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                                  NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For further information, please contact:

Business Press and Investors:                              Entertainment Press:
Tom Andrus                                                      Melissa Hufjay
(972) 892-3506                                                  (310) 201-8894

                  SILVER CINEMAS INTERNATIONAL, INC. FILES FOR
              CHAPTER 11 REORGANIZATION AND RECEIVES COMMITMENT FOR
                  $50 MILLION IN DEBTOR-IN-POSSESSION FINANCING

DALLAS - May 16, 2000 - Silver Cinemas International, Inc. announced today that
it and its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Silver Cinemas, Inc., Landmark Theatre
Corp. and Landmark Theatre USA, Inc., have filed voluntary petitions to
reorganize under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. The filing
took place in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware in
Wilmington, Delaware. As part of the reorganization, the company announced that
it had received a commitment from Foothill Capital Corporation to provide $50
million in debtor-in-possession financing.
         "The Chapter 11 filing is an important step in our company's plan to
address the financial challenges facing Silver Cinemas. We initiated the
reorganization process in order to restructure certain debt and lease
obligations. The debtor-in-possession facility

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Silver Cinemas Release
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will provide working capital to finance the company's ongoing operations and
finance the capital expenditures for theaters under construction" said President
and Chief Executive Officer Larry D. Hohl. "We do not expect the Chapter 11
proceedings to negatively impact our ability to continue to provide a high level
of customer service to our customers. At the time of the bankruptcy filing, the
company was on current terms with its most important trade vendors. Our goal is
to emerge from bankruptcy as a financially strong film exhibition company
focused on growing the art film segment and maximizing the potential of our
discount film segment."

         Silver Cinemas International, Inc. is a Dallas-based motion picture
exhibitor, which operates 84 theaters in 17 states, including 52 theaters run by
Landmark Theatres, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Silver and the nation's largest
art film exhibitor.

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Certain matters discussed within this press release may constitute
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws.
Although Silver Cinemas International, Inc. believes the statements are based on
reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that its expectations will be
attained. Actual results and the timing of certain events could differ
materially from those projected in or contemplated by the forward-looking
statements due to a number of factors, including, without limitation, general
economic conditions, satisfaction of certain limitations on future borrowings,
and other risks detailed from time to time in filings of Silver Cinemas
International, Inc. with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including those
on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1999 and other periodic filings
under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.



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