The uncertain fate of the Showcase Cinemas movie theatre chain has finally been settled, with the European operator Kinepolis announcing its acquisition of all remaining Showcase Cinema locations for $30 million.
For years, the Showcase Cinemas chain was owned by National Amusements, which was also the parent company to the studio and media conglomerate Paramount Global. Last year, National Amusements was sold to Skydance in a blockbuster $8 billion deal. After the sale, the head of National Amusements Shari Redstone left the merged company, yielding to Skydance’s energetic 44-year-old CEO David Ellison. While Redstone was a longtime impassioned advocate of the movie theatre business, Ellison was not similarly focused on that segment of the industry.
Over the past year, exhibitors looked on as Showcase closed one location after another, leaving many to wonder whether a buyer for the chain would emerge or if it would peter out slowly as the lease at each location expired.
In the end, it was Kinepolis that stepped in take over Showcase’s 13 remaining locations. The Belgian exhibitor indicated in their statement that purchase would close by “late summer,” noting excitedly that Showcase earned over $90 million in revenue in 2025. Kinepolis’ move is good for exhibition, giving some certainty that the remaining Showcase locations would remain vital for years to come. Over the past year, approximately one half of the closed Showcase locations were taken over by competing theatre chains, while the remaining theatres have remained vacant and appear to have closed permanently. Kinepolis is confident in the future of motion picture exhibitors in the U.S., having also acquired Emagine Theatres last fall. After the deal closes, the exhibitor will operate 59 theaters in North America, in addition to 63 in Europe. Taken together, Kinepolis’ 122 theatres worldwide offer 1,314 screens.
