Motion Picture News was a film exhibitor’s trade publication that came about through the 1913 merging of Moving Picture News and The Exhibitor’s Times.  

From the front cover alone, it’s clear that the eight years between the 1917 issue of Moving Picture News and this 1925 issue of Motion Picture News were years of huge change for film exhibitors and theatre owners. While the 1917 periodical focused on advertising available distribution rights for new films and included a lengthy section dedicated to film reviews, this 1925 magazine is all about the theatre attendee’s experience. Although this is a special “Theatre Building and Equipment Buyers Guide” issue, other issues from this period show a similar shift.

The transition is made abundantly clear with the front page advertisement for Balaban and Katz endorsed American Seating Company chairs.

(credit: American Theatre Architecture Archive, Theatre Historical Society of America)