The Moving picture world (November 1925-December 1925)

534 MOVING PICTURE WORLD December 12, 1925 hoew^s Most Successful Year; Net Profits LOEWS, INC., has closed its most successful year. This was the fiscal year ending August 31, 192S. The net profits after all charges and dividends on preferred stock of subsidiaries was $4,708,631, which is equal to $4.43 a share on the 1,060,780 shares of no par value, against $2,949,052, equal to $2.78 a share, earned in 1924. According to comment by the Wall Street Journal, "purchase of Goldwyn about a year ago was a shrewd piece of business on the part of Marcus Loew. Goldwyn was bought for $5,000,000. Metro-Goldwyn 7 per cent, preferred stock of which $4,430,666 is outstanding. Annual dividends on this are about $300,000. The income from Goldwyn's half interest in the Capitol Theatre, New York, more than pays the dividends on the preferred. The Goldwyn property also included a valuable studio lot in Hollywood which Loew's will be able to sell at a handsome profit when it seems advisable. Since Metro also has a studio lot in Hollywood it is probable that sooner or later one of the tracts will be sold. "Feature of the balance sheet is the wiping out of an item of $10,977,083 for leaseholds, contracts and good will by writing up the property account. Loew's has extensive real estate holdings consisting of theatre and business buildings in choice sections of important cities all over the country. Many of these properties were acquired five years ago and have since appreciated greatly in value. In two properties Loew's is understood to have a profit of over $1,000,000 each. "Property and plants are now carried at $25,846,040, against $18,841,967 in 1924 and $14,677,689 in 1922. Investments, including PROTEST NEW BUFFALO THEATRE The nearness of a new gasoline station is said to be the reason for a fire department protest against the proposed new picture theatre to be erected by the Askey-Hager Company at 3174 Main street, Buffalo, N. Y., permission to build which has been granted by the council subject to "O. K." from nearby churches. It is reported that a church on the opposite corner is about to protest. The house, if it goes through, will seat 1,800. The lobby and entrance will be on Main street. The house will be 120 feet long, 80 feet wide and 30 feet high. CHICAGO PROPERTY SOLD Fitzpatrick & McElroy are selling some of their property in the Chicago territory. Last week the sale of the two-story building and lot on the southeast corner of 59th and Kedzie was rs^.orted to Frank R. McGarr for a reported amount of $350,000. McGarr took title for an undisclosed client. The theatre that is going up at 79th .and Ashland under the supervision of the circuit has been leased to the Ascher circuit, which will rename it the Hiland Theatre. MISS MORRIS WITH FOX Virginia Morris, director of advertising and publicity for the B. P. Schulberg productions. Inc., has accepted a position under Vivian Moses in the Fox publicity department. Were $4,708,631 real estate of subsidiaries are carried at $10,590,392, against $6,296,682 last year and $3,315,418 in 1922. "The company has an interest in a total of 105 theatres, and owns outright 33 theatres, four office buildings and two studio lots. A new $1,000,000 theatre is being built in Atlanta, and large houses are being built or leased in New Rochelle, Coney Island, Birmingham and Norfolk. "Working capital position has been much improved this year. The increase is mainly due to larger inventories of films which stand at $11,864,862, against $6,548,209. Loew's has been steadily expanding its producing business until it is now second only to Famous Players in film making. This inventory consists almost entirely of 1925 film output, according to the policy of depreciation employed by all important film producers, and is not incommensurate with the increased volume of business. Gross income in the last fiscal year was $56,294,745, against $42,937,268 in 1924 and $19,634,355 in 1923, an increase of nearly 150% in two years. "Earnings of Loew's last year were larger than the average net income of Famous Plaj'ers in recent years and only about $700,000 less than Famous Players net last year, which was the largest in its history. In other words Loew's has built up in four years a structure that is a cloSq second to the greatest moving picture producer in the world. Another year as good as the one just closed may bring even more important development to this rapidly growing company. "At piesent the weak point in Loew's structure is the comparatively small amount of cash, $1,547,585 in relation to inventories." Moe Mark Plans New Theatre Chain for Entire Country pLANS for the erection of a new chain A of high-class picture theatres throughout the United States were announced by Moe Mark, head of the Mark-Strand circuit of theatres, at the banquet in the Mark-Strand, Lynn, Mass., Sunday night, November 29, marking the tenth anniversary of that theatre. A formal announcement of the theatre building project will be made in a few weeks, Mr. Mark declared. Gathered at the banquet tables were Mr. Mark's associates, members of the MarkStrand board of directors and various prominent leaders in their respective endeavors, including Joseph M. Levenson of Boston, treasurer of the Lynn-Mark-Strand Theatre Company. William C. Scanlon, stage manager of the Strand, who has been employed by Mr. Mark for seventeen years, presented a beautiful silver loving cup to Mr. Mark as a token of the high esteem the employes of the Lj'nn Strand hold for their "chief." The board of directors presen-ted Mr. Mark with a large grandfather's clock, a costly and wonderful work of art. Allen B. Newhall, managing director of the Mark-Strand and Mark-Comique, also in Lynn, was toastmaster. Theatre Changes (Continued from page 532) comprising the company, and from whose initials the name is derived, are : D. Lekovicz, Harry Rackov and W. Worthington. Another old-timer has sold out. Dominick Delphos, who owned the Star at Bridgeville for twelve years, has disposed of his house to August Vallani. Butterfield Enlarging THE Butterfield Theatrical Enterprises is continuing to enlarge its chain of theatres, the latest step along this direction coming last week with the acquisition of the Fred Wuerth Theatres in Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor, Mich., comprising the Orpheum and Wuerth in Ann Arbor and the Wuerth in Ypsilanti. The closing of this deal gives Mr. Butterfield four theatres in Ann Arbor and two in Ypsilanti, or practically all of the theatres in both cities, with the exception of one small house in Ann Arbor. Mr. Wuerth intends to retire from the theatrical filed and after a rest will enter the real estate business. Another for Qoldman ANOTHER house has been added to William Goldman's growing string of second-run houses. Sigoloff Brothers are to build a l,200^:seat house on the site of their Elite Airdonie, Eighteenth street and Park avenue, and lease to Goldman for a term of years. ; The building will contain stores and apattmeitts and cost upwards of $150,000. Plan's are :in charge of Kennerly & Stegemeyer, architects. Title Guaranty Building. William Fox is said to be the big producer-distributor who plans to enter St. Louis exhibition circles. Gossip in film circles is that, the Fox interests will build a big firstrun house in St. Louis and also become interested in a chain of second-run houses. As has been reported, an eastern financial man and builder were in St. Louis recently studying the local theatre situation. They are known to have visited a number of neighborhood houses with a view of studying their possibilities. These men admitted, they represented a big producer-distributor but declined to reveal his identity. Those Rumors TP HERE also are the usual crop of rumors, some undoubtedly founded on fact and some more or less of the visionary sort. Here are a few of them : Famous Players has practically closed with Karl Hoblitzelle in the acquisition of his five theatres in Texas key cities and one in Little Rock, Ark. Hoblitzelle has a five-year contract with Fox. Ray Grombacher seeks to control the Spokane situation by purchasing the Hippodrome and the Will Starkey chain. He especially needs a second-run house, having bought both first and second runs. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer seeks booking control of the proposed $3,000,000 Midland Theatre in Kansas City. Universal and Paramount have majority control of the downtown first-run houses. The Midland will seat 4,000 and in policy resemble the Capitol in New York City. North American Theatres Corporation seeks theatre sit^s in Minneapolis and Omaha.