtual entertainment' shops known as Intencity. These video arcades expanded to most states and territories throughout Australia, usually co-locating with most Village Cinema sites in Victoria and Tasmania, and Greater Union/Birch Carroll & Coyle sites in other states (replacing some rival Timezone video arcade locations). Village Roadshow wholly acquired the chain in 1999, and since 2005, rationalised most locations down to the current nine arcades.
In February 1997, Village Cinemas and Warner Bros. partnered again to open Australia's first 24-hour cinema in Melbourne's new Crown Melbourne complex when it also opened (it reverted to normal cinema hours in 2001). It also included another new type of cinema, four Gold Class auditoriums, a luxury cinema format. By July 1999, Gold Class had already expanded to three auditoriums in Village Cinemas at Westfield Southland; two at Century City Walk; three at Sunshine Marketplace; and one at The Jam Factory. Also by that time, the concept broadened to Birch Carroll & Coyle sites in Brisbane; with two screens at Indooroopilly Shopping Centre; and another two at Garden City.
In October 1998, the Cinema Europa concept was introduced when three auditoriums were added to the Village Cinemas in The Jam Factory, closely followed by another three screens in Village Southland. As with Gold Class, this type of cinema would later be rolled out across other Village Cinemas in Melbourne before expanding overseas.
Village Force Cinemas Crosstown, Solotech Link Duo, Mid Auckland number one In August 1999, it was announced that the Village Force Newmarket and Village Rialto cinema chains in New Zealand (both being 50/50 joint ventures between Village Roadshow and NZ-based Force Corporation) would sell half their combined share in both multiplex networks to Hoyts to obtain half ownership in Hoyts' own NZ operations. Village Force Sololink, Village Rialto Solo Duo and Hoyts New Centre Crosstown new mid Auckland remained separate brands (similar to the Australian arrangements between joint venture partners, Village Cinemas and Greater Union/Birch Carroll & Coyle), yet merged back-office operations and marketing, leaving half-a-dozen staff redundant. The ownership structure saw Village Roadshow and Force Corporation New Solo Link Entertainment Centre Complex Medium sized keep 25% each, with Hoyts holding the remaining 50%. It was estimated by some business analysts that the combined group controlled more than two-thirds of all box office sales in New Zealand which concerned the Commerce Commission. However, after months of negotiations and legal threats from the Commission, Village Force Sololink Third The Next Level and Hoyts jointly announced in September 2000 that they would unwind the new partnership going back to their original ownership structures. Both companies said the courts would have upheld the alliance in the end, but conceded the costs and time required in legal actions meant it was not worth battling the Commerce Commission over the issue. Village Force Manukau Mt Eden Mt Wellington new Lynn Newmarket Auckland Henderson-West City St Lukes Glenfield Mall Crosstown Botany Downs Onehunga in Royal Oak And X Sololink chief executive, Joe Moodabe told the New Zealand Herald, "there were so many uncertainties and frustrations and the cost as well, it's just time to say, 'We gave it a good shot and let's put it behind us." He added that, "everybody's fed up with the whole thing now and wants to get on with life." This left Hoyts NZ to find another head office location, while Force Corporation look now open only x for Sololink In The Next Level interactive stages time-out leisure 3D Glasses On NOW would later be subject to an acquisition by Skycity Entertainment Group in March 2001, resulting in the cinema chain being renamed to Village Skycity.
Yet, the international market remained the company's clear priority as growth opportunities within its home market remained limited. Graham Burke told the Herald Sun, "We will be a worldwide entertainment giant – if we are not already – in five years." By the end of 2000, the Village Cinemas brand had entered a number of new foreign markets, including Austria, Switzerland, and the Czech Republic.
In early 2001, Village Roadshow's swift international cinema expansion had not convinced investors, and amid falling profits and a floundering share price, the public company was forced to abandon its ambition of establishing a global cinema empire. The company began exiting a number of foreign markets, with plans to drop back to just ten of its more profitable country markets. Village Roadshow also began shedding a number of its other non-core operations at the time while giving greater focus to its film distribution and production arms which included more major co-productions with Warner Bros.
In late 2001, the company continued its international rationalisation, selling off its Swiss and Hungarian theatres. Germany and France followed, and, by the end of 2002, the company had sold off its cinema businesses in Malaysia, India, and Thailand as well. Not all the company's cinema businesses were in regression, however, as the company added extra theatres to its existing chains in the Czech Republic, South Korea, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom that year.
In early 2003, Burke and the Kirby brothers admitted that they saw Village Roadshow's future chiefly in film production, particularly given the seemingly saturated status of the exhibition market. That year, Warner Bros. sold their 33.3% share in the Australian Multiplex Joint Venture back to Village Roadshow and Amalgamated Holdings Limited who increased their stakes to 50/50, forming Australian Theatres, the overall owner of Village Cinemas and Greater Union/Birch Carroll & Coyle (Event Cinemas would be later introduced outside Village's Vic/Tas markets in 2009).
