Cinépolis

Cinépolis
Private
Founded 1947
Headquarters Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico
Key people

Enrique Ramírez Miguel, founder and ex-Chairman of the Board
Alejandro Ramirez Magana, CEO

Alejandra Daguer, Sales Management
Number of employees
 27,177[1]
Website Cinépolis Mexico

Cinépolis is a Mexican chain of movie theaters. Its name means City of Cinema and its slogan is La Capital del Cine (English: the Capital of Cinema).

Cinépolis is the biggest cineplex chain in Mexico with 214 theaters in 97 cities.[1] It is the largest chain in Latin America and the fourth largest in the world, with over 335 theaters, 3,187 screens and over 27,177 [2]employees throughout Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Brazil, Peru, India and the United States.

History

A Cinépolis theater at Plaza Sendero Ecatepec in Ecatepec de Morelos

Enrique Ramírez Villalón founded the 'Cine Morelos' in Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico in 1947. Years later, the company was rebranded as Cinematográfica Cadena de Oro, S.A., opening theaters in Salamanca, Acámbaro and Guanajuato. By 1971, the brand had already expanded to Mexico City with the opening of 'Cine La Raza'. In 1972 Cinemas Gemelos was born and one year later the national expansion of Multicinemas began. The company was rebranded in 1994 as Cinépolis with the first multiplex-style theaters in Tijuana. In 1999, Cinépolis VIP was created.[1] It is believed to be the biggest cinema chain in Mexico.[3]

Cinépolis VIP

A Cinépolis VIP theater at Plaza Las Américas in Cancún

Cinépolis VIP was created in 1999 with the aim to offer a more comfortable and intimate experience to the Cinépolis clients. It is considered one of the pioneers in development of the Luxury Cinema concept.[4] The cinemas are equipped with reclining seats, a catering service and a seat-pick system for clients to buy tickets and select the location of their seats exclusively without queues. At present, 28 Cinépolis VIP Theaters have been opened throughout Mexico and four outside of the country, located in Guatemala City, San José, Panama City. As of July 22, 2011, San Diego, CA, the company plans to open seven more theaters in Southern California before expanding into Northern California and then across the United States.[5] Cinépolis VIP have been known for its menus and services. It offers a wide range of foods and drinks as well as having specialized lounges such as Sushi VIP, Dulceria VIP, Bar VIP, Cinecafé VIP and Baguis VIP.[4]

In 2009-2010, Cinépolis VIP modified the seats to increase comfort and to enable customers to call for service with the addition of a button.

Club Cinépolis

Club Cinépolis is a point-system program that offers exclusive services and promotions to members. The club was created in 2003. When a member's card is presented at the point of purchase, points are added to the card equal to 5% of the total purchase amount. The points accumulated can be used to discount further purchases (one point = one peso). Club members are offered exclusive invitations to premieres, personalized birthday cards and exclusive promotions.[6]

Cineticket

In 1997, Cineticket was created to give users the option to buy their tickets online instead of waiting to purchase at the venue. Cineticket was the first online theater ticket-selling-system in Mexico

Cinépolis 4DX

On June 2, 2011, Cinépolis invested $25 million and partnered with the South Korean company, CJ Group, to open 11 4DX theaters throughout Mexico, due to the success of the technology.[7] 4DX features motion seats, wind effects, water and air spray, and odors with over 100 scents. It first opened at the Plaza Acoxpa mall in Mexico City with the release of Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. On July 1, 2012, Cinépolis installed a new 4DX theater in Brazil. It opened at the JK Iguatemi shopping mall in São Paulo with the release of Prometheus and Ice Age: Continental Drift, as South America's first theater with the 4DX technology.[8] It is the launch customer in the Western Hemisphere and is currently the second largest customer with a total of 13 4DX theaters throughout Mexico and 17 total 4DX theaters throughout Latin America.

International

Cinépolis in Surat
Cinépolis in Surat
Locations of Cinépolis.
Cinépolis Mangalore VIP Screen. The First VIP Screen of Cinépolis India.

Cinépolis has opened theaters in the capitals of Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama, and Bogotá, Colombia. So far, 11 theaters have been opened outside of Mexico under the Cinépolis brand, with a planned expansion to Peru with the opening of a 14" screen theater in Lima, a theatre in Cali, Colombia and a third in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.[1][9] Cinepolis has made a blueprint to operate 500 screens in India with an investment of Rs 1,500 crore and the result is the signing of deals with 12 developers in eight cities for setting up 110 screens in the first phase.[10][11] There are also plans to enter into deals with developers for creating 200 more screens across India by 2010.[12] Cinepolis is already operating in India at Amritsar, Pune, Bangalore, Patna, Ahmedabad, Surat, Bhopal, Ludhiana, Mangalore, Jaipur, Hyderabad, Hubli, Thane, Vijayawada and Mumbai.[13] It is also scheduled to open in Chennai, Guwahati, Vadodara, Ahmedabad (second property), Surat (Second Property), Kochi, Calicut, Nagpur and Ghaziabad. [14] [15] Cinepolis is having the Largest Cinepolis Megaplex in Seasons Mall, Pune with 15 screens and another Megaplex at Viviana Mall, Thane with 14 screens with IMAX, 4DX, Dolby Atmos.[16] Cinepolis also has its sub-brand in India known as Cinemastar it was opened in the year December 2010 in Thane.

Cinépolis Foundation

In 2003, Organización Ramírez created the Cinépolis Foundation to help unprivileged people get medical healthcare and education. Their mission is to contribute to social justice in Mexico through visual health programs. In 2007 they were awarded the "International Accomplishment in Exhibition" for their work to promote the activism within the Mexican community. Their program, "Del Amor Nace la Vista" (The Sight is born from Love) has been recognised as "The Best Practice in Social Responsibility".[17] They have signed association deals with 12 organizations in Mexico.[18]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Cinépolis Coorporativo". Cinépolis. Retrieved 2009-04-04.
  2. ↑ http://finance.yahoo.com/news/cinepolis-chooses-jive-strengthen-collaborative-121500756.html
  3. ↑ "Mexico is home to two of the world’s largest cinema multinationals". Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Cinépolis VIP". Cinépolis. Retrieved 2009-04-04.
  5. ↑ Billing, Karen "Luxury movie theaters opening at Del Mar Highlands Town Center July 22", Carmel Valley News, July 20, 2011, accessed July 21, 2011.
  6. ↑
  7. ↑ http://eleconomista.com.mx/entretenimiento/2011/06/02/cinepolis-presenta-sus-salas-mas-costosas
  8. ↑ "Sala de cinema 4DX chega ao Brasil". 1 July 2012. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
  9. ↑ Upcoming Openings
  10. ↑ http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/cinepolis-to-open-500-screens-across-india-by-2017-113111300786_1.html
  11. ↑ Cinépolis India
  12. ↑ Cinépolis annonuces its foray in India
  13. ↑ http://www.boxofficeindia.com/npages.php?page=shownews&articleid=6321&nCat=
  14. ↑ http://businesswireindia.com/news/news-details/hilite-city-one-indias-largest-mixed-use-development-project-enters-li/42966
  15. ↑ http://kochigallan.com/featured/bigger-and-better-which-is-the-centre-square-mall/
  16. ↑ http://www.screenindia.com/news/cinpolis-to-open-indias-largest-15screen-megaplex-in-pune/804738
  17. ↑ Logros (in spanish)
  18. ↑ Alianzas