John Santikos recalled that when he started at the Olmos Theater, Interstate owned the city's other theaters and he was the only independent exhibitor in San Antonio.
San Antonio · Opened 1921 · active company; owned for the benefit of the John L.
Louis Santikos came to the United States as a teenager and settled in Waco, where he opened his first theater, a nickelodeon. Cinema Treasures dates the start of the family business to 1911. In 1921 he moved to San Antonio and opened the Rialto, followed by the Palace in 1923, and he also distributed films across Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arkansas. In 1929 he sold his holdings and moved into film distribution in Europe. His son John was born and raised in Greece, came back to the United States at 19 and studied at St. Mary's University in San Antonio.
John Santikos started in the business with his father at the Olmos Theater on San Pedro Avenue. In a 2002 oral history for the Institute of Texan Cultures, he recalled that Interstate then owned the other theaters in town and he was the only independent, starting with third-run suburban bookings and pushing for first suburban run. He bought every drive-in operating in San Antonio, then opened the Century in 1968 as the city's first multiscreen theater, followed by the Northwest, the Galaxy, the Westlakes and the Embassy. He bought United Artists' three local complexes, a Fox theater and a house from Interstate's successor until, as he put it, he found himself owning the entire city. At the end of 1986 he sold out, leasing the theaters to Act III Theatres of Los Angeles, which later sold to Regal. After Regal's bankruptcy he took the theaters back in 2001 and built new themed complexes, the Silverado and the Mayan Palace.
John Santikos died in December 2014 at 87. His businesses, valued at $605 million, were left to the community through the San Antonio Area Foundation in what was described as the largest charitable gift in the city's history. In March 2016 the company became Santikos Entertainment, a for-profit business that exists to fund the John L. Santikos Charitable Foundation. In 2023 it bought 17 cinemas with 250 screens across the South from VSS-Southern Theaters, including the Grand Theatre and AmStar brands, becoming the eighth-largest chain in North America by screen count. By 2025 it ran roughly 30 theaters in Texas and seven other states, eight of them in San Antonio.
| He said he bought every drive-in then operating in San Antonio and opened the Century in 1968 as the city's first multiscreen theater. | ↗︎ |
| After his death in December 2014 his businesses, with a book value of $605 million, were left to the San Antonio Area Foundation; the gift was described as the largest charitable gift in the city's history. | ↗︎ |
| In March 2016 Santikos Theaters rebranded as Santikos Entertainment, a for-profit company existing to fund the John L. Santikos Foundation, with a pledge of $20 million a year in local giving. | ↗︎ |
| In 2023 it agreed to buy 17 cinemas with 250 screens in eight states from VSS-Southern Theaters, including the Grand Theatre and AmStar Cinemas brands, making it the eighth-largest North American chain by screen count. | ↗︎ |
| The purchase of Southern Theatres was completed in July 2023. | ↗︎ |
| Owner | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Louis Santikos (founder; Waco nickelodeon, then San Antonio's Rialto and Palace) | Waco years–1929 | ↗︎ |
| John L. Santikos | from the Olmos Theater years to 1986–87; again 2001–2014 | ↗︎ |
| Act III Theatres, then Regal (leased the circuit) | 1987–2001 | ↗︎ |
| Bequeathed to the community through the San Antonio Area Foundation; run as a for-profit business that funds the John L. Santikos Charitable Foundation | 2015–present | ↗︎ |
| Louis Santikos opened his first theater, a nickelodeon, in Waco, moved to San Antonio in 1921 and opened the Rialto, then the Palace in 1923; he also distributed films in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arkansas. | ↗︎ |
| Cinema Treasures dates the family business to 1911, when Louis Santikos bought the Rex Theatre in Waco. | ↗︎ |
| Louis sold his holdings in 1929 and went into film distribution in Europe; his son John was born and raised in Greece and returned at 19 to attend St. Mary's University. | ↗︎ |
| In 2016 the company ran the Palladium at the Rim and seven other complexes in San Antonio plus two in Houston, and owned more than 1 million square feet of leased commercial real estate. | ↗︎ |
| In 2025 it announced a $30 million cinema and retail center on U.S. 281 North, on the last property John Santikos bought before his death, due to open in 2027. | ↗︎ |