Cinemark

Cinemark was started by Lee Roy Mitchell as a chain of theatres in California, Texas and Utah. The roots of the company date to the 1960s when brothers J.C. and Lee Roy Mitchell created Mitchell Theatres, Inc. By 1972, the company was named 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 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 Theatres Holdings purchased the Cinemark circuit of theaters. But Cinemark Corporation continued operations acquiring existing theaters and began to build new theaters. In 1987, Cinemark acquired all of the Plitt Theatres.

With the opening of the Movies 8 on 3912 Hampton Road in Texarkana, Texas, in 1987, Cinemark began building theaters with colorful interiors and large video game arcades. Legal advertisements indicate that the company known as Cinemark USA, Incorporated, officially began December 31, 1987. The following year, Cinemark introduced its Front Row Joe mascot created by San Antonio-based independent animation studio Wilming Reams Animation. This animated cat appeared in policy trailers and on kids' concession products. The mascot was retired in 1998 when Cinemark had begun to open Art Deco-style theatres, and was revived in 2004 for its 20th anniversary, and again in 2018 with a CGI look, darker orange color and the beige color being added. In 1992, Cinemark opened a new theater concept called Hollywood USA in Garland, Texas; this concept was subsequently refined into the Tinseltown USA brand of theaters, which were much bigger than what Cinemark had previously built.

The following year, Cinemark expanded to Latin America with the opening of a six-screen theater in Santiago, Chile. The next year, they opened four theaters in Mexico and in 1997 opened their first theater in Brazil. By 2000, it was the largest exhibitor in Brazil (180 screens), Chile (89 screens; 50% market share) and El Salvador (25 screens; 60–70% market share) and had 192 screens in Mexico, as well as theaters in Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Peru.

In 1998, Cinemark announced that it would replace its bright color interiors with what Cinemark characterized as a more classic Art Deco design. 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. Mitchell's son Kevin Mitchell worked with the company as an executive until leaving in 2007 to found ShowBiz Cinemas. In 2013, Cinemark decided to sell all of its Mexican theaters to Cinemex.

Cinemark has a deal with Universal in which movies that gross more than $50 million domestically during their first weekend in theaters will continue to be shown in theaters exclusively for five weekends, or 31 days. After that, while theaters can continue to screen a film, the title becomes available on online rental platforms such as Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video.

Cinemark introduced a new premium offering, Cinemark XD, standing for Extreme Digital Cinema in 2009. The first XD screen opened at the Century San Francisco Centre 9 theater in San Francisco, California. This auditorium features a giant, wall-to-wall display, Barco 4K digital projection with 2D and RealD 3D capabilities, surround sound audio systems, and premium seats. On May 4, 2017, it was announced that THX sound systems would be coming to the XD locations as part of a collaboration with Cinemark. The Razer-owned company was hired to certify over 200 XD auditoriums in the United States and Latin America. It took a year to finish the update and certification. On May 2, 2018, Cinemark confirmed that the XD screens had become THX certified. Cinemark Holdings Inc (CNK) Reports Robust Revenue Growth and Solid Profitability in FY 2023.

United States Department of Justice lawsuits

In the 1990s, Cinemark Theatres was one of the first chains to incorporate stadium-style seating into its 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 (ADA). 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 disabled patrons' view was only awkward and not actually obscured, Cinemark was not violating the law.

In response, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) filed their own suit against Cinemark while appealing the appellate court's decision. The DOJ argued that, while Cinemark was not technically violating the ADA, it was nevertheless discriminating against disabled patrons by relegating them to the worst seats in the auditorium. Cinemark responded by filing a lawsuit against the Department of Justice, alleging misconduct on the DOJ's behalf. Cinemark's lawsuit was thrown out, and the Department of Justice proceeded with its lawsuit. Cinemark ultimately agreed to settle out of court before the court came to a ruling, agreeing with the DOJ that it was in the company's best interest to end litigation before a ruling was issued. Per the terms of the settlement, Cinemark agreed to renovate all existing theatres to provide patrons who used wheelchairs access to rows higher in its theatres, and also agreed that all future theatres would be constructed so as to allow handicapped patrons better access to higher rows. In turn, the Department of Justice agreed not to bring further litigation against the company in relation to the architecture of stadium seating as it applies to the ADA.

On August 8, 2006, Cinemark purchased Century Theatres with a combination of cash and stock bonds. This acquisition added over 80 theatres and many more screens. Some of these theatres were subsequently shut down either being phased out as under performing or replaced with new complexes. The transaction was completed on October 5, 2006. With this purchase, Cinemark heavily strengthened their presence in Northern California and entered Alaska, Nevada, South Dakota, and Washington state, though at the transaction both of their locations in Washington state were still under construction. However, Cinemark retains the Century banner and continues to open new locations under that banner.

Controversy

In 2008, Cinemark’s then CEO Alan Stock donated US$9,999 toward the successful passage of Proposition 8 in California. The initiative defined marriage as between a man and woman, thereby outlawing same-sex marriage in the state.

An ensuing campaign was launched by opponents of Prop 8, and encouraged patrons to see showings of the film Milk, based on the life of gay-rights activist Harvey Milk, at a competing theater rather than at Cinemark. Other activists urged a more general Cinemark boycott.