National Association of Theatre Owners

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The National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) is a trade organization based in the United States whose members are the owners of movie theatres. Most major theatre chains are members, as are many independent theatre operators; collectively, they account for the operation of over 26,000 motion picture screens in all 50 U.S. states and numerous other countries.

NATO was founded in 1965 by the merger of the largest movie-theater trade organizations, the Theater Owners of America and the Allied States Association of Motion Picture Exhibitors.^[1]

ShoWest is the annual motion picture convention established by NATO in 1975; it is usually held in March, and is the largest and most notable film convention in the world.^{[citation needed]}

In 1980, NATO also began presenting the American Movie Awards, with the winners selected based on voting by theater patrons. Various legal difficulties prevented the awards from being presented in 1981, and the event was discontinued after the 1982 awards due to competition from other awards shows.

The official magazine of NATO is Boxoffice (magazine).