Carmike Cinemas Inc. is a motion picture exhibitor headquartered in Columbus, Georgia in the United States of America. As of September 2014, the company operates or holds an interest in 278 theaters with 2,917 screens in 41 states, and is the fourth largest movie theater company in the United States. The company bills itself as "America's Hometown Theatre" and Carmike theaters are largely positioned in rural or suburban areas with populations under 200,000. The company's theaters operate under various names and will generally have a name followed by the number of auditoriums at that location; for example, "Carmike 15".

History

Carmike was founded when Carl L. Patrick, Sr. acquired Martin Theatres from Fuqua Industries in 1982. The company's name was derived from a combination of the first names of Carl L. Patrick, Sr.'s two sons, Carl Jr. and Michael, hence "Carmike."

Carmike sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in August 2000 after failing to make US$9 million in interest payments to bondholders—the company owed approximately US$650 million in debt. Since declaring bankruptcy, many theaters (mostly smaller single, twin and triple theatres) in inactive markets were closed down, and some were renovated or relocated in areas with desirable market potential—most of these newer theaters are 10 screens or larger. The number of theaters owned or operated by the company dropped from 448 to just over 300.