Premier Exhibitions

Poster for its Titanic exhibition at the Discovery Times Square Exposition in 2009.

Premier Exhibitions Inc (Expert Market: PRXIQ) is an Atlanta, Georgia-based company that organizes traveling exhibitions. As of January 2019, the company owned 5,500 Titanic relics with approximately 1,300 on display in various countries.[1]

Its two most prominent exhibits are artifacts from the RMS Titanic and Bodies: The Exhibition in which it displays cadavers arranged in lifelike poses via plastination from the Dalian Medical University (through its Dalian Medical University Plastination Company subsidiary)[2] in China. It has multiple exhibits of both Bodies and Titanic running at the same time in different venues. In 2008, it entered into a 10-year lease for more than 36,000 square feet (3,300 m2) at the Luxor Las Vegas for exhibits of Titanic and Bodies there.[3] By 2013, more than 25 million people had visited the company's Titanic exhibits in Orlando, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and elsewhere.[4]

In May 2015 the company opened Premier on 5th,[5] a flagship exhibition space on Fifth Avenue in New York City that housed "Saturday Night Live: The Exhibition"[6] and "The Discovery of King Tut."[7] On June 14, 2016, Premier Exhibitions filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.[8]

In late August 2018, at least three groups were vying for the right to purchase the 5,500 Titanic relics that were an asset of the bankrupt company in the case titled RMS Titanic Inc., 16-02230, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Middle District of Florida (Jacksonville). [9] Two of the offers for the collection were just under US $20 million, including one by museums in England and Northern Ireland, with assistance by James Cameron.[10] A decision as to the outcome was to be made by Paul M. Glenn, a United States district court judge in Jacksonville, Florida.[11]

  1. ^ Xiong, Daisy (January 9, 2019). "Richmond businessman steers new course for Titanic exhibitions". Richmond News. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  2. ^ "Negative publicity piles on Premier Exhibitions". Atlanta Business Chronicle. Retrieved December 29, 2014.
  3. ^ "United States Securities and Exchange Commission Form 10-K" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 15, 2011.
  4. ^ Brown, Stephen; McDonagh, Pierre; Schultz II, Clifford J. (December 2013). "Titanic: Consuming the Myths and Meanings of an Ambiguous Brand". Journal of Consumer Research. 40 (4). Oxford University Press: 603. doi:10.1086/671474. JSTOR 10.1086/671474. S2CID 145573115.
  5. ^ "Premier on 5th Launches Spring 2015 with "Saturday Night Live: The Exhibition " Celebrating 40 Seasons of Comedy". Premier Exhibitions. New York. January 13, 2015. Archived from the original on September 2, 2018. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
  6. ^ Silverman, Justin Rocket (May 28, 2015). "New 'Saturday Night Live' exhibition features Wayne's World set and costumes worn by Tina Fey, Eddie Murphy and Will Ferrell". New York Daily News. Retrieved September 10, 2017.
  7. ^ "The Discovery of King Tut Exhibition Now Open at Premier Exhibitions 5th Avenue". InNewYork.com. Morris Media Network. November 23, 2015. Archived from the original on November 30, 2020. Retrieved September 10, 2017.
  8. ^ "Premier Exhibitions Chapter 11 Petition" (PDF). PacerMonitor. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
  9. ^ "Florida Middle Bankruptcy Court Case 3:16-bk-02230 - RMS Titanic, Inc. |". app.courtdrive.com. Archived from the original on September 2, 2018.
  10. ^ Greshko, Michael (July 24, 2018). "James Cameron: Getting Titanic Artifacts to U.K. Would Be 'a Dream'". National Geographic. Archived from the original on July 25, 2018. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
  11. ^ McCarty, Dawn; Feeley, Jef; Dixon, Chris (August 31, 2018). "Bankrupt Titanic exhibitor sets biggest sale of ship relics". Bloomberg News. Retrieved September 2, 2018.