Greg MarcusPresident & CEO, The Marcus Corporation

It shows what happens when you stay true to your principles for a long time. You follow that inner compass pointing north, you keep your values, and over time you earn trust. Hitting 90 means those ideas worked, and if we keep them, maybe we reach 100 too.

They taught us that we were lucky, and that being lucky comes with responsibility. We were not allowed to act like we owned everything. Respect for people, respect for the business, and understanding you are a caretaker, not a king, were big lessons that shaped how I manage today.

Ben’s commandments say your associates are your most important asset, so treat them that way. Own your own real estate. Keep your balance sheet strong. Those ideas sound simple, but they shaped every big decision. During the pandemic especially, that conservative, long-term mindset is a big reason we are still here.

Keeping the first theater is our way of saying we remember where we came from. It proves to communities we do not just build something, make a quick buck, and leave. We build it, operate it, and stay. When we say we still own our first theater from 90 years ago, that message matters.

If you have the capability, you have the responsibility. Giving back is the right thing to do, and it is also practical. Our hotels and theaters cannot move. If the community is weak, our business is weak. Helping the community keeps it strong for residents, workers, and the guests we hope to attract.

Law school and Hollywood showed me I could do other things, but they also made me ask where I really wanted to build my life. Working for a big producer on real films was exciting, yet I did not see myself staying there forever. That tension pushed me to choose intentionally and come back to the family business.

In my mid-twenties I felt pressure from myself to get on with my life. My dad never told me to come back. I just knew I was probably not going to live in Los Angeles forever. If that was true, then at some point I needed to start heading back and commit to what I would do long term.

I call it a two-hour vacation. It gets people out of the house, together, for not a lot of money. In a world where we sit alone in front of screens, that shared experience matters. Being in a room full of people laughing or gasping with you is part of what it means to be human.

Streaming was coming anyway. Our industry has always had home competition, from TV to VHS to today’s platforms. The pandemic shrank the movie pipeline and made things worse. The hardest part now is the short window. People feel like films are at home next week, even when that is not really true.

We simply need more movies. When we have a full slate, people show up for the big tentpoles and the medium and smaller films. The pandemic and studio balance sheet issues reduced output. As studios and streamers ramp up production again, a steady flow of films will make a huge difference for theaters.

We still depend on attendance, but now we think about getting a bigger share of the night out. Our restaurant experience helped us make simple things like burgers and pizza really good. We are not doing fancy steaks in the theaters, just great casual food. That turns a movie from just a show into a full evening.

We are leaning into alternative content. Concert films, comedy specials, big sports games, special events. Watching a Packer game on a giant screen is very different from the couch. The long-term goal is that people think of us as a place for big shared moments, not only for traditional movie releases.

We like to experiment. Formats like 4DX, D-BOX, and ScreenX wrap you in the film. What I enjoy with ScreenX is that the side screens are not on all the time. When they go dark and you focus back on the center, it gives your senses a break and makes the big moments feel even more special.

It started as a United Way request. They asked if I would make the appeal myself. I realized most people had no idea who Marcus was. By welcoming guests on screen, I could put a face to the name and have some fun. Over time, it helped us feel like part of each community, not just a logo on a building.

At first, social media numbers were too small to matter. TikTok changed that when some videos hit a million views. That scale made it worth my time. I basically do what our social media team tells me, with a few limits on costumes. It is wild, it works, and almost none of my peers ever see it.

A lease is basically debt. Our philosophy is to keep the balance sheet strong. Owning lets us control costs and move fast. When stadium seating, recliners, or full kitchens and bars made sense, we did not wait on landlords. We just invested and moved. That speed has helped us stay competitive for decades.

Theaters and hotels are both hospitality, but they respond to different forces. Theaters depend on movies and audience interest. Hotels depend more on the broader economy and travel. When one side is softer, the other might be stronger. That diversification lets us stay heavily invested and still spread risk across cycles.