People are the same all over; even at Hoyts Cinemas you'll find gum stuck to the Land Down Under your seat. The chain owns and operates 45 movie theaters (some 400 screens and and more than 75,000 seats) in Australia and New Zealand. Subsidiary Hoyts Distribution distributes international films throughout Australia and New Zealand. The company also operates screen advertising subsidiary Val Morgan Cinema Network. Founded by dentist Arthur Russell in 1908, Hoyts Cinemas is Australia's oldest theater chain. Investment firm Pacific Equity Partners owns the company.