#Patrick Corcoran, Theater Owners’ Group VP, Exits After More Than Two Decades

Patrick Corcoran, longtime vp at the National Association of Theatre Owners, is stepping down from his role after a 24-year run, the trade group said on Friday.

“Patrick has been an integral part of NATO’s growth over the past two and a half decades,” stated NATO CEO Michael O’Leary, who started in the top role at the group on May 1. “He has served our organization and the entire exhibition industry with skill and dedication, and we are grateful for all that he has done to drive the way NATO tells its story. We wish him the best in his next chapter.”

The move marks the latest leadership departure at NATO, which hosts the annual theater owners confab CinemaCon in Las Vegas, tracks industry data including average movie ticket prices ($10.53 in 2022) and acts as an advocate for a disparate group of exhibitors to lawmakers in Washington, D.C. and elsewhere. NATO also launched a non-profit in 2022, The Cinema Foundation, which released its first “State of the Cinema Industry” report in March tracking the Top 50 exhibitors domestically.

Corcoran began writing and editing for NATO’s in-house publication in 1998 and was named vp and chief communications officer in 2011. “It has been a tremendous privilege to serve as the voice of an industry that I truly love,” Corcoran stated. “I approached the challenges and opportunities facing our industry the way we have worked as an association: with honesty, data, openness, and most especially, with respect for the journalists who cover our industry.”

In April, NATO chief John Fithian signed off from the group after more than three decades, first as outside counsel and then as president. “Releasing major films with massive budgets directly to streaming platforms is not a sustainable business model,” stated Fithian during his CinemaCon address to the industry. The outgoing exec added, in what’s become a rallying cry for theater owners in recent years, “The return on investment is non-existent.”