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Australian and New Zealand chain of cinemas

Greater Union Organisation Pty Ltd, trading as Event Cinemas, Greater Union, GU Film House, Moonlight Cinema and Birch Carroll & Coyle (BCC Cinemas), is the largest movie exhibitor in Australia and New Zealand, with over 140 cinema complexes currently operating worldwide. The Greater Union Organisation is a subsidiary of EVT Limited (formerly known as Event Hospitality and Entertainment) which is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, a corporation that owns and operates brands in the entertainment, hospitality and leisure sectors, mainly within Australasia. a period which included the creation of the first feature length film The Kelly Gang. This creative and fertile period in Australian film history was largely created by competition between West's Pictures, Spencer's Pictures and Amalgamated Pictures. On 4 May 1912 the three joined to form The General Film Company of Australasia. On 4 January 1913 it then merged with The Greater J. D. Williams Amusement Co and restructured to become The Combine, a famous partnership between the exhibition wing Union Theatres and the production and distribution wing Australasian Films. The Combine monopoly was highly influential on the early twentieth century Australian film industry. Film icon and director Raymond Longford, whose independent production company had come under attack by the group, said in 1927 that "had it not been for the activities of that firm in its endeavour to crush it in its infancy, the local picture would now be 10 years at least advanced to the height now attained by the Americans." James Sabine has said that "the stranglehold of The Combine forced a decline in local production and contributed to many Australian production companies closing their doors." Due to The Depression, Greater Union Theatres merged into the General Film Corporation with Hoyts, a competitor who had secured Fox Film as a shareholder. In 1937 Norman Rydge became managing director and removed the company from the previous merger.

In 1945, the last year of World War II, there was a box office boom and the British Rank Organisation purchased a half share in Greater Union Theatres. During this time Greater Union acquired the rights of ownership of many theatres across the country including what became the Phoenician Club in Broadway, Sydney in 1943, originally owned by McIntyre's Broadway Theatres and established as a cinema in 1911. It acquired the Clifford Theatre Circuit in Adelaide in March 1947. The purchase price of £300,000 for the 22 suburban and regional cinemas was "believed to be the largest motion picture transaction ever made in Australia". The Clifford name was retained as a tribute to the entrepreneur Dan Clifford, and South Australian staff were retained. In 1958 the four holding companies in the Greater Union Theatres group were merged into the Rydge family Amalgamated Holdings Limited (AHL), and in 1965 Greater Union Theatres was renamed the Greater Union Organisation (GUO). In 1980 billionaire Alan Rydge was appointed Chairman of AHL to become the youngest chairman of an Australian public company. In 1971, it merged its assets with Metro Goldwyn Mayer's Australian cinema unit, which the company's B. E. F. subsidiary distributing MGM titles until 1973, when distribution that studio's films in Australia was shifted to Cinema International Corporation. In 1976, the company's British Empire Films unit was initially renamed GUO Film Distributors, then six years later, it was renamed to Greater Union Film Distributors. In October 1980, the company bought the building that had once housed the first cinema in Adelaide, West's Olympia, also in Hindley Street. After a time in which rebuilds were made to the cinema, it reopened in December 1982 as Hindley Cinemas 5–6. In 1984 AHL regained control over the now defunct Rank Organisation's half share, meaning that it once again became fully Australian owned. In 1987 GUO merged with Village Roadshow's film distribution unit to form the distribution company Roadshow Film Distributors, and by that time, GUO and Village Roadshow partnered on a $100 million cinema chain that will see 200 circuits expanded by use by 1990. In 2019, Birch Carroll & Coyle was inducted into the Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame in recognition of being Australia's leading provincial film distributor and its industry leadership throughout Queensland for 80 years.

IMAX with Laser uses precision lasers a sharper brighter images. This technology is currently available at Event Cinemas Auckland (Queen St), Event Cinemas St Lukes, Event Cinemas Henderson West City, Event Cinemas Manukau, Event Cinemas Crosstown, Event Cinemas Queensgate (Wellington) and IMAX Sydney

GUO converted most of their Australian auditoriums and flagship cinemas to digital projectors. The installation of these projectors means that most auditoriums are now RealD Cinema 3D capable. Albany, Queen St Auckland, St Lukes, Henderson West City, Mt Wellington Sylvia Park, Broadway Newmarket, Glenfield Mall on level 5 Entertainment, Manukau Amersham Way, Highland Park, John Goulter Mangere, New Lynn and Crosstown Lakewood Court.

In late 2018, the first 4DX screen owned by the Event Group was opened in George Street (Sydney CBD). 4DX stimulates all five senses, featuring moving seats and special effects including wind, fog, water and scents that synchronise with the action on screen.

EVENT Boutique cinemas feature recliners with footrest, and in cinema food and drink service. Guests have access to the Boutique Cinema 30 minutes prior to their session. Boutique is currently available at Event Cinemas George St (Sydney CBD).

In August 15 2023, Event Cinemas announced that ScreenX would come to Australia for the first time. It opened at Event Cinemas Robina on the 17th of August. It later opened at Event Cinemas Campbelltown later that year on 14 December (in time for the Australian release of Wonka).

All cinema brands trading under EVENT, including Greater Union and BCC cinemas, share the benefits of the Cinebuzz Rewards Program. Free for members, the program grants access to advance screenings, ticket discounts, access to the Cinebuzz video on demand platform, and one free movie ticket for every six movies viewed at EVENT. The program is aimed at encouraging brand loyalty and recognising VIP Customers and currently has over 3 million members in Australia.

The exhibition and production company that became Event Cinemas has been widely criticised as the cause of the downfall of early Australian film, which was argued to be the best in the world at the time. In 2012, Australian journalist Tim Burrowes attended a screening of Skyfall at an Event Cinema. There were various technical difficulties which resulted in the audience being asked to leave and a manager threatening Burrowes for filming the crowd's reactions. In the lead up to the 2016 Australian Federal Election, Chairman Alan Rydge was reported to have donated to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's controversial political fund the Wentworth Forum. There have been numerous incidents of faulty popcorn machines causing fires to break out in Event Cinemas complexes, including Top Ryde in 2011, Adelaide and Rockhampton in September 2015, Perth in December 2015, and Sydney in August 2016.