Multiplex Movie Theaters Enjoy Robust Growth

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NEW YORK _ The movie industry is riddled with angst these days. Costs are skyrocketing, there's a glut of products, movies are under attack for mindless violence, and mergers, management buyouts and executive defections are causing musical chairs at the top.

But apparently the anxiety has not filtered down to movie-theater owners. Even in the New York metropolitan area, home of some of the country's most cramped and expensive real estate, every new project, from the redevelopment of Times Square to shopping malls in Long Island to sprucing-up attempts in downtown Brooklyn, seems to include a movie theater.

Landlords love them, because they soak up …