First National Exhibitors’ Circuit

E507636

First National Exhibitors’ Circuit was an early 20th-century American motion picture theater owners’ cooperative that evolved into a major film distribution and production company.

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Statements (41)

Predicate Object
instanceOf film distribution company
movie theater owners’ cooperative
acquiredBy Warner Bros. NERFINISHED
acquisitionDate 1928
alsoKnownAs First National Pictures NERFINISHED
beganFilmProduction late 1910s
brandUsedBy Warner Bros. NERFINISHED
businessModel cooperative distribution of motion pictures
ceasedToExistAsIndependentCompany late 1920s
country United States of America
surface form: United States
distributedIn North America NERFINISHED
distributedWorksOf Charlie Chaplin NERFINISHED
D. W. Griffith NERFINISHED
Douglas Fairbanks NERFINISHED
Mary Pickford NERFINISHED
era silent film era
evolvedFrom cooperative of independent theater owners
focus feature-length motion pictures
founded 1917
foundedAs First National Exhibitors’ Circuit, Inc. NERFINISHED
foundedBy group of American motion picture theater owners
hadProductionFacilitiesIn Burbank, California NERFINISHED
headquartersLocation Burbank, California NERFINISHED
New York City, New York NERFINISHED
historicalSignificance helped shift power from producers to exhibitors in early Hollywood
pioneered exhibitor-controlled film distribution in the U.S.
industry film distribution
film production
motion pictures
marketPosition competitor of Paramount and other major studios
major American film distributor of the 1920s
mergedInto Warner Bros. NERFINISHED
notableActivityPeriod 1917–1928
operatedTheatersIn United States NERFINISHED
ownedBy member theater owners
parentOrganizationAfterAcquisition Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc. NERFINISHED
purpose to secure and distribute films for member theaters
signedExclusiveContractWith Charlie Chaplin NERFINISHED
Mary Pickford NERFINISHED
successor Warner Bros.–First National NERFINISHED
typeOfBusinessOrganization cooperative

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

First National Pictures foundedAs First National Exhibitors’ Circuit