Cinemark Theatres

Cinemark USA, Inc. is an American movie theatre chain owned by Cinemark Holdings, Inc. operating in North and South America, and Taiwan. It is headquartered in Plano, Texas.

As of December 31, 2013, the Cinemark circuit 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. 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.

History

Cinemark was started in 1984 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 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. 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.