The Marcus Corporation () is an American

publicly held company A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) company can be listed on a stock exchange (list ...

headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The company operates two principal divisions: Marcus Theatres and Marcus Hotels and Resorts.

History

Marcus Corporation was founded on November 1, 1935 by Ben Marcus with the purchase of a single movie theatre screen in

Ripon, Wisconsin Ripon is a city in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 7,733 at the 2010 census. The city is surrounded by the Town of Ripon. Ripon is home to the Little White Schoolhouse, the commonly recognized birthplace of ...

. This movie theatre remains with Marcus as a first run theater, the Campus Cinema (near Ripon College), with titles appealing to both adults and families. It was also a restaurant franchisee, operating the Marc's Big Boy affiliate of the

Big Boy Restaurants Big Boy Restaurant Group, LLC is an American restaurant chain store, chain headquartered in Warren, Michigan, Warren, Michigan. Frisch's Big Boy Restaurants is a restaurant chain with its headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Big Boy name, desi ...

chain and serving as the Milwaukee area franchise for

Kentucky Fried Chicken KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) is an American fast food restaurant chain headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, that specializes in fried chicken. It is the world's second-largest restaurant chain (as measured by sales) after McDonald's, with 2 ...

. Marcus sold the KFC franchises by 1992 and closed the last Marc's in 1995. One of the company's principal assets, Baymont Inn & Suites, was sold to La Quinta Corporation in 2003.

Marcus Cable Marcus Cable Company was an American cable television provider headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and founded by Jeffrey A. Marcus and the Milwaukee-based Marcus Corporation. It was the nation's largest closely held cable-television company and the n ...

, which merged in 1998 with

Charter Communications Charter Communications, Inc., is an American telecommunications and mass media company with services branded as Spectrum. With over 32 million customers in 41 states, it is the second-largest cable operator in the United States by subscribers, ...

, was founded by a member of the Marcus family, but held no direct corporate connection to Marcus Corporation itself.

Marcus Theatres

Marcus Theatres is a United States movie theater chain that owns and/or manages screens in Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and Ohio. In 2000, the chain partnered with MovieTickets.com for advanced ticketing capabilities. This partnership was extended in 2011. In 2008, Marcus acquired seven theater locations in Nebraska from

Douglas Theatre Company Douglas Theatre Company was an American movie theater chain in based in Nebraska, operating in both Lincoln and Omaha. It was the 38th largest cinema chain in North America. Early years The company was formed in 1952, by Russell Brehm and then-Sen ...

. In August 2013, Rolando B. Rodriguez was appointed as president and chief executive officer of Marcus Theatres. After Rodriguez took over, the company introduced two new initiatives in October 2013: $5 admission for any movie on Tuesdays at select theaters and an alternative programming block known as "Theatre Entertainment Network. In January 2014, Marcus launched an initiative called "Indie Focus" that offers

art Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...

and

independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, i ...

s in select locations. The chain began a partnership with

Fandango Fandango is a lively partner dance originating from Portugal and Spain, usually in triple meter, traditionally accompanied by guitars, castanets, or hand-clapping. Fandango can both be sung and danced. Sung fandango is usually bipartite: it has ...

in fall 2015, making Fandango its preferred ticketing partner. In December 2016, the chain completed its acquisition of 14 theaters owned by

Wehrenberg Theatres Wehrenberg Theatres was a movie theater chain in America. It operated 15 movie theaters with 213 screens in the states of Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Arizona and Minnesota, including nine theaters with 131 screens in the Greater St. Louis, St. Lou ...

in four states. In November 2018, Marcus Theaters, a division of Marcus Corp acquired Movie Tavern to expand into Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Virginia. The acquisition was valued at $126 million sold in a combination of cash and stock, (NYSE: MCS). This adds 22 locations and 208 screens to the company's now total 1,098 screens at 90 locations in 17 states, representing a 23% increase in Marcus Theatres' total screen count. The first Movie Tavern location opened in 2001 in Fort Worth, Texas, and sold to Southern Theatres in 2013. Movie Tavern has become one of the largest and fastest-growing in-theatre dining concepts in the United States thanks to their praised menu and unique offerings. Marcus closed all Marcus Cinemas and Movie Tavern theaters after 8:30 p.m. showtimes on March 17, 2020 indefinitely, due to the

impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cinema The COVID-19 pandemic has had a substantial effect on certain films in the early 2020s, mirroring its impacts across all arts sectors. Across the world and to varying degrees, cinemas and movie theaters have been closed, festivals have been ca ...

and following the closures of competitors. Marcus Theaters chairman, president and CEO Rolando Rodriguez pledged full cooperation with the Center for Disease Control (CDC). The chain began a slow-process reopening in late June 2020 with several theaters, before a wider reopening started rolling out on August 21, 2020 to take advantage of the wide release for '' Tenet''. With that film underperforming and new product being held back as another case surge in Wisconsin happened, Marcus began to re-close some theaters and reduce others to weekend and Tuesday operations only by the start of October. It also later pushed the redemption period for refills of its annual low-cost 'unlimited refills' 2020 reusable popcorn bucket for the entirety of 2021.

Marcus Hotels and Resorts

Marcus Hotels and Resorts, currently owns or manages 17

hotels A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

and

resorts A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that tries to provide most of a vacationer's wants, such as food, drink, swimming, lodging, sports, entertainment, and shopping, on the premises. The term ''resort' ...

in California, Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, Oklahoma, Texas, and Wisconsin, as well as one vacation club in Wisconsin.

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Companies based in Milwaukee Movie theatre chains in the United States Economy of the Midwestern United States Economy of the Southwestern United States Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange Entertainment companies established in 1935 1935 establishments in Wisconsin Hospitality companies established in 1935

History

Marcus Theatres

Marcus Hotels and Resorts

See also

References

External links