Cinema United


Cinema United, formerly known as the National Association of Theatre Owners, is an American trade organization whose members are the owners of movie theaters. Most of the operators of worldwide major theater chains are members, as are hundreds of independent theater operators; collectively, they account for the operation of over 35,000 motion picture screens in all 50 U.S. states and over 33,000 screens in 100 other countries.
NATO was founded in 1965 by the merger of the largest movie theater trade organizations; the Theater Owners of America and the Allied States Association of Motion Picture Exhibitors. The long-running official magazine of NATO is Boxoffice ; between 2001 and 2007, they also published In Focus. On March 18, 2025, NATO rebranded as Cinema United, to honor and support movie theaters.

History

Early history

As the motion picture industry became larger, movie production companies began consolidating and controlling distribution. The largest producer, Famous Players–Lasky, joined and later merged with the largest distributor, Paramount, and together they began block-booking in 1917, forcing theaters to buy mediocre films to get the good ones. Theaters banded together to bargain for better pricing, with 26 of the largest combining into First National Exhibitors Circuit—which went on to become a producer and distributor in its own right, before being bought by Warner Bros. By 1921, Paramount already owned 300 theaters, and other producers were catching up. Studios soon contracted with each other to keep first-runs inside the affiliated network, using this access to coerce independents into selling out.
In 1921, the first predecessor of NATO was founded, the largely affiliated Motion Picture Theater Owners of America, soon followed by the independent Allied States Association of Motion Picture Exhibitors, Unaffiliated Independent Motion Picture Exhibitors of America, National Independent Theatre Exhibitors, and more, to demand better pricing and access to first-runs. Unlike the others, the MPTOA embraced affiliated theaters, and soon became the largest organization.
During World War II, many theaters joined the new War Activities Committee, after the war becoming the Theatre Activities Committee and soon American Theatre Association, which strongly supported United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc., the antitrust case against all of the major studios. A plan to merge with MPTOA, which strongly supported the studios, ran into friction, with many affiliated theaters leaving the ATA over its stance; conversely Allied, the largest purely-independent group, refused to join over the presence of affiliates. The merger went ahead in 1947, minus affiliates of Loews, RKO, and Warner Bros., and they became the Theater Owners of America with about 10,000 theaters.
After divestiture in the fallout of the 1948 Paramount decision, many formerly-affiliated theaters ended up joining either TOA or Allied. During the post-war period, theater revenue collapsed as television became widespread, even as film rental became more expensive, and thousands of theaters closed, particularly in city centers hard hit by suburban flight. Finally, in 1966 TOA and Allied merged into the National Association of Theatre Owners, largely based on TOA's structure but headed by Marshall Fine, former Allied chairman.
The 1970s were difficult for NATO; although the blockbuster The Godfather revitalized theater-going and revenue, in 1975 a new National Independent Theatre Exhibitors came together to challenge NATO, eventually numbering almost a thousand theaters, and governance reforms were pushed by members as well. When the reforms stalled, the entire California and Illinois chapters pulled out in 1977, along with many small chains around the nation. After 1980, many of the requested reforms were finally implemented, including a full-time president and a full-time lobbyist in Washington, as well as moving its headquarters from New York to Los Angeles; by the end of the decade, NITE had folded back into NATO, leaving only one dominant organization.
The 1980s saw a relaxation of antitrust regulation and subsequent purchasing of many chains by distributors and large conglomerates, including 120 theaters by Paramount and Warner; by the end of the decade, consolidation left the top 10 owners in control of 55 percent of the industry. In the 1990s, theater growth exploded, and by 1999, movie screens peaked at 36,448, the vast majority of which were affiliated with NATO.

Rebranding

In March 2025, the National Association of Theatre Owners announced that it had rebranded to Cinema United and a new slogan, "Moviegoing is Our Mission", as part of an effort to honor and support movie theaters by emphasizing audiences viewing movies theatrically. The new name also avoids confusion with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the military alliance known as NATO.

