Cobb Theatres
Cobb Theatres was an American cinema chain based in Birmingham, Alabama. The company was established in 1921, in Fayette, Alabama,[1] expanding through the South starting in the late 1940s, and buying out General Cinema's West Central Florida theatres and Wometco Theatres in the 1990s before being bought by Regal Cinemas in 1997 and revived in 2001. Cobb operated 25 locations, the majority of which were located in Florida, with others in Alabama, Georgia, Ohio, North Carolina, and Virginia.
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| Cobb Theatres | |
| Fate | Acquired by CMX Cinemas |
| Successor | CMX Cinemas |
| Founded | December 14, 2000 |
| Defunct | December 11, 2017 |
| Headquarters | , |
Number of locations | 25 theatres |
Key people | Robert M. Cobb (CEO & President) Ricky W. Thomas (CFO) |
| Website | www |
History
| Cobb Theatres | |
| Formerly | Richards Theatres (1921-57) Cobb Movies (1983-92) |
| Fate | Acquired by Regal Cinemas |
| Predecessor | Wometco Theatres (1925-94) |
| Successor | Regal Cinemas |
| Founded | 1921 |
| Defunct | July 31, 1997 |
| Headquarters | , |
Key people | Robert M. Cobb (CEO & President) |
In 1921, Jefferson A. Richards opened his family's first movie theatre in Fayette, Alabama. Lucille Richards Cobb purchased the theatre from Jefferson in 1934. In 1947, Rowland C. Cobb bought Lucille's two theatres and started building indoor and drive-in theatres throughout northern Alabama.
Notable theatres opened by Cobb included the Thunderbird Drive-In in Atlanta (the South's largest and most modern drive-in theatre) in 1963, the United States' first four-plex theatre in 1971, Cinema City 8 at Birmingham's Roebuck Shopping Center (the largest eight-plex theatre in the US) in 1978, and Sawgrass 18 (promoted as the largest theatre east of the Rocky Mountains) in 1991. Cobb operated 27 theatres by 1965. The following year, Cobb purchased eight theatres in Birmingham, Alabama and moved the company's offices to Birmingham.
Cobb Theatres expanded into South Florida by purchasing General Cinema's theatres in West Central Florida in 1992 and Wometco Theatres in 1994 (forming Cobb Theatres II following the Wometco acquisition), bringing Cobb's screen total to 315. Robert M. Cobb succeeded Rowland as the company's CEO on December 1, 1995. On June 11, 1997, it was announced that Regal Cinemas would acquire Cobb Theatres, which had 643 screens at 67 theatres, for $200 million plus $100 million in debt; Regal completed the acquisition on July 31.[2][3]
Robert M. Cobb decided to re-enter the cinema industry by forming Cobb Theatres III in 2000. Cobb opened the Dolphin 19 theatre in Miami, Florida on May 25, 2001, attracting 1.4 million visitors. Cobb grew to 11 theatres with 166 screens by 2006. In 2008, Cobb introduced CinéBistro, an elevated premium dinner-and-a-movie concept, in Miami and Tampa. Cobb expanded into Colorado, Virginia and Georgia by 2011, growing to 21 theatres with 253 screens.
CMX Cinemas
Mexican cinema chain Cinemex launched its CMX Cinemas subsidiary (which would provide U.S. locations with a premium cinema concept) with a theatre at Wellington, Florida in December 2016 and one at Brickell City Centre in Miami, Florida in April 2017. In October, CMX acquired Cobb Theatres, which made it the eighth-largest U.S. cinema chain with 30 locations.[4]
On March 16, 2020, CMX agreed to acquire 10 theatres and one under development from Star Cinema Grill; however, Star Cinema Grill owner Omar Khan filed a lawsuit in April alleging that CMX breached its contract by refusing to close the deal by March 26 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. CMX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on April 25 due to the pandemic; CMX shuttered 10 underperforming theatres and was initially unable to renegotiate contracts with creditors such as landlords and movie studios.[5] Following a six-month negotiation with creditors, CMX emerged from bankruptcy in December; landlords agreed to modified revenue-share leases where they will receive part of the theatres' profits.[6]
Cinema locations
| Name | City | Opening Date |
|---|---|---|
| CMX Pinnacle 14 | Gulf Shores, Alabama | July 22, 2005 |
| CMX Hollywood 16 & IMAX | Tuscaloosa, Alabama | November 5, 2004 |
| CMX Lakeside Village 18 & IMAX | Lakeland, Florida | December 22, 2005 |
| CMX Merritt Square 16 & IMAX | Merritt Island, Florida | May 21, 2004 |
| CMX Dolphin 19 & IMAX | Miami, Florida | May 25, 2001 |
| CMX Miami Lakes 17 | Miami Lakes, Florida | June 29, 2000 |
| CMX Downtown In The Gardens | Palm Beach Gardens, Florida | November 23, 2005 |
| CMX CinéBistro Hyde Park | Tampa, Florida | October 16, 2009 |
| CMX Grand 10 | Winter Haven, Florida | November 15, 2002 |
| CMX CinéBistro Stony Point | Richmond, Virginia | October 22, 2010 |
| CMX Plaza Café 12 | Orlando, Florida | December 12, 2010 |
| CMX Village 14 | Leesburg, Virginia | July 23, 2011 |
| CMX Countryside | Clearwater, Florida | December 16, 2011 |
| CinéBistro Waverly Place | Cary, North Carolina | September 4, 2015 |
| CMX CinéBistro and CMX Liberty | Liberty Township, Butler County, Ohio | November 5, 2015 |
| CMX CinéBistro Siesta Key | Sarasota, Florida | February 12, 2016 |
| CMX Tyrone 10 | St. Petersburg, Florida | April 15, 2016 |
| CMX Daytona 12 | Daytona Beach, Florida | December 12, 2016 |
| CMX Wellington | Wellington, Florida | December 15, 2016 |
| CMX CinéBistro CityPlace Doral | Doral, Florida | March 17, 2017 |
| CMX Brickell Dine-In | Miami, Florida | April 2017 |
| CMX Market Cinemas Closter | Closter, New Jersey | January 2018 |
| CMX Fallschase | Tallahassee, Florida | July 27, 2018 |
| CinéBistro Peachtree Corners | Peachtree Corners, Georgia | March 8, 2019 |
| CMX CinéBistro Halcyon | Alpharetta, Georgia | September 27, 2019 |
References
- "Company Overview of Cobb Theatres, LLC". Retrieved 22 February 2016.
- Klady, Leonard (June 12, 1997). "Regal set to acquire Cobb". Variety. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
- "Regal Cinemas to acquire Theater Concern in Alabama". The New York Times. June 12, 1997. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
- Brinkmann, Paul. "CMX Cinemas buys Cobb Theatres, including Orlando location". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 2017-11-20.
- "CMX Cinemas files for bankruptcy amid dispute over Star Cinema Grill deal". Houston Business Journal. 2020-04-27.
- Rodriguez, Rene (2020-12-03). "The Miami-based CMX movie theater emerges from bankruptcy in an unusual way". Miami Herald.