The Kinepolis Group is a Belgian-French cinema chain with 110 theaters in Europe and North America. It is Europe’s third-largest cinema chain.

History

The Kinepolis Group is a Belgian cinema chain formed in 1997 as a result of the merger of two family cinema groups, Bert and Claeys, and has been listed on the stock exchange since 1998. The first

megaplex A multiplex is a movie theater complex with multiple screens within a single complex. They are usually housed in a specially designed building. Sometimes, an existing venue undergoes a renovation where the existing auditoriums are split into s ...

cinema in the world is considered to be Kinepolis Brussels located near the

Atomium The Atomium ( , , ) is a landmark building in Brussels, Belgium, originally constructed for the 1958 Brussels World's Fair ( Expo '58). It is located on the Heysel/Heizel Plateau in Laeken (northern part of the City of Brussels), where the ex ...

Brussels, Belgium Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, which opened in 1988 with 25 screens. Kinepolis

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

in Spain is the largest cinema in the world, with 25 screens and a

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile tha ...

of 9,200. In 2006, the Claeys family withdrew from the venture, selling most of its 25% stake of shares in the company and transferring daily management to Joost Bert, who, since 2008, shares the position of CEO with Eddy Duquenne.

Competition authority

The Belgian competition authority approved the merger of the company in 1997 on the condition that the company wasn't allowed to grow within Belgium without explicit consent of the authority. This resulted in the resale of the acquired Utopolis cinemas in 2015. Kinepolis tried on several occasions to get the authority to lift the ban, and they succeeded in 2020. From August 2021 the company doesn't need permission to open new locations within Belgium.

Growth and acquisitions

Kinepolis grew significantly in recent years by opening several new locations, but also by acquiring chains and independent cinemas. Significant acquisitions were ''Wolff Bioscopen'' in 2014, ''Utopolis'' in 2015, ''

Landmark Cinemas Landmark Cinema of Canada Inc. is a Canadian cinema chain. Based in Calgary, Alberta, Landmark operates 40 theatres with 325 screens, primarily in Ontario and western Canada. Its holdings include much of the former Empire Theatres chain which it a ...

'' in 2017 and '' MJR Digital Cinemas'' in 2019. In 2011 the company also acquired ''Brightfish'', a Belgian company specialised in cinema advertising.

Core businesses

The Kinepolis Group consists of seven core businesses; box office, in-theater sales (ITS), business-to-business (B2B), film distribution, screen advertising, real estate, and digital cinema services.

References

Culture in Brussels Cinemas in Belgium Cinemas and movie theaters chains Belgian brands Entertainment companies established in 1997 1997 establishments in Belgium Companies based in East Flanders Ghent Companies listed on Euronext Brussels {{Belgium-company-stub