Shaw Organisation is a film distribution company and cinema chain founded by brothers Runme Shaw and Run Run Shaw who went to Singapore in the 1920s to expand their family business founded by Runje Shaw.[1] The company originally operated as a distributor for the Shaw brothers' Tianyi Film Company (also called Unique) in Shanghai. Run Run Shaw later moved to Hong Kong in the 1950s to run Shaw Brothers Studio, whilst Runme Shaw stayed in Singapore to continue Shaw Organisation's operations. Unlike Tianyi,[2] the Shaw Organisation does not produce films, but distributes them in their theatres.
History
The Shaw Organisation has a long history in Singapore since its founding in 1928. They bought the land on which the Shaw House now stands, in 1952. The plot of land was originally granted to William Scott in 1845. About 500,000 square feet of land was levelled to build the original Shaw House and the adjacent Lido Theatre.
The company managed single-screen cinemas until the late 1980s, when it decided to build cineplexes to give more flexibility in offering different types of films. The first cineplexes built were the Prince and Jade cineplexes in Shaw Towers, opened in February 1988.