Cineplex Entertainment
Cineplex Inc. is a Canadian operator of movie theatre and family entertainment centres, headquartered in Toronto. It is the largest cinema chain in Canada; as of 2019, it operated 165 locations, and accounted for 75% of the domestic box office.
The company was formed in 2003 via the acquisition of Loews Cineplex's Canadian operations by Onex Corporation and Oaktree Capital Management, and its subsequent merger with Onex's Galaxy Entertainment—a chain of cinemas that was established in 1999 by former Cineplex Odeon executives, and operated primarily in smaller markets. The company subsequently acquired Famous Players from National Amusements in 2005, went public in 2011, and acquired Empire Theatres' operations in Atlantic Canada and parts of Ontario in 2013. In December 2019, Cineplex agreed to be acquired by British exhibitor Cineworld Group for $2.8 billion, pending regulatory and shareholder approval, but Cineworld abandoned the sale in June 2020 due to unspecified breaches of the sale terms.
The company operates cinemas across Canada, primarily under the brand Cineplex Cinemas. Some flagship locations operate as Scotiabank Theatre, while some locations use brands carried over from its corporate predecessors. The company also owns family entertainment centres under the brands The Rec Room and Playdium, the rewards loyalty program Scene+, the e-commerce Cineplex Store, film distributor Cineplex Pictures and the digital advertising business Cineplex Media.
History
1912–1998: predecessors
Cineplex stakes a partial claim to the history of the Famous Players Film Company, founded in 1912 by Adolph Zukor, as Cineplex's earliest predecessor; however, that company did not have any operations in Canada until 1920, when it bought Nathan Nathanson's Paramount Theatre chain, which Nathanson had established four years earlier. Nathanson, the 5th richest person in the world, became the first president of the resulting entity, Famous Player Canadian Corporation. In 1923, Famous Players bought out rival Allen Theatres, acquiring many buildings in the process.Odeon Theatres of Canada was established in 1941, before merging with the Canadian Theatres chain in 1978, becoming Canadian Odeon Theatres.
In 1979, Garth Drabinsky and Nat Taylor created the Cineplex Corporation and opened its first "Cineplex" theatre complex, in the Toronto Eaton Centre. Odeon merged with Cineplex in 1984 to form Cineplex Odeon Corporation, before being acquired by Loews Theatres in 1998, thereby becoming Loews Cineplex Entertainment.
1999–2004: early years
Galaxy Entertainment Inc. was established in 1999 by Ellis Jacob, a former chief operating officer of Loews Cineplex Entertainment, and Stephen Brown, a former Cineplex chief financial officer. With investments from Onex Corporation and Famous Players, the new company focused on smaller markets that were usually served by smaller theatres and old equipment, opening large, major chain-style locations under the Galaxy Cinemas banner. By 2003, Galaxy Entertainment had grown to 19 theatres and $75 million in box office revenue.In 2001, Loews Cineplex Entertainment underwent bankruptcy due to the economic recession of the early 2000s. In June 2001, Onex Corporation announced its intent to acquire Loews Cineplex; as part of the deal, Loews Cineplex would close 46 cinemas, and Onex would acquire the company for $1.3 billion with Oaktree Capital Management as a partner.
In November 2003, Loews Cineplex Entertainment's Canadian operations merged with Galaxy Entertainment as Cineplex Galaxy Income Fund. The U.S. operations of Loews Cineplex were divested in 2004 to several investors including The Carlyle Group.
2005–2012: purchase of Famous Players, Cineplex Entertainment
On June 13, 2005, Cineplex Galaxy Income Fund announced its acquisition of Famous Players from Viacom for CA$500 million. This deal was completed on July 22, 2005. To satisfy antitrust concerns, on August 22, 2005, the group announced the sale of 27 locations in Ontario and western Canada to Empire Theatres. On June 21, Loews Cineplex announced that it would merge with AMC Theatres. While AMC Theatres also operated in Canada and was ranked third behind Cineplex Galaxy and the enlarged Empire Theatres, Cineplex Odeon and AMC Theatres remained competitors.In October 2005, Cineplex Galaxy changed the name of its operating subsidiary Cineplex Galaxy LP to Cineplex Entertainment LP, to reflect their expanded operations. On March 31, 2006, Cineplex sold seven more theatres in Quebec to Chelsea-based Fortune Cinemas. On June 29, 2007, Cineplex Entertainment announced its purchase of three Cinema City theatres in western Canada, consisting of two theatres in Winnipeg and one in Edmonton.
As Cineplex no longer held the rights to the branding, the Paramount Theatres locations were rebranded as Scotiabank Theatre as part of a joint venture with Scotiabank to launch a new loyalty program.
With the bankruptcy of Fortune Cinemas, Cineplex Entertainment acquired some of Fortune Cinemas theatres. The Starcité Gatineau and the Cavendish theatres were reopened as Cineplex Entertainment theatres.
