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                                                                   EXHIBIT 10.20


                           NINTH AMENDMENT AND WAIVER
                            TO AMENDED AND RESTATED
                                CREDIT AGREEMENT


     NINTH AMENDMENT AND WAIVER, dated as of January 8, 1999 (this "Ninth
                                                                    -----
Amendment"), to the Amended and Restated Credit Agreement dated as of August 7,
---------                                                                      
1997, as amended by the First Amendment and Waiver to Amended and Restated
Credit Agreement dated as of November 13, 1997, the Second Amendment and Waiver
to Amended and Restated Credit Agreement dated as of December 13, 1997, the
Third Amendment to Amended and Restated Credit Agreement dated as of January 7,
1998, the Fourth Amendment to the Amended and Restated Credit Agreement dated as
of May 22, 1998, the Fifth Amendment and Waiver to Amended and Restated Credit
Agreement dated as of August 14, 1998, the Sixth Amendment and Waiver to Amended
and Restated Credit Agreement dated as of October 1998, the Seventh Amendment
and Waiver to Amended and Restated Credit Agreement dated as of December 15,
1998 and the Eighth Amendment and Waiver to Amended and Restated Credit
Agreement dated as of December 21, 1998 (as so amended, the "Credit Agreement"),
                                                             ----------------
among Hollywood Theater Holdings, Inc. (the "Parent"), Hollywood Theaters, Inc.
                                             ------ 
(the "Company"), the banks and other financial institutions parties thereto 
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(collectively, the "Banks"; individually, a "Bank"), and Bank of America 
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National Trust and Savings Association, as Administrative Agent for the Banks
(the "Administrative Agent").
      --------------------   

                              W I T N E S S E T H:
                              ------------------- 

     WHEREAS, pursuant to the Credit Agreement, the Banks have agreed to make,
and have made, certain loans and other extensions of credit to the Borrower; and

     WHEREAS, Parent and the Company have requested that the Administrative
Agent and the Banks amend and waive certain terms and conditions under the
Credit Agreement as more fully set forth herein; and

     NOW, THEREFORE, the parties hereto hereby agree as follows:

          1.   Defined Terms.  Capitalized terms defined in the Credit Agreement
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and not otherwise defined herein shall have the meanings given to them in the
Credit Agreement.

          2.   Amendments to Credit Agreement.  (a) Section 1.1 of the Credit
               ------------------------------                                
Agreement is hereby amended by adding thereto the following definitions in the
appropriate alphabetical order:

          "Ninth Amendment":  the Ninth Amendment and Waiver to Amended and
           ---------------                                                 
     Restated Credit Agreement, dated as of January 8, 1999, among the Parent,
     the Company, the Administrative Agent and the banks party thereto.
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                                                                               2


          (b) Section 2.1 of the Credit Agreement is hereby amended by (i)
deleting the first reference to the date "January 8, 1999" and substituting in
lieu thereof the date "January 14, 1999", and (ii) deleting the last sentence
thereof and substituting in lieu thereof the following:

          "Consistent with the foregoing, the Beacon Letter of Credit delivered
          to Administrative Agent pursuant to the Fifth Amendment may be amended
          simultaneously with the execution and delivery of the Ninth Amendment
          in a manner satisfactory to Administrative Agent to provide that the
          Administrative Agent may not draw on the Beacon Letter of Credit due
          to failure of the Additional Equity Issuance to occur until on or
          after January 14, 1999".

          3.   Waivers.  The Administrative Agent and the Banks hereby grant the
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following waivers on the following terms:

          (a) the provisions of subsection 2.7(d) hereby are waived beginning on
the date hereof and ending at 2:00 p.m. (New York City time) on January 14, 1999
(the "Additional Equity Issuance Waiver Period") solely to permit the Additional
      ----------------------------------------                                  
Equity Issuance to be consummated on or prior to January 14, 1999, without a
corresponding mandatory prepayment of the Loans and reduction of the Revolving
Loan Commitments;

          (b) the provisions of the first sentence of subsection 4.3(f) are
hereby waived until the end of the Additional Equity Issuance Waiver Period;
                                                                            
provided, however, that if the Additional Equity Issuance shall not have
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occurred prior to the end of the Additional Equity Issuance Waiver Period, the
Parent shall affect a Required Equity Contribution within forty-five (45) days
after the end of the Additional Equity Issuance Waiver Period in an amount not
less than the aggregate amount of all Construction Advances in excess of
$12,000,000 made from and after the Third Amendment Effective Date to and
including the last day of the Additional Equity Issuance Waiver Period, and any
failure of Parent to affect such Required Equity Contribution shall be an Event
of Default;

