Via Latinometrics, a look at how Mexican movie theaters are major players in the global cinema industry:

Mexican movie theaters are major players in the global cinema industry.

Cinépolis, or the “City of Cinema,” was founded in 1947 by Enrique Ramírez in the Mexican city of Morelia. Rebranded several times, the current brand name was first used in 1994 and started expanding nationally. It then launched its up-market VIP brand (luxury cinema with reclinable seats and service) in 1999, which became an instant hit. Surprisingly, the company remains a family business, now run by Enrique’s grandson, Alejandro Ramírez.

Cinépolis owns over 50% of Mexico’s market share and has expanded massively in the last decade. The company has 820 theaters and 6.4K screens globally, with locations in Mexico, the US, Central & South America, India, and even the Middle East.

Its main national competitor, Cinemex, has also been expanding, although not as aggressively. The company started as a Harvard student business plan when Miguel Angel Dávila, Adolfo Fastlicht, and Matthew Heyman were doing an MBA. Today, the company operates 335 theaters in Mexico and 33 in the US after its 2017 acquisition of Cobb Theaters.