Century Theaters Beats Challenge to Film Licensing in California

Century Theatres Inc. defeated a 13-year running challenge to its film licensing practices in California state court, convincing an appeals judge to throw out claims its agreements with film distributors violated the state’s antitrust laws.

Flagship Theaters of Palm Desert LLC, the owners of a now-closed movie theater in southern California’s Coachella Valley, sued Century, which owned a neighboring theater, in 2007. The suit alleged the manner in which Century licensed films caused distributors to deny Flagship’s theater, The Palme, licenses to the most lucrative first-run commercial films.

Specifically, Flagship said the agreements reflected a practice referred to as “circuit ...