Free Republic

Cinemark is launching an offering of $250 million in senior secured notes. The theater chain said the debt securities will be used for “general corporate purposes,” which include enhancing its liquidity at a time when cinemas have been closed indefinitely due to the coronavirus. Cinemark, which is the third largest exhibitor, said the debt will be secured by a first-priority lien on its leases. The debt sale comes as the exhibition sector is in free fall. It's unclear when coronavirus will have dissipated enough for cinemas to reopen. Studios have pushed many of their upcoming releases back until later in...

Starting Thursday, Cinemark will not allow moviegoers to bring in large bags at its theaters. The company says the new policy, effective Feb. 22, was put in place to “enhance the safety and security” of guests and employees. Any bags or packages measuring larger than 12″ x 12″ x 6″ will not be permitted into the theater. The theater says while it does not provide a general area to check bags, its employees reserve the right to inspect all bags and packages entering the theater. Diaper bags and medical bags are allowed.

Why did James Holmes pick the Cinemark's Century 16 Theatre in Aurora, Colorado, to commit mass murder on July 20, 2012? You might think that he chose the closest theater to his apartment. Or, that he chose the one with the largest audience. Yet, neither explanation is right. Instead the Cinemark theater seems to have been chosen because it was the only one that banned guns. Out of all the movie theaters showing the new Batman movie that night, it was the one theater within convenient driving distance where guns were banned.In Colorado, individuals with permits are allowed to carry...

With 12 dead and 58 wounded, the July 20th shooting at the Cinemark Century 16 Theater in Aurora, Colorado was sure to result in a lawsuit. On Friday, the first suit was announced, claiming Cinemark has “primary responsibility.” The theater did have responsibility for the attack, but not for the reasons that the lawyers bringing the case think. The lawyer bringing the suit, Attorney Marc Bern, with the New York city law firm of Napoli, Bern, Ripka and Scholonik, suggested the theater should have had security guards the night of the attack. Yet, checking bags or metal detectors at the...

Torrence Brown Jr., one of the Aurora movie shooting survivors, is planning on suing the theater, confirmed his family's publicist on Wednesday. "We're going to make sure whoever is accountable is going to take responsibility for this tragedy," Cassandra Williams of Wet PR said. She said that Brown, who was friends with 18-year-old AJ Boik, one of the shooting victims, is handling the criticism his suit has sparked. "We know it goes with the territory, so he's fine," Williams said. She added that Brown, 18, is seeking therapy and is emotionally distraught after the shooting.

CHICAGO (AP) Three members of the motion picture projectionists union pleaded guilty Friday to taking part in a campaign to win contracts from major theater chains by setting off smoke bombs across the country that sent movie patrons running in panic for the exits. The three were among seven men associated with the Chicago local including its president who were indicted in November in connection with the wave of arsons and violence in the late 1990s. The 10-state crime wave was launched in an effort to pressure major movie theater chains to negotiate contracts with the Chicago-based local union, the...