The Hoyts Group of companies in Australia and New Zealand includes Hoyts Cinemas, a cinema chain, and Val Morgan, which sells advertising on cinema screens and digital billboards.
The company was established by dentist Arthur Russell in Melbourne, Victoria in 1908, showing films in a hired hall. After expansion into other states and several changes of ownership, the majority of Hoyts was acquired by a Chinese conglomerate, the Wanda Group, in 2015. As of 2022, Hoyts owned 46 multiplexes housing 412 screens, making it Australia's second largest movie exhibitor after Event Cinemas.
History
1909–1930
At the start of the 20th century, Melbourne dentist and cornet player Arthur Russell bought a share in a small touring American circus that visited Melbourne, called Hoyts Circus. Russell toured with the circus as a magician, but it did not prove to be a financial success. In 1908, he started presenting moving pictures at St George's Hall in Bourke Street, accompanying the silent films with his small family band: his wife on piano, son on drums, and Russell on cornet.