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Cinemark buys sixteen theaters from Rave
posted by
Michael Zoldessy
on
October 15, 2012 at 7:46 am
Carmike is aggresively expanding with a goal of growing to 300 theaters nationwide. They recently purchased 16 theaters from Rave with most being leaders in their market.
Read more in the Ledger-Enquirer.
Comments (6)
Just to clarify, it was Carmike that bought the theaters from Rave, not Cinemark (my error when I submitted the item to CT). According to their respective websites, Cinemark currently operates 461 theaters (5,207 screens) and is based in Plano, TX )under the names Cinemark, Century, and Tinseltown); Carmike, based in Columbus, GA, currently operates 236 theaters with a total of 2,264 screens.
The Rave acquisition will boost Carmikes total to 252 cinemas. If Carmike’s goal is three hundred, I wonder what their next acquisition target might be (in addition of course to any new builds).
I was wondering if they’d go for the mess that is Clearview Cinemas. They currently don’t operate cinemas in NJ and only have one way out in South/West NY. That would be bad in that Carmike doesn’t really have a serious commitment to art films (Clearview does, all be it with awful presentation) – and I believe they may have a policy against showing unrated and NC-17 films.
Otherwise it should be noted the theaters Carmike is buying from Rave were owned by “Rave Reviews” – the former parent company and owner of the “Rave Motion Pictures” brand. When “Rave Cinemas” was formed through refinancing (which led to the expansion via acquiring half of National Amusements) – they bought a few sites and left these 16 with their parent company. Rave Cinemas was managing these sites.
It should be interesting in certain markets: Leigh Valley has a Rave (in an upscale shopping district) and a Carmike (by the airport) – – the Carmike isn’t well regarded (it’s a bit dated) – – should be interesting to see what happens there.
And here’s where I must disclose I own a small amount of stock in Carmike. The analysis in the theatre sectors points to further consolidation of regional operators, and its unclear if Carmike will be consolidated into one of the larger players or become one. The stock is considered undervalued by some analysts – along with the believe that Regal is as well (they also thing that spike two weeks ago in Regal Stock was related to some speculation that RGC might be acquired by private equity now that they are finally profitable).
Longterm I’m wondering if the US evolve into what Canada has – two major chains (Cinplex and Empire), a smaller one with a focus on discount operations (Rainbow/Magic Lantern), a strong regional exhibitor in QB (Guzzo), and very few independent chains/operators. (and one AMC just left there – – actually in the US that exists now, Hoyts has two sites still operating)
Carmike already has one location in Fort Wayne,IN. Why would they buy the Rave a few miles away? Will it go with a bargain price policy the way the Coventry 13 when Starplex bought them from Regal?
What theater does Carmike currently have in Fort Wayne? I checked their website and nothing is listed.
Carmike 20 http://www.carmike.com/ShowTimes/Theater/77 http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/19260
Thanks; I had put in “Fort Wayne” instead of “Ft. Wayne” in the search box.
Looking at the cinema map of Ft. Wayne, the two theaters are not all that close together; Carmike’s existing theater is on the outer fringe of the city on Dupont Rd. (and closer to Regal’s Coldwater Crossing Theater), about nine miles north of the city center, whereas Rave is about three miles due west of the city center. There would be about twelve miles or so via freeway between Rave and the Carmike 20.
I would doubt that the Rave would be converted to a discount house with the the discount Starplex so relatively close. I would guess that Carmike is betting on continued growth to the west of the city.