Loews Cineplex Entertainment

Background
In April 1998, Cineplex Odeon Theatres merged with New York City-based Loews Theatres (founded in 1904 by Marcus Loew) to form Loews Cineplex Entertainment. Alliance Atlantis purchased Cineplex Odeon Films's assets along with its home video division the same year. After the merger, the company ceased to exist and was merged into the operations of Loews Cineplex Entertainment, though the Cineplex Odeon name continued to be used for the Canadian theatres. In 1999, Ellis Jacob and Steve Brown, former executives who left Cineplex Odeon Corporation during the ownership change, created Galaxy Entertainment designed to bring big-city entertainment to mid-sized markets across Canada. In 2001, Loews Cineplex Entertainment, the company that merged with Cineplex Odeon, filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. Lowes Cineplex was later acquired by Onex Corporation and Oaktree Capital Management in 2002. In 2004, Onex decided to sell Loews Cineplex and retain the Canadian operations, merging them with Galaxy to form Cineplex Galaxy Income Fund (now Cineplex Entertainment). At the time of the merger, Cineplex Odeon operated 40 locations in Canada. On June 13, 2005, Cineplex Galaxy announced its acquisition of Famous Players from Viacom for $500 million (about US$397 million). This deal was completed on July 22, 2005. To satisfy antitrust concerns, on August 22, 2005 the group announced the sale of 27 locations in Ontario and western Canada to Empire Theatres. Eight days after Cineplex Galaxy announced its purchase of Famous Players, Loews Cineplex Theatres and AMC Theatres announced a merger, which occurred on January 26, 2006. While AMC Theatres also operated in Canada and was ranked third behind Cineplex Galaxy Income Fund and the enlarged Empire Theatres, Cineplex Odeon and AMC Theatres remained competitors. In 2012, AMC sold four of its theatres to Cineplex Entertainment, in an effort to divest their Canadian operations and focus on their U.S. assets.

1st Logo (1999-2001)
Logo: We see a view of New York City (with the pre-2001 World Trade Center in the background) from sunset, then it fades into Times Square at night and later fades into a Loews Cineplex theatre with a limo stopping at the entrance with hundreds of people gathering there. After that, it fades into another shot of Times Square before transitioning into another show from above, before fading into the planet Earth with a searchlight coming from New York, another coming from Chicago and another coming from Los Angeles. All three searchlights then form the Loews symbol, while the Loews Cineplex wordmark appears on the right.

Technique: An incredible mix of live-action footage and CGI.

Music/Sounds: A triumphant orchestrated piece of music ending with an arrangement of the famed Loews theme.

Music/Sounds Trivia: This theme was also used for the Yelmo Cineplex chain of theatres in Spain, as heard here.

Availability: Extinct.

2nd Logo (2002-2004)
Logo: On a background, we see the word "LOEWS" in black, emitting light rays. Another copy of the text, in, folds up one letter at a time. It then faces to the word "CINEPLEX", with one copy in the background and another copy also folding up. Then, on a black background, the searchlights from the Loews symbol spin into place, causing a big flash which forms the Loews Cineplex Entertainment logo and the byline "An ONEXCompany" below. The word "LOEWS" spins towards us letter by letter and the text "FEATURE PRESENTATION" zooms out and shines three times.

Technique: CGI.

Music/Sounds: A piano glissando followed by a truncated remix of the 1996 Loews jingle, with whooshing, a rising electronic noise and metal clanging sound effects.

Availability: Extinct.