Dendy Cinemas

Dendy Cinema Pty Limited is an Australian cinema chain. As of 2025^[update] it operates multiplex cinemas in Sydney, Canberra, the Gold Coast, and Brisbane. The company is a subsidiary of the Dendy Icon Group, which also owns Icon Productions, Icon Film Distribution, and Icon Film Finance.

The name of Dendy name has its origins Melbourne, Victoria, when the Dendy Theatre was built in Middle Brighton in 1940. The original owner of the Dendy (later renamed Dendy Cinema), Bert Ward (born c.1907), passed his cinema industry knowledge and skills onto his son Robert Ward OAM (died 2017). Under Robert, the Dendy cinema brand spread first into the city in Collins Street, then across the suburbs and interstate. In 1967 Ward was approached by Mark Josem, owner of the only independently-owned drive-in cinema in Melbourne, leading to the establishment of Filmways Australasian Distributors, a company which started out distributing arthouse films films for independent cinemas.

In 1971, the Dendy Cinema group was said to be the last chain of independent cinemas in Australia, and included the Brighton cinema, Sandringham Drive-In at Sandringham; the Gala Cinema at Dandenong; and the Forest Hill Theatre at Forest Hill. In July of that year, it opened a new Dendy Cinema at Malvern. By 1977, there were Dendy cinemas in Sydney, Adelaide, and Brisbane, as well as across Melbourne. The Dendy Martin Place opened in Martin Place, Sydney around 1981.

The Becker Group purchased the Dendy Cinemas chain in December 1997 and took over management in 1998. Prime Media Group took control of Becker Group, including Dendy Cinemas, in 2007. Prime made a bid to buy the Hoyts cinema chain in September 2007, and after it missed out, media reported that Prime was looking to sell Dendy Cinemas before the end of the year.

After a long takeover bid, Mel Gibson's company Icon Film Distribution paid Prime $21 million for the cinema chain in 2008. At the time, Dendy was Australia's largest independent film distributor and art house cinema chain. Becker Group had originally planned to sell its cinema assets to the Becker family.

As of January 2025^[update], the Icon Productions website states that the Dendy Icon Group comprises Icon Productions, Icon Film Distribution, Dendy Cinemas, and Icon Film Finance.

Dendy Martin Place, a single-screen cinema, opened in 1981 screening Stepping Out, a documentary by Chris Noonan. Barbara Grummells and Fred O'Brien were the owners, launching the venue with the slogan "From tart house to art house". In September 2003, as one of the few single-screen cinemas left in Sydney, it closed its doors for the last time, its last film being Reservoir Dogs. Retail and commercial activities were planned for its site, part of the MLC Centre. At that time, Dendy George Street (a single-screen cinema) had also closed, and Dendy operated several multi-screen cinemas, including Dendy Opera Quays and Dendy Newtown in Newtown, Sydney, as well as at Byron Bay, Brisbane and Melbourne.

Dendy closed its Circular Quay cinema on 26 February 2020 after a decision not to renew its lease.