Events

CinemaCon

As ShoWest, the convention was formerly one of four major worldwide annual events owned by the Film Group unit of Nielsen Business Media before being sold in 2011 to e5 Global Media and operated exclusively by NATO.
Renamed CinemaCon in 2011, the convention is NATO's only official convention of theater owners controlled by the organization itself. The first gathering took place in March 2011 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada, with the second held April 23–26, 2012, at the same venue.
CinemaCon is now a stand-alone movie theater industry trade show or exposition originally established by NATO in 1975, usually held in Las Vegas in March.
On March 11, 2020, NATO canceled CinemaCon 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
ShoWest Convention 1976
ShoWest Convention 1978
ShoWest Convention 1979
ShoWest Convention 1981
ShoWest Convention 1982
ShoWest Convention 1983
ShoWest Convention 1984
  • Lori Singer – Breakthrough Performer of the Year Award
  • Sylvester Stallone – Star of Stars Award
  • Charlton Heston – Lifetime Achievement Award
ShoWest Convention 1985
ShoWest Convention 1986
ShoWest Convention 1987
ShoWest Convention 1988
ShoWest Convention 1989
ShoWest Convention 1990
ShoWest Convention 1991
ShoWest Convention 1992
ShoWest Convention 1993
ShoWest Convention 1994
ShoWest Convention 1995
ShoWest Convention 1996
ShoWest Convention 1997
  • Joel Schumacher – Director of the Year Award
  • Claire Danes – Female Star of Tomorrow Award
  • Winona Ryder – Female Star of the Year Award
  • Howie Long – Male Star of Tomorrow Award
  • Denzel Washington – Male Star of the Year Award
  • Arnon Milchan – Producer of the Year Award
  • Albert Brooks & Monica Mcgowan Johnson – Screenwriter of the Year Award
  • Alex D. Linz – Young Star of the Year Award
  • The Rock – Favorite Movie of the Year Award
  • Will Smith – International Box Office Achievement Award
  • Cuba Gooding, Jr. – Supporting Actor of the Year Award
  • Elizabeth Hurley – Supporting Actress of the Year Award
  • Arnold Schwarzenegger – Humanitarian Award
ShoWest Convention 1998
ShoWest Convention 1999
  • Will Smith – Actor of the Year Award
  • Meg Ryan – Actress of the Year Award
  • John Madden – Director of the Year Award
  • Heather Graham – Female Star of Tomorrow Award
  • Giovanni Ribisi – Male Star of Tomorrow Award
  • Jerry Bruckheimer – Producer of the Year Award
  • Bobby Farrelly & Peter Farrelly – Screenwriter of the Year Award
  • William H. Macy – Supporting Actor of the Year Award
  • Catherine Zeta-Jones – Supporting Actress of the Year Award
  • Tom Hanks – Box Office Star of the Decade Award
  • Adam Sandler – Comedy Star of the Year Award
  • Sean Connery – Lifetime Achievement Award
ShoWest Convention 2000
ShoWest Convention 2001
  • Wolfgang Petersen – Director of the Year Award
  • Sandra Bullock – Female Star of the Year Award
  • Ang Lee – International Filmmaker of the Year Award
  • Michelle Yeoh – International Star of the Year Award
  • Heath Ledger – Male Star of Tomorrow Award
  • Russell Crowe – Male Star of the Year Award
  • Richard D. Zanuck & David Brown – Producer of the Year Award
  • William Broyles, Jr. – Screenwriter of the Year Award
  • Haley Joel Osment – Supporting Actor of the Year Award
  • Judi Dench – Supporting Actress of the Year Award
  • Chris Rock – Comedy Star of the Year Award
  • Nicolas Cage – Distinguished Decade of Achievement in Film Award
ShoWest Convention 2002
  • Ron Howard – Director of the Year Award
  • Naomi Watts – Female Star of Tomorrow Award
  • Jennifer Lopez – Female Star of the Year Award
  • Jean-Pierre Jeunet – International Filmmaker of the Year Award
  • Josh Hartnett – Male Star of Tomorrow Award
  • Will Smith – Male Star of the Year Award
  • Douglas Wick – Producer of the Year Award
  • Julian Fellowes – Screenwriter of the Year Award
  • Marisa Tomei – Supporting Actress of the Year Award
  • Chris Tucker – Comedy Star of the Year Award
  • Nicole Kidman – Distinguished Decade of Achievement in Film Award
  • Steven Spielberg – Lifetime Achievement Award
ShoWest Convention 2003
  • Sam Mendes – Director of the Year Award
  • Alison Lohman – Female Star of Tomorrow Award
  • Diane Lane – Female Star of the Year Award
  • Fernando Meirelles – International Achievement in Filmmaking Award
  • LL Cool J – Male Star of Tomorrow Award
  • Adam Sandler – Male Star of the Year Award
  • David Heyman – Producer of the Year Award
  • Antwone Fisher – Screenwriter of the Year Award
  • Christopher Walken – Supporting Actor of the Year Award
  • Catherine Zeta-Jones – Supporting Actress of the Year Award
  • Chris Wedge – Animation Director of the Year Award
  • Brian Grazer – Lifetime Achievement Award
ShoWest Convention 2004
ShoWest Convention 2005
ShoWest Convention 2006
ShoWest Convention 2007
ShoWest Convention 2008
ShoWest Convention 2009
ShoWest Convention 2010
ShoWest Convention 2011
ShoWest Convention 2014