Cinémas Guzzo

Cinémas Guzzo is a regional chain of movie theaters located in the Canadian province of Quebec. There are currently 9 Méga-Plex locations and 1 Cinema location, all within the greater Montreal area.

Cinémas Guzzo
TypePrivate
IndustryEntertainment (movie theatres)
Founded1974
Headquarters1055, chemin du Coteau
Terrebonne, Quebec
J6W 5H2
Key people
Angelo Guzzo (Founder & Chairperson of the Board)

Vincenzo Guzzo (President)
Maria Guzzo (Vice-President - Community Affairs)
Vito Franco (Vice-President - Film)
Mario Quattrociocche (Vice-President - Construction)

Ilario Maiolo (Vice-President - Legal)
ProductsMovie Theaters
OwnerPrivately Owned by the Guzzo Family
Number of employees
600
Websitewww.cinemasguzzo.com
Footnotes / references
Related: Groupe Guzzo Construction, Groupe Guzzo Pont-Viau, Groupe Guzzo Terrebonne, Groupe Guzzo Lacordaire, Mega-Centre Guzzo Pont-Viau, Mega-Centre Guzzo Ste-Dorothee

History

Cinemas Guzzo was started by Angelo Guzzo shortly after immigrating to Canada. He was born in Italy in 1946. In 1969, Vincenzo Guzzo was born and remains the Guzzo's only child. Vincenzo has had 5 children. After serving as the company's executive vice-president since 1990, as of 2018, Vincenzo took on the position of president.

In 2000, Cinemas Guzzo was identified as one of the 50 best managed private companies in Canada.

In 2001, revenues for the company were approximately $45 million, up roughly $5 million from the previous year. 2001 also saw an increase of nearly 500,000 tickets sold.

In 2007, they created the Guzzo Environment-Cancer Research Chair of the Cancer Research Society in partnership with the Université de Montréal. The following year, the first ever Notte in Bianco fundraising event took place, which raised roughly $400,000 in support of the fight against cancer.

In July 2012, Cinémas Guzzo completed their conversion of all their projectors to digital projectors. That same year, saw the opening of five IMAX screens at selected existing locations.

In late-2018, it was reported that Guzzo had been considering expanding his chain outside of Quebec, and had been investigating potential sites in Alberta and British Columbia, such as Calgary and Vancouver.[1]

During the COVID-19 pandemic in Quebec in 2020, cinemas were forced to shut down from March 25 to July 2 in Quebec. Guzzo had hoped to remain open during the closure period, but that did not come to pass. After cinemas reopened, theatre capacity was reduced to prevent spread of SARS-CoV-2 infections leading to COVID-19, with enhanced sanitary and cleaning protocols. The 2020 season was threatened by the situation in the U.S. as American chains could not operate in many places, and American studios did not release films into the market due to the COVID and screenroom situation. Theatres were again closed on October 1 in Montreal, where Guzzo operates.[2][3][4][5][6]

In 2021, as the COVID-19 pandemic continued, the Guzzo chain declined to reopen, as it believed that reopening restrictions were too strict and it refused to accept further government subsidies. The government imposed a provincial lockdown from December 26, 2020 to February 7, 2021, and later announced that cinemas across Quebec could reopen on February 26, 2021, with several restrictions. In red zones, where the Guzzo chain is located, this includes a 7:30 PM closing time and a ban on food and drinks during movies. Guzzo noted that no outbreaks have occurred in all of Canada through cinemas during 2020.[7][6]

Cinema Mega-Plex Saint-Jean 12 is scheduled to open December 17, 2021, Cinemas Guzzo's 10th location.

Theatres

Theatre name Digital Screens IMAX Screens Location Date Opened Language of films
Méga-Plex Marché Central IMAX 18 2 Montreal, QC June 2005 English, French
Méga-Plex Taschereau IMAX 18 2 Greenfield Park, QC October 1998 English, French
Méga-Plex Lacordaire 16 0 Montreal, QC November 1996 English, French
Méga-Plex Pont-Viau IMAX 16 1 Laval, QC December 1998 English, French
Méga-Plex Deux-Montagnes IMAX 14 1 Deux-Montagnes, QC May 2005 English, French
Méga-Plex Jacques-Cartier 14 0 Longueuil, QC October 1999 French
Méga-Plex Sphèretech 14 0 Saint-Laurent, Montreal, QC May 1999 English
Méga-Plex Terrebonne IMAX 14 2 Terrebonne, QC April 1991 French
Méga-Plex Saint-Jean 12 1 Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, QC December 2021 English, French
Cinéma Des Sources IMAX 9 1 Dollard-des-Ormeaux, QC June 1998 English
Hummer H2 SUT with the theatre chain's logo.

References

  1. "Quebec movie chain Guzzo readies Western Canada expansion". The Globe and Mail. December 26, 2018. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  2. John Meagher (July 7, 2020). "Montreal cinemas reopen under strict new health protocols". Montreal Gazette.
  3. Philippe Ofali (March 15, 2020). "Guzzo aurait préféré rester ouvert". Journal de Québec (in French).
  4. Sara Harvey (July 3, 2020). "Vince Guzzo: U.S. COVID crisis bigger threat to cinemas than box office slate". BNN Bloomberg.
  5. "Fermeture des cinémas: une mesure "arbitraire et injustifiée", déplore Vincent Guzzo". Courier du Sud (in French). September 30, 2020.
  6. "Some Quebec movie theatres reopen Friday, but owners worry plan not sustainable". CTV News. The Canadian Press. February 26, 2021.
  7. Bruno Lapointe (March 3, 2021). "Guzzo réitère sa position". Journal de Montreal (in French).


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