Boxoffice - October 2018

SHOWEAST 2018
CINÉPOLIS LUXURY CINEMAS WESTLAKE VILLAGE
THOUSAND OAKS, CA
Cinépolis has been in the U.S. market for
several years already. How would you
describe the company’s experience in
the market?
The U.S. market is one of the most
challenging in the world. We knew how
competitive it would be since we entered
the market in 2011, and how important
it would be to have a clear differentiation
from other players. Our first theaters in
California were quite successful with our
Luxury brand, targeting high-income
pockets of the population. Over the years,
we have expanded not only geographically
but also to other theater models in order to
accommodate our offering to the relevant
market. Even though this has been a great
year in terms of box office and attendance,
there are still challenges ahead, like the
need to excel at customer satisfaction, continue
to innovate around the experience of
going to the movies, seek more productive
ways of collaboration with distributors,
and continue to look for relevant content
that appeals to niche audiences.
Cinépolis was recently granted one
of the coveted licenses to operate a cinema
in Saudi Arabia. What are your plans
for the market, both in the next year and
in the long term?
We started exploring the Middle
East market a couple of years back as an
extension of our operation in India. We
actually decided to enter the region before
the ban on cinemas was lifted in Saudi
Arabia, though we were hoping it would
open soon as it was an important part of
our strategy for the region. We set up an
office in Dubai in early 2017 and started
signing deals for the region. For instance,
we will open our first cinema this December
in Bahrain. By the end of 2019, we’ll
have more than 50 screens operating in
the UAE, Bahrain, and Oman. With our
presence in the region, it was important
for us to take the Saudi opportunity. Even
before the reopening of cinemas became
official in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,
we started working with Al Tayer, our regional
partner, and Al Hokair, our Saudi
partner. Al Hokair has been able to secure
a license to operate, and we worked hard
in the setting up of the company and the
team on the ground. We plan to open
our first cinema there next year and hope
to become an important player in the
kingdom in the years to come.
What are the challenges of
programming for a global circuit like
Cinépolis? Are there any specific regions
that demand more attention to detail
than others?
Cinépolis has become an international
circuit in a relatively short amount of
time. Ten years ago, our only international
presence was in Central America; now
we are in more than 14 countries and we
are entering the GCC market at the end
of the year. It was only three years ago
that my position as VP of global programming
was created in order to look
for efficiencies and opportunities. Some
of the most interesting challenges of
programming for a global circuit have to
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