Colleen Barstow, a driving force behind the Omaha, Nebraska-based family-run movie chain ACX Cinemas and a champion of independent theaters nationwide, died Saturday after an 18-month battle with cancer, her family announced. She was 64.
Since 2022, Barstow served Cinema United (formerly the National Association of Theatre Owners) as treasurer of its executive board of directors and chair of its independent theater owners committee.
“Colleen was a tireless advocate for independent theater owners,” Cinema United CEO Michael O’Leary said in a statement. “I had the privilege of working with her closely, and she always brought energy, ideas and commitment to everything she did on behalf of our industry.”
One of nine children, Colleen Rose Miszak was born in Detroit on Feb. 8, 1961. She founded Main Street Theatres alongside her husband, Bill Barstow, in 1988 after answering a newspaper ad for a small, single-screen theater in Nebraska.
What began as a leap of faith — financed through borrowed credit cards and fueled by determination — grew into ACX Cinemas, a seven-location chain known for innovation, hospitality and community engagement.
She left her job in banking to help build the company from the ground up — delivering film prints between theaters, managing operations and raising a family alongside the work. Her kids grew up in theaters, learning first-hand the values that would shape ACX’s culture and leadership.
Barstow was a tireless advocate for independent theaters, encouraging collaboration over competition and urging exhibitors to engage deeply with their communities. She supported theaters as gathering places for festivals, fundraisers, nonprofit events and shared experiences.
“To me, the movie is always secondary,” she once said. “We like bringing people together. We like telling a story — and that story isn’t always the one on the screen.”
During the pandemic, Barstow worked alongside fellow exhibitors and Cinema United to help secure federal relief funding for shuttered venues and independent theaters. Her leadership helped guide the industry through unprecedented disruption.
She also was deeply involved in the Omaha hockey community, especially the University of Nebraska-Omaha’s Mavericks. She served as president of the Omaha Hockey Blue Line Club, helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to support the program and was honored by the Omaha Hockey Hall of Fame in 2024.
In addition to her husband, survivors include their children, Michael, Andrea and Amy, and their grandchildren, Viola, Eliza, Simon and Callum. A funeral service is set for Friday at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in Omaha.