Our History
Above: Village Coburg Drive-In
Village Roadshow (the Company) commenced operating in 1954, owning and managing one of the first drive-in cinemas in Australia in the Melbourne suburb of Croydon. From these modest beginnings, the Company gradually expanded its drive-in cinema circuit with the addition of more traditional or "hardtop" cinemas in major population centres. Village Roadshow entered the vertically related businesses of film distribution in the 1960s and film production in the 1970s.
In the 1980s Village Roadshow was a pioneer in the development of state-of-the-art multiplex cinema complexes. The Company's developments raised cinema exhibition standards to new levels with stadium seating, the latest sound systems and advanced projection technologies. These cinemas were the forerunners to the high-quality multiplexes that operate in Village Roadshow's cinemas today.
In the late 1980s Village Roadshow's growth strategy required greater access to capital. This was achieved through a "back door" stock market listing and additional capital raising through the takeover of De Laurentiis Entertainment Limited in 1988, which then changed its name to Village Roadshow Limited (ASX: VRL), still retaining a major shareholding of the Kirby and Burke families' holding company, Village Roadshow Corporation.
In the 1990s, Village Roadshow further diversified into complementary entertainment businesses. This included the purchase and development of arcades, theme parks and film studios. Village Roadshow Studios (previously Warner-Roadshow Studios) was initially acquired via the takeover of De Laurentiis Entertainment in 1988, the acquisition of Wet'n'Wild (originally Cades County) followed in 1989. The early 1990s saw the development and building of Warner Bros. Movie World which opened in 1991, the acquisition of Sea World and Sea World Resort (originally Sea World Nara Resort) followed later in 1992. More recently Village Roadshow opened Paradise Country in 2005, Australian Outback Spectacular in 2006, and Topgolf at the Gold Coast in 2018.
Above from left: Dedication ceremony, opening day Warner Bros. Movie World; and Main Street, Warner Bros. Movie World
Also in the 1990s Village Roadshow expanded its Cinema Exhibition business internationally, operating cinemas in up to 20 countries. Today, the Cinema Exhibition business has returned to its roots, and operates solely in Australia. Village Roadshow also purchased the Triple M radio network in 1993 and subsequently integrated it to create the Austereo Group. This was a separately listed company on the ASX in which Village Roadshow had a majority shareholding until March 2011.
Village Roadshow has previously owned up to 50% of Village Roadshow Entertainment Group, a Los Angeles based entertainment business which includes the Village Roadshow Pictures film production business, and included the Concord Music Group from February 2008 to March 2013. Village Roadshow has significantly reduced its shareholding in Village Roadshow Entertainment Group and currently holds a minor interest.
In 2012, Village Roadshow acquired Edge Loyalty, which was re-branded as Edge. The addition of UK based Opia in 2015 formed the Marketing Solutions division, focussing on digital platforms and rewards. The Edge business was sold in 2019 and the Marketing Solutions division, through Opia, has now expanded its operations into Europe, North America and South Africa.
In late 2020, private equity group BGH Capital partnered with the Kirby and Burke families and acquired Village Roadshow. Village Roadshow Limited was subsequently delisted from the ASX.