Why is Universal allowed to open a theater?

As I understood Movie Production Companies are prohibited by law from owning any theaters.

When the studios were forced to sell their theaters, the result was higher rental rates charged to exhibitors (rising from an average of approximately 35% to its current level of approximately 50%), so the studios could recoup their expenses.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Paramount_Pictures,_Inc.

1950s–1960s
The end of the Golden Age had been signaled by the majors' loss of a federal antitrust case that led to the divestiture of the Big Five's theater chains.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_film_studio

Given this case, how does Universal, a major film studio, own the theater mentioned in this recent news story?

Best Answer

Short Answer: The theater is not owned by Universal.

Long Answer: You are correct that studios are not allowed to own movie theaters, let alone chains. In this case, the news stories make clear reference to Universal Theater. This theater is on Universal Studios' property, but is owned by AMC.

See here:

THE NEW UNIVERSAL CINEMA, AN AMC THEATRE. FIRST CLASS LUXURY. UNSURPASSED TECHNOLOGY.

What is Universal Citywalk?

Universal CityWalk are the entertainment and retail districts located adjacent to the theme parks of Universal Parks & Resorts. CityWalk began as an expansion of Universal's first park, Universal Studios Hollywood, and serves as an entrance plaza from the parking lots to the theme parks.

So the theater is located on Universal Studios property, but...

The AMC Citywalk Stadium 19 located in Universal Studios Hollywood's Citywalk was rebranded under this name in December 2016 and was renovated and had its grand reopening on April 25, 2017 under the new brand...

The source for this stating:

...Universal Cinema is an exciting multi-million dollar renovation of its AMC Theatre at CityWalk.

So in essence, AMC rebranded the theater located on Universal Studios property to better leverage synergy between the brands and {continues business speak}