| Type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Cinema |
| Founded | 1954 |
| Headquarters | Melbourne, Australia |
| Key people | Kirk Edwards, CEO |
| Products | Cinemas |
| Parent | Australian Theatres |
| Website | www.villagecinemas.com.au |
Village Cinemas is an Australian cinema chain. Its Australian sites are owned and operated by Village Roadshow-Amalgamated Holdings Limited (AHL) joint venture Australian Theatres. The group has rebranded several of its premier Australian and New Zealand cinemas as Event Cinemas since 2009.[1][2] Village Cinemas has sites across Australia, the United States and Greece. Village Cinemas which has output deals with all major film distributors shows all mainstream and some arthouse films.
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Beginning in the early 2000s, Village Roadshow reduced the number of territories in which it operates having exited Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, India, Switzerland, Hungary, France, New Zealand, Fiji, Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Taiwan, Korea and in the United Kingdom.
In 2003, Village Roadshow sold 50% of its Australian cinema operations to AHL in exchange for a partnership to form a joint venture; Australian Theatres.
In 2007, Village Roadshow moved into the US market opening several Village Roadshow Gold Class sites.
Cinemas operated under the Village Cinemas brand include:
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JVP, or Joint Venture Partner, sites are those that independently owned and operated but have a film and product output deal with Village Cinemas. These sites are usually branded independently of Village.
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Gold Class Cinemas are luxury cinemas with various locations across Australia, The USA and Greece. Gold Class Cinemas are operated inside a regular Village Cinema within Australia although they are held in a separate specialised auditorium whilst in the US they are in a completely separate complex. Several JVP sites also feature Gold Class. Gold Class Cinemas include cloakroom facilities, butlered refreshments, à la carte menu offerings and reclining seats. The Gold Class scheme is also available at selected Greater Union and Event Cinemas. Gold Class Cinemas are located at:
In Australia:
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In the US:
In Greece:
Cinema Europa showcases the best of world film, mostly Australian independently made films, European films and documentaries. Cinemas Europa also shows many arthouse films which are not shown in regular Village Cinemas. Cinema Europa locations are inside regular Village Cinemas, in a separate area to the rest of the cinema. Each Europa cinema location features separate toilets and a licenced lounge bar and cafe. Some Europa audiotoriums are upholstered in blue, as opposed to red in the regular audiotoriums. Cinema Europa locations are:
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Vmax cinemas feature enhanced film display, picture quality and digital sound. The screens at Vmax are all of width 22 metres or greater (the largest being 28 metres at Knox) and are placed in large auditoriums which feature larger seats, stadium seating and wider armrests. Vmax locations are:
Opening in November 1965, Coburg is the last Village operated drive-in and one of only three remaining in operation in Victoria. The grand opening night's features were Alfred Hitchcock's Marnie and McHale's Navy. Today, a variety of blockbusters are projected onto three 33 metre wide screens. Sound is available via speakers attached to poles as well as an FM stereo broadcast. A retro 50's style diner is also on site, which offers an SMS ordering service, which delivers food and drinks to your car.
Village have installed the RealD Cinema 3D projection system in a number of their traditional and Gold Class auditoriums. Typically, 1-3 auditoriums are equipped with the projectors per multiplex. Initially, glasses were offered for free, however they have recently been charging $1, encouraging people to keep and re-use their glasses for future sessions.