NATO’s dues structure is divided into the following four membership categories.  Dues are assessed annually.  NATO’s fiscal year runs from 1-July to 30-June.

1. U.S. Domestic  The 50 united states and the District of Columbia. Dues are $60 per screen, with a minimum dues payment of $200
2. U.S. Territory  Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands. Several legislative issues in the United States affect territories governed by U.S. federal law, therefore NATO’s lobbying efforts affect these cinemas. Dues are $30 per screen, with a minimum dues payment of $200.
3. Canada  Hollywood studios deal with Canadian exhibitors as domestic companies, and the most important issues for U.S. and Canadian exhibitors overlap. Dues are US$27.50 per screen, with a minimum dues payment of $200.
4. International  All countries outside of the U.S. and Canada. Several key issues affect all cinemas on a global level (technology, windows, movie theft, etc.), so worldwide collaboration benefits all members. Annual dues are US$200 for companies operating 1-10 screens, US$500 for companies operating 11-19 screens, US$1,000 for companies operating 20-99 screens, and US$2,000 for companies operating 100 and more screens.

Exclusive Content

• Members only content on NATO’s Website.
• Quarterly State of the Industry webinars on matters affecting the exhibition industry
• Educational webinars on topics useful to movie theater owners and operators
• Members only update reports on legislation and technology developments, as well as distribution and marketing policies.
• Members only quarterly reports on litigation matters affecting the exhibition industry.

Member Discounts

• A complimentary subscription to BoxOffice magazine, the official magazine of NATO

• Registration discounts to CinemaCon, the Official Convention of NATO.
• Free registration to the NATO Summit, held in Los Angeles.
• Loews Hollywood Hotel Discount
• The Beverly Hilton Discount

Member Services

• A fulltime professional staff to provide information and guidance to members.
• Washington, D.C. representatives to monitor and influence laws and regulations that affect our members.
• Free ratings materials (posters, placards, decals, brochures).
• Building consultants to guide exhibition on new developments in the industry’s infrastructure.
• Daily articles digest of news stories relevant to the exhibition industry.

No, NATO is only open to individuals who are involved with owning and operating a movie theater. Membership is based on company, so once a company joins NATO, all individuals who work at that company are welcome to receive NATO benefits.

No, NATO is open to all movie theaters! We represent large corporations and main street theaters. Over 90% of our member companies operate less than 75 screens.

• According to NATO’s bylaws, a Regular Member is any sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, or other business entity which is directly engaged in the operation of one or more motion picture exhibition facilities.
• A Regular Member can be a private and public sector (non-military) non-profit business entity in the United States of America and its Territories.
• A Regular Member must exhibit DCP-encrypted movies authorized with a key (KDM) and/or exhibit movies via film (35mm or 70mm), in one or more fixed locations built for the purpose of motion picture exhibition.
• A theater must be open and operating for at least 30 days to be considered for membership.

While NATO membership is only open to movie theaters that have been open and operating for at least 30 days, please take a look at our “Opening a Theatre” page for more information about how to get started!

No. A theater must be open and operating for at least 30 days to be considered for membership. Please reach out to Erin Von Hoetzendorff at evh@natoca.com if you’d like to start the application process so that you can join as soon as you open.

Yes! NATO membership is offered to a company, and all individuals working at that company can receive member benefits. Reach out to Erin Von Hoetzendorff at evh@natoca.com to ensure you are in our member database.

NATO offers discounts on events such as CinemaCon and the Cinema Foundation Summit. NATO members also have access to hotel discounts at both The Beverly Hilton and the Loews Hollywood hotel. Currently, NATO does not administer a buying group for other products.

Not yet, but we do hope to create one online in the future! If you are a NATO member looking for contact information for a different NATO member, you can reach out to Erin Von Hoetzendorff at evh@natoca.com and she can work with you to to get permission to share contact information. NATO also offers in-person and virtual meetings where members can interact and network.

NATO’s board has 20 seats. The top eight companies, based on screen count, each get one automatic seat, and any theater chain with 3,000+ screens also gets a second seat on the board, which must go to a diverse executive within that company. There are four elected seats in the mid-sized section, representing theaters smaller than the top 8 but with more than 75 screens. There are four additional elected seats for independent members, representing companies with 75 screens or less. The final seat is for an elected representative of a NATO regional association. NATO’s current board is as follows:

Composition of NATO Executive Board 2023-2024

Automatic Seats (listed by company’s domestic screen count):

1. Adam Aron, AMC Entertainment Inc.
2. Elizabeth Frank, AMC Entertainment Inc.
3. Eduardo Acuna, Regal Entertainment Group
4. John Curry, Regal Entertainment Group
5. Sean Gamble, Cinemark USA, Inc.
6. Wanda Gierhart, Cinemark USA, Inc.
7. Ellis Jacob, Cineplex Entertainment LP
8. Rolando Rodriquez/Greg Marcus, Marcus Theatres Corp.*
9. Robert Bagby, B&B Theatres
10. Mike Bowers, Harkins Theatres
11. Eddy Duquenne, Kinepolis/Landmark/MJR

Four Regional/Mid-Sized Circuit Seats (listed alphabetically by last name):

1. Bo Chambliss, Georgia Theatre Company
2. Tim Handren, Santikos Entertainment
3. Paul A. Glantz, Emagine Entertainment, Inc.
4. Phil Zacheretti, Phoenix Theatres Entertainment, LLC

Four Independent Seats (listed alphabetically by last name):

1. Colleen Barstow, Main Street Theatres, Inc.
2. Paul Gunsky, CineLux Theatres Co., LLC
3. Randy Hester, Hometown Cinemas LLC
4. Joe Masher, Bow Tie Cinemas

One Regional Associations Representative:

1. Chris Johnson, NATO of Illinois

To become an Advisory Board member, you must attend two NATO Advisory Board meetings (held annually, in-person, in Los Angeles). Unless you hold an automatic seat as a top-eight company based on screen count, you must run in an election for a seat on the Executive Board. The election process is detailed more in this document.