In June 2012, as part of its exit from the Canadian market, AMC sold four of its Canadian cinemas to Cineplex, including the Yonge Dundas 24 at 10 Dundas East, and the Forum in Montreal. The company also earlier acquired the Tinseltown Movies 12 theatre from another American chain, Cinemark, in the Gastown neighbourhood of Vancouver.
Over the subsequent years, Cineplex expanded into advertising, events programming and a new concept, The Rec Room, amusement venues with live entertainment that serve food and drink.
2013–2018: expansion, VIP Cinemas
In the 2010s, Cineplex began to deploy "VIP Cinemas" featuring reclining seats, in-seat meal services, and a licensed lounge. On August 15, 2014, Cineplex opened a dedicated VIP Cinemas Don Mills location, the first to be devoted solely to the format. By 2017, the company had also begun to retrofit selected non-VIP auditoriums to feature reclining seating.On June 27, 2013, the Empire Company announced that it would divest its Empire Theatres operations in order to focus on its real-estate assets and grocery chain Sobeys. Cineplex acquired 24 former Empire locations in the Atlantic provinces as well as 2 in Ontario, for around $200 million. In February 2014, Cineplex announced that it had acquired Empire's planned Lansdowne Park location in Ottawa, and would construct a new 10-screen cinema at the site with three VIP screens.
2019–present: attempted acquisition by Cineworld
On December 16, 2019, Cineplex announced a definitive agreement to be acquired by the British cinema operator Cineworld Group, the second-largest film exhibitor worldwide, pending shareholder and regulatory approval. Cineworld would be paying $34 per-share—a 42% premium over Cineplex's share price prior to the announcement, valuing the company at CDN$2.8 billion. Cineworld planned to pay US$1.65 billion, and to fund the remainder by taking on debt.Combined with its ownership of the 564-location Regal Cinemas chain in the United States, the sale would have made Cineworld the largest cinema chain in North America. Cineworld stated that it planned to integrate Cineplex's operations with those of Regal, while maintaining Cineplex's banners for its Canadian operations. The company also stated that it planned to reach $120 million in cost efficiencies and revenue synergies by the end of fiscal year 2020.
The sale was approved by Cineplex shareholders in February 2020. Activist shareholder Bluebell Capital Partners called for the Canadian government to block the sale due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which in turn led to the temporary closure of all Cineplex properties for several months starting on March 16. In May, Cineplex stated that Cineworld planned to complete the sale by June 2020, provided that it received federal approval under the Investment Canada Act, and that it met the terms of the sale agreement.
On June 12, 2020, Cineworld abandoned the purchase, alleging that Cineplex had engaged in conduct that breached unspecified terms of the sale, and that the company had experienced a "material adverse effect" of an unspecified nature. Cineplex denied the claims and made counter-allegations. The agreement with Cineworld included a condition that the latter would pay a penalty in case it decided to cancel the deal. In February 2021, CEO Ellis Jacob offered to temporarily convert Cineplex facilities into COVID-19 vaccination sites. In July, Cineplex started legal action against Cineworld claiming financial damages, and Cineworld counter-sued.
In December 2021, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruled in favour of Cineplex, and ordered Cineworld to pay US$1 billion in damages for breach of contract. The company planned to appeal the ruling; Cineworld's shares fell by 40% in the immediate aftermath of the ruling. In September 2022, it was reported that the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas blocked the Canadian appeal due to Cineworld's Chapter 11 bankruptcy. It was also reported by The Wall Street Journal that Cineplex was exploring the possibility of a separate merger with Regal.
Cineplex Inc. sold its Cineplex Store division to Swiss company CosmoBlue Media in April 2025 and sold its Cineplex Digital Media division in October 2025 to Creative Realities.
Operations
Theatre chains
Cineplex Entertainment operates 158 theatres as of Q4 2024. These locations use several brand names:- Cineplex Cinemas and Cineplex Odeon
- Cineplex Junxion
- Cineplex VIP Cinemas
- Famous Players
- Galaxy Cinemas
- Scotiabank Theatre
- SilverCity and StarCité
The Cinema City brand is used at one location in Winnipeg's Garden City area that predominantly shows second-run films. In 2011, Cineplex announced that the Cinema City McGillivray in Winnipeg would be closed and renovated into a Cineplex Odeon and VIP Cinemas location. The Cinema City Movies 12 in Edmonton closed on January 8, 2023.
Other acquisitions from Cineplex include The Beach Cinemas from Alliance Cinemas. This location was rebranded to Cineplex Cinemas Beaches. In 2013, Cineplex acquired two Festival Cinemas locations that were previously owned by Alliance. The Fifth Avenue location operates similarly to a VIP Cinemas location. These locations retain their original name.
Selected banners originating from Famous Players are still used by some locations: Famous Players, SilverCity and StarCité. However, many former Famous Players and SilverCity locations have been replaced by Cineplex Cinemas. This is also true for the Coliseum and Colossus brands, although these brands' unique architectural features have been preserved.