          (c) the provisions of subsection 7.1(a), 7.1(b), 7.1(c), 7.1(d) and
7.1(e)  are hereby waived until the end of the Additional Equity Issuance Waiver
Period, after which period the foregoing waiver shall terminate and the
provisions of subsection 7.1(a), 7.1(b), 7.1(c), 7.1(d) and 7.1(e) shall be
reinstated with full force and effect.

          4.   Representations and Warranties.  The Company hereby confirms,
               ------------------------------                               
reaffirms and restates as of the date hereof the representations and warranties
made by it in Article V of the Credit Agreement.  The Company represents and
warrants that as of the date hereof no Default or Event of Default has occurred
and is continuing.

          5.   Continuing Effect of Credit Agreement.  This Amendment shall not
               -------------------------------------                           
constitute a waiver, amendment or modification of any other provision of the
Credit Agreement not expressly referred to herein and shall not be construed as
a waiver or consent to any further or future action
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                                                                               3

on the part of the Borrower that would require a waiver or consent of the Banks
or the Administrative Agent. Except as expressly modified hereby, the provisions
of the Credit Agreement are and shall remain in full force and effect.

          6.   Payment of Expenses.  The Company agrees to pay or reimburse the
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Administrative Agent for all of its out-of-pocket costs and reasonable expenses
incurred in connection with the negotiation, preparation and distribution of
documents prepared in connection herewith and the transactions contemplated
hereby, including, without limitation, the reasonable fees and disbursements of
counsel to the Administrative Agent.

          7.   Affirmation of Guarantees.  The Parent hereby consents to the
               -------------------------                                    
execution and delivery of this Ninth Amendment and reaffirms its obligations
under Article X of the Credit Agreement.

          8.   Counterparts.  This Ninth Amendment may be executed in any number
               ------------                                                     
of separate counterparts, each of which, when so executed, shall be deemed an
original, and all of said counterparts taken together shall be deemed to
constitute but one and the same instrument.

          9.   Effectiveness.  This Ninth Amendment shall be effective upon (a)
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receipt by the Administrative Agent of counterparts hereof, duly executed and
delivered by the Borrower, the Parent, the Administrative Agent and the Banks
and (b) receipt by the Administrative Agent of the Beacon Letter of Credit,
amended to reflect an expiration date of January 14, 1999.

          10.  GOVERNING LAW AND JURISDICTION.  THIS NINTH AMENDMENT SHALL BE
               ------------------------------                                
GOVERNED BY, AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH, THE LAW OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK,
WITHOUT CONSIDERATION OF ITS CONFLICT OF LAWS PRINCIPLES, AND APPLICABLE FEDERAL
LAW.
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                                                                               4


          IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Ninth
Amendment to be duly executed and delivered by their respective proper and duly
authorized officers as of the day and year first above written.

                                        HOLLYWOOD THEATER HOLDINGS, INC.


                                        By: /s/ James R. Featherstone
                                           -------------------------------
                                             James R. Featherstone
                                             Vice President

                                        HOLLYWOOD THEATERS, INC.


                                        By: /s/ James R. Featherstone
                                           -------------------------------
                                             James R. Featherstone
                                             Vice President

                                        BANK OF AMERICA NATIONAL TRUST AND 
                                        SAVINGS ASSOCIATION, as Administrative
                                        Agent


                                        By: /s/ Janice Hammond
                                           -------------------------------
                                            Janice Hammond

                                        BANK OF AMERICA NATIONAL TRUST AND
                                        SAVINGS ASSOCIATION, as a Bank


                                        By: /s/ F. A. Zagar
                                           -------------------------------
                                            F A Zagar
                                            Vice President
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                                                                               5

                                        THE BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA, as a Bank



                                        By: /s/ Paul A. Weissenberger
                                           -------------------------------
                                        Name: Paul A. Weissenberger
                                        Title: Autorized Signatory
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                                                                               6

                                        BANK ONE TEXAS, N.A., as a Bank



                                        By: /s/ Bradley C. Peters
                                           -------------------------------
                                        Name: Bradley C. Peters
                                        Title: Vice President