Mark Cuban, Hollywood mogul.
Regulatory filings released today show Cuban has acquired a 9.4% stake in Carmike Cinemas (CKEC), the fourth-largest movie theater chain in the US.
What's he want with it? Well, together with broadcast.com co-founder Todd Wagner, Cuban co-owns movie chain Landmark Theatres, and runs something called 2929 Entertainment:
Wagner and Cuban are utilizing several of these vertically integrated companies to experiment with a “day-and-date” model in which films will be released simultaneously across theatrical, television and home video platforms, thus collapsing the traditional release windows and giving consumers a choice of how, when and where they wish to see a movie. Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh is directing six movies under this model that began with the January 2006 simultaneous release of “Bubble” in theaters, on DVD and on HDNet Movies.
Do you remember "Bubble?" Neither do we. But if the Carmike deal goes through, Cuban will have a lot more theaters carrying his movies.
Update: Mark declined to comment on the investment, but he's shared some of his thoughts on the movie theater business. Click here for more.
See Also:
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Mark Cuban Slams SEC (But Says It Has "Nothing" To Do With His Situation)
