Millard Ochs has served as President, Warner Bros. International Cinemas since 1994, having been named to the post six months after joining the company. In this capacity he leads WBIC’s efforts to provide a world class movie experience to global audiences in state-of-the-art multiplex cinemas.
Founded in 1991, WBIC established itself as a premiere Western exhibitor, building multiplexes in under-screened countries, with the aim of creating an infrastructure of moviegoing and fuel future growth of the film industry across the globe. Since its inception, WBIC has been responsible for the creation of more than 170 cinemas and almost 1,600 screens in 11 countries internationally. WBIC currently operates some 60 cinemas in Japan and is exploring opportunities in Asian markets.
WBIC milestones include being the first purpose-built multiplex cinema complexes in Portugal, Japan, Holland, Italy, China, and Taiwan; the first exhibitor to introduce D- BOX Motion Chairs outside the U.S. and Canada (in Japan); the first to introduce digital sound in the UK; and the first to introduce 3D in Japan.
Ochs is a third-generation theater business executive, as his grandfather and father owned theaters in New York City. He has spent his entire career in the theatrical exhibition business, learning the trade from the ground up, working as an usher, a projectionist and a cinema manager while in college.
From 1966-1977, he worked for RKO Stanley Warner Theatres, where he held city manager and district manager positions. He then moved to AMC Theatres, where, from 1977-1988, he continued to rise through the ranks. His last post prior to joining WBIC was with UCI from 1988-1994. During his tenures at AMC and UCI, he spent almost a decade in Europe and, in 1985, he opened the UK’s first purpose-built multiplex theater at Milton Keynes.
In March 2011, Ochs served as the keynote speaker for International Day at the inaugural CinemaCon, the official convention of the National Association of Theater Owners. In 2007, he was honored with the Industry Achievement Award in Exhibition at that year’s RAAM Conference (RAAM is a specialist management consultancy serving the cinema exhibition sector in the United Kingdom and international markets). In 1998, he was the co-recipient of the ShoWest Exhibitor of the Year Award, and in 1996, he was the recipient of the Exhibitor of the Year Award from Cinema Expo.