Reading Cinemas ( ) is a group of cinema chains operating in the

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, and Australia. They are owned by the American company Reading International.

History

In the late 1980s, through his holding company the Craig Corporation, Los Angeles-based lawyer James Cotter acquired the Reading Company, a former American railroad company that held a portfolio of

real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...

properties after it sold its railroad assets and

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in 1976. Through the rest of the 1990s, Cotter acquired, developed, and operated real estate properties, focusing on cinema exhibitors and live theatre operators. Most of the company's holdings by this time were located far beyond the company's historical native ground of eastern

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. Reading entered Australia in 1995 and New Zealand in 1997, developing a chain of multiplex cinemas that operated under the Reading banner and exhibited mainstream films. In the United States, Reading pursued a more offbeat business direction, acquiring an art-house theatre at the historic Cable Building in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

in 1996 that operated under the name Angelika Film Center. The company also acquired and expanded a chain of multiplex cinemas throughout the island of

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

. By 1996 Cotter reorganized the company as Reading Entertainment, a Delaware corporation, and on December 31, 2001, both Reading Entertainment and Craig Corporation merged into and with Citadel Holding Corporation, another Cotter company. James Cotter died in August 2014, leaving his investment in the company in trusts that have been subjected to multiple years of litigation between his designated successor CEO, his son James Jr., and his daughters (Jr.'s sisters), Ellen and Margaret. In 2015, James Jr. was ousted by his sisters and a majority of the board of Reading International and Ellen Cotter subsequently was named CEO."Reading International May Be For Sale Following Court Ruling In Family Squabble," by David Lieberman (Deadline Hollywood; September 5, 2017)
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References

{{reflist Movie theatre chains in the United States Entertainment companies established in 1995 Companies affiliated with the Reading Company Cinema chains in Australia 1995 establishments in Australia

History

See also

References