The Best Seat In Town
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Public company | |
Traded as | : CNK S&P 400 Component |
Founded | 1984 |
Headquarters | Plano, Texas |
Number of locations
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482 |
Key people
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Lee Roy Mitchell (Chairman) Mark Zoradi (CEO) |
Brands | Cinemark Century Theaters Tinseltown USA CinéArts Rave Cinemas Cinemark XD (Extreme Digital Cinema) |
Revenue | US$4.644 billion (2016) |
US$423.152 million (2015) | |
US$218.728 million (2015) | |
Total assets | US$4.126 billion (2015) |
Total equity | US$1.111 billion (2015) |
Website | www |
Cinemark USA, Inc. is an American movie theatre chain owned by Cinemark Holdings, Inc. operating throughout the Americas and in Taiwan. It is headquartered in Plano, Texas in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
As of December 31, 2013, the Cinemark circuit is geographically diverse and is the third largest in the United States with 495 theatres and 4,457 screens in 40 states. It is the most geographically diverse circuit in Latin America with 148 theatres and 1,106 screens in 12 countries; it is the largest movie theatre chain in Brazil, with a 30% market share. Cinemark also holds the spot of second largest circuit internationally.
Cinemark operates theaters under several brands, including its flagship Cinemark, Century Theatres, Tinseltown USA, CinéArts, and Rave Cinemas.
Cinemark was started in 1976 by Lee Roy Mitchell as a chain of theatres in Texas, Utah, and California. Through new theatre construction and acquisitions, it became the third largest theatre chain in the United States and the second largest theatre chain in the world. In March 2009, Cinemark introduced its own large screen concept, known as XD (being short for "Extreme Digital"; which competes against IMAX), and has plans to install it in many well-performing locations around the world. At first, it was known as XD3 (Extreme Digital Experience). All XD screens installed after August 2010 featured (or upgraded to) 7.1 surround sound and those installed after October 2012 feature (or upgraded to) Dolby Atmos. Cinemark is also known for its highly diversified concessions and dine-in theater options, serving such items as marinated lengua and imported un-carbonated Latin colas. Mitchell's son Kevin Mitchell worked with the company as well as an executive until leaving in 2007 to found ShowBiz Cinemas.
In the 1990s, Cinemark Theatres was one of the first chains to incorporate stadium-style seating into their theatres. In 1997, several disabled individuals filed a lawsuit against Cinemark, alleging that their stadium style seats forced patrons who used wheelchairs to sit in the front row of the theatre, effectively rendering them unable to see the screen without assuming a horizontal position. The case was heard in El Paso district court as Lara v. Cinemark USA, where a judge ruled that the architecture of Cinemark's theatres violated the Americans with Disabilities Act. The ruling was later overturned by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled that Cinemark only had to provide an "unobstructed view" of the screen, and that since handicapped patrons' view was only awkward and not actually obscured, Cinemark was not violating the law.