History of the Group
Kinepolis Group has its roots in the 1960s, when Albert Bert added a second screen to the Majestic cinema in Harelbeke. In 1988 the families Bert and Claeys introduced the world’s first megaplex, the 25-screen Kinepolis Brussels.
In 1997 the Bert group and Claeys group merged to create Kinepolis Group, a strong company with a single vision and a wealth of experience in the cinema industry.
Kinepolis Group was first listed on the stock exchange in 1998 and with the international expansion beginning in the second half of the 1990s it became one of Europe’s leading cinema operators, driven by the same instinct to innovate and customer focus that the founders showed in the early days. In terms of technology, this led to the digitization of cinema and the development of 3D cinema. In terms of content, the program was further developed to include an alternative mix of sports, cultural and social events alongside the traditional movie content.
Kinepolis Group today has 110 multiplexes, a workforce of more than 4,000 people, and welcomes around 40 million visitors annually. CEO Eddy Duquenne is leading the Group since 2008, together with Joost Bert, President of the Board of Directors and son of co-founder Albert Bert.