Cinemark

Cinemark is a cinema chain owned by Cinemark Holdings, Inc. with operations in the United States, Chile, Colombia, Argentina, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Taiwan, Brazil, Panama, The Caribbean, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador. It was founded in 1961 by Lee Roy Mitchell as a theater chain that spanned the states of California, Texas and Utah. Its corporate headquarters is located in Plano, Texas, United States.

As of March 31, 2012, the Cinemark chain is the third largest in the United States (behind AMC Theaters and Regal Cinemas) with 298 cinema complexes and 3,895 screens in 40 states. It is the second in Latin America with 161 cinema complexes and 1,286 screens in 13 countries; It was the third largest movie theater chain in Mexico before its merger with the Cinemex chain. In Chile, until 2020, it has 20 complexes.

Cinemark operates movie theaters using several brands, including its flagship brand Cinemark, Century Theatres, Tinseltown USA, CinéArts, and Rave Cinemas. In Argentina, it is called Cinemark Hoyts.

History

Cinemark was founded by Lee Roy Mitchell as a chain of movie theaters in California, Texas, and Utah. It is unclear when Cinemark was founded. While Cinemark officially claims it launched in 1984 (and previously claimed it was founded in 1983), online records show Cinemark could have started as early as 1977.

The company's roots date back to the 1960s, when brothers J.C. and Lee Roy Mitchell created Mitchell Theaters, Inc. By 1972, the company was called Texas Cinema Corporation. Lee Roy Mitchell then formed a group of theaters under the Cinemark name beginning in 1977. Cinemark Corporation and Texas Cinema Corporation merged their operations in June 1979 creating a portfolio of 25 theaters in Texas and New Mexico, under the Cinemark brand. On March 26, 1980, Henry G. Plitt of Plitt Theaters Holdings purchased the Cinemark movie theater circuit. But Cinemark Corporation continued operations by acquiring existing theaters and began building new theaters. In 1987, Cinemark acquired all of Plitt Theatres.

Over the next few years, Cinemark began building theaters with colorful interiors and large video game arcades. Legal notices indicate that the company known as Cinemark USA, Incorporated, officially began on December 31, 1987. The following year, Cinemark introduced its mascot, Joe the Cat, created by the independent animation studio Wilming Reams Animation. This animated cat appeared in political advertisements and children's products. The mascot was retired in 1998 when Cinemark had begun opening Art Deco-style cinemas, and was revived in 2004 for its 20th anniversary, and again in 2018 with a CGI look, a darker orange color and beige color were added.

In 1992, Cinemark opened a new theater concept called Hollywood USA in Garland, Texas; This concept was later refined into the Tinseltown USA brand of theaters, which were much larger than any Cinemark had previously built.

In 1993, Cinemark expanded into Latin America with the opening of a cinema in Santiago, Chile. The following year, Cinemark opened four cinemas in Mexico.

In 1998, Cinemark announced that it would replace its brightly colored interiors with what Cinemark characterized as a more classic Art Deco design. Through the construction and acquisitions of new theaters, it became the third largest theater chain in the United States and the second largest theater chain in the world. Lee Roy Mitchell's son, Kevin Mitchell, worked with the company as an executive until he left in 2007 to found ShowBiz Cinemas.

On August 8, 2006, Cinemark acquired the Century Theaters theater chain.

On July 20, 2012, a gunman named James Eagan Holmes opened fire during the midnight premiere of The Dark Knight Rises at the Century 16 theater in Aurora, Colorado, killing 12 people and injuring 70 others. The cinema was reopened on January 17, 2013.

In 2013, Cinemark decided to sell all of its Mexican cinemas to Cinemex. That same year, it acquired the Rave Cinemas chain. The sale closed on August 16, 2013. Today both Rave Cinemas and Century Theathers are brands of Cinemark Holdings Inc.