Cinerama Releasing Corporation

In 1963, the owner of the Pacific Coast Theater chain, William R. Foreman, purchased Cinerama, Inc. In 1966, CRC was set up to be an independent distributor of widescreen motion pictures produced by Cinerama, various foreign films and ABC Pictures, the film production unit of the American Broadcasting Company. CRC was only a distributor of films, without retaining copyright stake over each production. As an instant major by 1970, CRC reached a 10% market share. ABC Pictures ended operations in early 1973, thus CRC moved to primarily distributing non-financed films (acquisitions). By August 1974, CRC had released 125 acquired films at which time its productions and reissues were handled by American International Pictures. Cinerama, Inc., CRC's parent company, was liquidated in May 1978 with the Cinerama name ending up being owned by Pacific Coast Theater.