Hoyts

1909–1930

At the start of the 20th century, Melbourne dentist and cornet player Arthur Russell bought a share in a small touring American circus that visited Melbourne, called Hoyts Circus. Russell toured with the circus as a magician, but it did not prove to be a financial success. In 1908, he started presenting moving pictures at St George's Hall in Bourke Street, accompanying the silent films with his small family band: his wife on piano, son on drums, and Russell on cornet. On 18 September 1909 he opened Hoyts Picture Palace, and formed a company called Hoyts Pictures Pty Ltd. The old hall was rebuilt and renamed "Hoyts De Luxe". By the end of World War I, Hoyts had expanded into the suburbs of Melbourne and into Sydney. The shows included vaudeville acts, as was common practice in those days.

In 1926, Hoyts and two other companies, Electric Theatres Pty Ltd and Associated Theatres Pty Ltd., merged to become Hoyts Theatres Limited. In 1930, the 20th Century Fox Film Corporation (now 20th Century Studios) acquired a majority of shares in Hoyts Theaters.

1980s

In 1982, 20th Century Fox sold Hoyts to Stardawn Investments, a group of four Melbourne businessmen. In 1985, the Fink family subsequently bought out the other partners to become the sole owner. In 1987, the corporation was restructured and two of the companies in the corporation were listed on the Australian Securities Exchange: Hoyts Media and Hoyts Entertainment. However, the company that owned the cinemas, Hoyts Cinemas, was not floated until 1996. The years between 1987 and 1996 saw Hoyts expand in Australia, New Zealand and the United States. In 1988, Hoyts bought out Interstate Theaters, which made its expansion into the United States market. In the 1980s, Hoys diversified into radio with the purchase of Triple M Sydney and Eon FM. Further acquisitions included 4BK in Brisbane, 5AD in Adelaide and 96FM in Perth.

1990s

Following Leon Fink's death in 1993, Hoyts was sold to Hellman & Friedman and Lendlease. The company eventually went public in 1995. In 1997, Hoyts expanded to Chile with the opening of its first movie theatre there. In 1999, Hoyts celebrated its 90th anniversary and was ranked the seventh largest cinema exhibitor in the world. In the same year, Kerry Packer's private family company, Consolidated Press Holdings, bought the chain for $620 million. After that, Hoyts began to sell off international cinemas except for some New Zealand cinemas. In 1995, the radio assets were sold to Austereo.

2000s

In 2003, Hoyts sold all of its US chains to Regal Entertainment Group. In 2004, Hoyts collaborated with Village Roadshow and Amalgamated Holdings Limited to bail out Val Morgan Cinema Advertising, eventually taking its stake to 100% in 2005. In December that year, Publishing & Broadcasting Limited and West Australian Newspapers purchased the company from Consolidated Press. In 2007, Hoyts was sold to Sydney-based private equity firm Pacific Equity Partners. The sale valued the company at A$440 million.

2010s

In 2010, Hoyts sold off its Chilean operations to Chilefilms. In the same year, Hoyts acquired Australian Multiplex Cinemas in Queensland and the Berkeley Cinema Group in New Zealand. HOYTS Stream, a video streaming service, was set to launch during 2013, but after being delayed, it was cancelled in 2014. Damian Keogh was appointed chief executive officer, and Hoyts was bought by Chinese billionaire Sun Xishuang through his investment company ID Leisure Ventures in December 2014.

In June 2015, Wanda Cinema Line, a subsidiary of Dalian Wanda Group, purchased Hoyts from ID Leisure Ventures.

In 2018, Hoyts Kiosk DVD vending machines were rebranded as Video Ezy after the group sold its subsidiary.