In the fall of 1996, Edwards Theatres Circuit Inc. operated some 560 screens, at 90 locations. The, then debt free company, pulled in estimated revenues of $170 million and had a two year plan to spend $200 million on expanding the chain. The notoriously competitive company had all but formally declared war on industry giant AMC; via the construction of their Ontario Palace 22, some 900 feet away from AMC’s Ontario Mills 30 mega-plex. Yet, amidst this thriving facade, there was an unlikely scenario quietly unfolding, behind the scenes, that nearly changed the face of Southern California cinema. The ninety year old founder of Edwards Theatres, James Edwards Jr., was “secretly” negotiating the sale of his chain to bitter rival AMC.
At the time, AMC was in the midst of a massive nationwide expansion and spending spree, after having almost single handedly launched the industry’s late 90’s mega-plex era/expansion craze, with the 1995 opening of their Grand 24 theatre, in Dallas Texas. In turn, AMC’s Stanley Durwood had undertaken a more aggressive approach to the coveted Southern California market and had begun to butt heads with the senior Edwards on a more regular basis. Through these seemingly hostile interactions the two aging theatre moguls had observed a potential financial windfall; the elderly Edwards a lucrative “cash out” and Durwood an “overnight” regional dominance.
The negotiations, while “officially” never moving beyond long distance communications, “unofficially” came much closer to a deal than most realize. At one point, Durwood actually flew out to Orange County, with his corporate entourage in tow, to meet Edwards for a face-to-face discussion on the matter. Over the days leading up to the planned meeting, two local AMC general managers were sent out on hurried missions to photograph and document as many of Edwards’ theatres as possible; passing the information off as Durwood’s entourage made it’s way through the area. Then, after a quick stop at Edward’s Irvine Spectrum location, the rendezvous was called off, relegating the negotiations back to mere speculation.
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A few months later, on April 26 1997, James Edwards Jr. died and “the deal that almost was” was quite literally “dead in the water” (Edwards had suffered a heart attack and fallen in to Newport Harbor). Edwards’ son, James Edwards III, officially took the reigns of his family’s business and quickly sent AMC the pointed message “No Sale”.
Over the ensuing years, “the deal that almost was” would prove out the senior Edwards’ foresight. Edwards Theatre Circuit Inc. would bury itself in the financial strains of the mega-plex era. The company would invest $40 million in the IMAX corporation, $300 million in theatre anchored entertainment centers, expand to some 750 screens, and take on a $250 million dollar loan from Bank of America for a planned 532 more screens; all in an attempt to keep up with the competition. Overburdened with debt, Edwards Theatres would file for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in 2000. A year later, the Edwards family would be forced to sell controlling interest in the company to billionaire Philip Anschutz’s Regal Entertainment group, for a mere $56 million.
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