Cinema Entertainment Corp. history

Universal was bought out by MCA (a talent agency) in 1958.

1963:The first multiscreen theater is built.

In 1965, Durwood bought out his brother's and sister's ownership interests.

Whatever the reason, Warner Bros. bankrolled Bonnie and Clyde (1967), tried to bury it on release, but ultimately had to admit they had a huge hit on their hands.

1968:AMC is incorporated as American Multi-Cinema Inc.

AMC boosted that figure in 1969 when it opened its first six-screen theater.

A former Marine Corp captain and fighter pilot, Singleton had been with AMC since 1974.

JAWS (1975) cost $9 million to make (three times more than Universal budgeted) and took 159 days to shoot (three times longer the Universal had hoped), but it grossed more than $120 million in its first theatrical run.

Two years later, 20th Century Fox released Star Wars (1977). Its success dwarfed that of JAWS.

The AMC chain included more than 500 screens in theaters scattered mostly around the Midwest by 1981.

Still eager to speed up expansion, the 63-year-old Durwood took his company public in 1983.

In 1990, MCA which owned Universal was acquired by Panasonic, another Japanese electronics company.

Although AMC's sales wavered barely above the $400 million mark, its operating costs declined and the company posted a $1.3 million net profit in 1993.

Of its 276 theaters, AMC closed 40 of the least profitable, reducing its total number of screens to about 1,600 by 1994.

1995:The first 'megaplex' is built.

1999:Longtime chairman and CEO Stanley H. Durwood dies.

More promising, AMC and Hollywood.com, Inc., a web site for movies and entertainment, joined forces to sell movie tickets over MovieTickets.com in 2000.

In 2007, CEC Theatres sold 125 screens located in Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota and Wisconsin to Marcus Theatres.

Before 2008, international sales made up less than 20% of box office dollars.

In 2013, Dalian Wanda, a Chinese company, bought the American theater chain AMC for $2.6 billion.