Kerasotes Showplace Theatres, LLC was a

movie theatre A movie theater (American English) or cinema (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), also known as a movie house, cinema hall, picture house, picture theater, the movies, the pictures, or simply theater, is a business ...

operator in the United States. Based in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, Kerasotes Showplace Theatres, LLC was the sixth-largest movie-theatre company in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

which had some 957 screens in 95 locations in

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, and

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at one point. The company was founded in 1909, when Gus Kerasotes, a

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immigrant, opened a storefront nickelodeon movie theatre in

Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its population was 114,394 at the 2020 United States census, which makes it the state's List of cities in Illinois, seventh-most populous cit ...

. He and his brother, Louis G. Kerasotes, operated the theater business together for over fifty years. His four sons, George, Louis, John, and Nicholas, joined him in the business and by the 1930s, the company had one theatre. The chain undertook a major expansion program during the 1990s and 2000s adding several hundred screens to the circuit. In January 2008, Kerasotes acquired AGT Enterprise's Star Cinema brand. The purchase included four theatres in Wisconsin and two in Iowa, which retained the Star Cinema name. On November 20, 2009, Kerasotes opened the first theater in its newly-created premium theater brand, Showplace ICON, in

. It would soon be followed by a second location in

the following month. On Tuesday, January 19, 2010, Kerasotes Showplace Theatres, LLC announced that they signed a definitive agreement to sell most of the assets to AMC Entertainment, Inc., combining the nation's second and sixth largest movie theatre chains. On Tuesday, May 25, 2010, the $275 million sale between Kerasotes Theatres and AMC Entertainment, Inc. was completed. Kerasotes Showplace Theatres was then managed by the third generation of the founding family with Tony Kerasotes as chief executive officer and Dean Kerasotes as chief operating officer. It operated six theaters located in the Seaport District in

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's South Loop, the

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suburb of St. Louis Park,

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at Westfield Valley Fair, and in the Harmon Meadow development in

Secaucus, New Jersey Secaucus ( ) is a Town (New Jersey), town in Hudson County, New Jersey, Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the town's population was 22,181, an increase of 5,917 (+36.4%) from the 2010 United St ...

. On June 21, 2024 ShowPlace ICON sold its Secaucus location to

Regal Cinemas Regal Cinemas (also Regal Entertainment Group) is an American movie theater chain that operates the second-largest theater circuit in the United States, with 5,720 screens in 420 theaters as of December 31, 2024. Founded on August 10, 1989, it ...

and its St. Louis Park location to Marcus Theatres. It then discontinued operations effective on June 30, 2024.Brueggermann, Tom. “Kerasotes Theater Chain Closes After 115 Years in Business.” IndieWire, 1 July 2024. Accessed online at https://www.indiewire.com/news/box-office/kerasotes-theater-chain-closes-115-years-in-business-1235021814/

References

External links

* {{Major USA Cinema Chains Defunct movie theatre chains in the United States Companies based in Chicago Springfield, Illinois Private equity portfolio companies Providence Equity Partners companies AMC Theatres American companies established in 1909 Entertainment companies established in 1909 2010 mergers and acquisitions