Flagship Theatres battles Cinemark over film bookings

Sept. 27, 2011 5:18 PM PT

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A David vs. Goliath legal battle between Flagship Theatres and Cinemark, the nation’s third largest theater chain, is heating up in Palm Desert. The owners of the Palme d’Or allege in a lawsuit that Texas-based Cinemark, which operates the 15-screen River Cinema in nearby Rancho Mirage, is illegally muscling them out of the marketplace by threatening to retaliate against movie studios that book films into the Palme d’Or. Cinemark has denied engaging in so-called circuit dealing and lodged an appeal.

Meanwhile, the case, initially dismissed in Los Angeles County Superior Court but recently revived by an appellate court, is being closely watched by other independent cinema operators around the country who’ve long complained about the big chains making it difficult for them to book first-run movies. For more on the story, click here.

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-- Richard Verrier

Company Town Blog

Richard Verrier

Richard Verrier is investigations editor for Arts and Entertainment at the Los Angeles Times. He has been with The Times since 2001 and has run our Company Town since 2016. After stints at the St. Petersburg Times and the Orlando Sentinel in Florida, Verrier joined the paper as a reporter, and for many years covered all aspects of the entertainment industry before turning to editing. He oversees the Company Town coverage while working to guide and edit investigative and enterprise reporting across the entertainment team, collaborating with writers and editors from all departments. He is a native of Montreal and a graduate from the University of Toronto and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.

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