The
Kinepolis Group is a Belgian cinema chain formed in 1997 as a result of the merger of two family cinema groups, Bert and Claeys, and has been listed on the stock exchange since 1998. Albert Bert started in the film industry in 1970 and in 1981 built the 12 screen Decascoops cinema in
Ghent, Belgium. He owned the cinema with his wife, Marie-Suzanne, and their four sons. They also owned a five screen cinema in
Kortrijk, the Pentascoop, and the seven screen Trioscoop in
Hasselt. On 29 September 1988, Bert opened the
Kinepolis Brussels, which was considered to be the first
megaplex cinema in the world when it was finally completed with 25 screens and 7,600 seats. Marie-Suzanne's sister, Rose Claeys, ran the Trioscoop as well as the Trosgenk in
Genk and three cinemas in
Liège (Les Operas, the Palace and the Concorde). In 2006, the Claeys family withdrew from the venture, selling most of its 25% stake of shares in the company and transferring daily management to Joost Bert, who, since 2008, shares the position of CEO with Eddy Duquenne.
Competition authority The Belgian competition authority approved the merger of the company in 1997 on the condition that the company wasn't allowed to grow within Belgium without explicit consent of the authority. This resulted in the resale of the acquired Utopolis cinemas in 2015. Kinepolis tried on several occasions to get the authority to lift the ban, and they succeeded in 2020. From August 2021 the company doesn't need permission to open new locations within Belgium.
Growth and acquisitions Kinepolis grew significantly in recent years by opening several new locations, but also by acquiring chains and independent cinemas. Significant acquisitions were Wolff Bioscopen in 2014, Utopolis in 2015, Canadian chain
Landmark Cinemas in 2017, American chains
MJR Cinemas in 2019, and
Emagine Entertainment in 2025. In 2011 the company also acquired Brightfish, a Belgian company specialised in cinema advertising. == Core businesses ==