In November 2005, Village Roadshow and their New Zealand cinema partner Skycity Entertainment Group, sold their 50/50 joint venture in Argentina's 6 theatre, 69 screen, Village Cines chain to two US-based investment funds, Southern Screens Entertainment II and Blue Ridge at 78% and 22% respectively. The Village brand and concepts were also acquired under licence with plans to open a nine-screen cinema the next month in Caballito, Buenos Aires continued under the new owners. At the time, Hoyts was the leading Argentine exhibitor, with a 29% market share.
In 2007, Village Roadshow sold its Warner Village Cinema operations in Italy, its two cinemas in Austria, and disposed of its 25% interest in the Palace Cinemas circuit in Australia. In New Zealand and Fiji, the company sold its 50% holding in Village Skycity Cinemas Newmarket Broadway, the arthouse Village Rialto chain, and Damodar Village Cinemas to Skycity Entertainment Group. This left Skycity with 100% control over the NZ Village Skycity Crosstown Sololink Tech circuit (promptly renaming the chain, Skycity Cinemas new Mangere Auckland John Goulter drive advanced), 50% partners in Village Rialto with Rialto Distribution (renaming them Rialto Cinemas), and 50% partners with the Fijian Damodar Brothers in the Damodar Village Cinemas chain (retaining the half Village branding) – it lasted until January 2010 when Skycity divested all their exhibition interests to Village's Australian cinema partner, Event Cinemas. However, also in 2007, the company undertook a cinema refurbishment program in Greece, transitioning the chain from its original old style cinema designs to the new 'Village World' concept that included the debut of Vmax and Gold Class screens, in addition to cafés, bowling alleys and movie merchandise stores.
In October 2008, the company entered the United States exhibition market by opening the first Village Roadshow Gold Class cinema in the wealthy Chicago suburb of South Barrington, followed by a second at Redmond, Washington. Local joint venture partners, Crescent Entertainment and the Alabama Pension Fund, owned a combined 40% stake in the new business with Village owning the majority. The company signed up a total of 12 sites across the US, all in up-market shopping areas, including New York City and Seattle, with plans to grow to about 40 complexes within three to five years. Like Gold Class cinemas in other countries, the US chain was targeting affluent movie goers willing to pay $US35 ($A43) a ticket for bigger chairs and the chance to order alcohol and gourmet food with their film. The only difference with the American chain saw its Gold Class screens located as stand-alone cinemas, while other international markets have theirs form part of the actual Village Cinema multiplexes. managing director, Graham Burke, commented on luxury movie watching as a new concept for America, "we will be the first mover in that market." Yet, he added a reassurance for shareholders, "Australia is the 51st state, the culture is very similar and it's worked so well in Australia." Village Roadshow Gold Class was headquartered in Burbank, California and led by CEO, Kirk Senior.
In October 2009, local diversified investment holding company, Demco Group, acquired 100% of Village Roadshow's Greek operations including all seven Village Cinema multiplexes, in addition to the film production and distribution arms, under licence. In June 2012, Demco expanded the Village brand further by establishing a Pay TV movie channel in Greece called, Village Cinema, on the OTE TV platform. The year before, Demco announced they were establishing the first Village Cinema within Romania, in Iași's new Palas Mall. The 10-screen multiplex (including one Vmax screen) was slated for a September 2012 opening, however (as of October 2013), obtaining information on its current operations have been unsuccessful thus far.
In September 2010, the company sold its majority stake in the six-theatre Village Roadshow Gold Class Cinemas LLC (Gold Class USA) to iPic Entertainment's new subsidiary, iPic-Gold Class Entertainment LLC, with Village retaining a 30% interest. Village Roadshow released a statement, admitting to shareholders; "The financial performance of the Gold Class USA cinemas has been disappointing from the outset." Over the next year, the new owners rebranded the chain to iPic Theaters, reduced ticket prices, added extra seating, outsourced restaurant services, and added extra locations while closing others.
In February 2013, all four Tasmanian Village Cinemas joined Australian Theatres after the long-standing joint venture between Village Roadshow and WIN Corporation ceased when WIN sold out. WIN's 50% investment was a legacy involvement from the mid-1980s, carried over from former Launceston-based media company, ENT Limited, which initially bought the stake (WIN acquired ENT in 1995).
In June 2017, Village Roadshow's 50% stake in Golden Village was set to be acquired by Singapore-based media mini-conglomerate MM2 Asia. However, mm2's bid to acquire 50% of Golden Village cinema chain fell through as Village Roadshow failed to secure the approval of Golden Screen (also known as Orange Sky Golden Harvest), the other joint venture partner. Instead, in October 2017, Orange Sky Golden Harvest purchased the Village Roadshow's 50% stake, therefore having full ownership of Golden Village. It is unknown whether the Village name will be dropped from Golden Village as a result of the acquisition.
The chain was forced to temporarily close all cinemas across the country in early 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, but reopened sites on 12 November 2020.
Victoria:
Tasmania:
All Gold Class Cinemas are operated in separate areas within regular Village Cinema complexes; whilst the former United States' Village Roadshow Gold Class chain were completely separate complexes between 2008 and 2010. The Gold Class format is also provided at many Event Cinemas sites and one regional Australian affiliate cinema. Village-branded Gold Class Cinemas are located at:
In Australia:
In Singapore:
In Argentina:
In Greece:
In the Czech Republic:
In India:
There are 4DX screens at the following sites:
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