Maya Cinemas and Chicago real estate developer Urban Retail Properties have announced a joint venture to bring high-end, first-class multiplexes to inner-city Latino neighborhoods. The Los Angeles Times is reporting the two companies plan on building 500 screens in 40 locations in North America over the next five years and have already begun development or construction in cities such as Fresno, Bakersfield and Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Maya Cinemas presently runs a 14 screen complex in Salinas, California with plans to open a location in Inglewood to play movies in both Spanish and English. Urban Retail Properties is best known for developing mixed use properties such as Copley Place in Boston, Valencia Town Center near Los Angeles and Water Tower Place in Chicago.
The Times article quotes Patrick Corcoran of the National Association of Theatre Owners as saying that of the estimated 175 million moviegoers in the United States a majority are whites and that Latinos and African Americans aren’t far behind. Of these groups Corcoran points to Latinos as the most consistent movie watchers, a group he says exhibitors have begun to take notice of over the past several years. The Motion Picture Association of America figures Latinos make up 17% of U.S. movie audiences, the largest minority ethnic group among frequent moviegoers. Read More
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