Kinopolis Management Multiplex GmbH has been named as the recipient of the CineEurope 2025 Milestone Award, recognizing its enduring legacy and transformative impact on German and European cinema exhibition. A fourth-generation family business, Kinopolis celebrates its 120th anniversary in 2025, marking more than a century of exceptional contributions to the cinema landscape.
Managing Partner Gregory Thiele is accepting the award on behalf of Kinopolis. Since 2004, under Thiele’s leadership Kinopolis has consistently set new standards in cinema exhibition, combining state-of-the-art technology with a strong commitment to premium experiences. It continues to expand and enhance its locations, with the recent launch of Kinopolis Bad Homburg in 2023 and the brand new Kinopolis HafenCity in Hamburg, which opened on April 8 of this year. Meanwhile, flagship sites such as the Mathäser Filmpalast, for a number of years Germany’s most-visited cinema, continue to thrive.
Renowned for its innovation, Kinopolis pioneered premium formats such as Dolby Cinema and in-seat dining, while continually investing in cutting-edge technology like Onyx LED screens and D-Box motion seating. Equally committed to sustainability, Kinopolis was the first cinema chain in Germany to fully transition to reusable cups across all its locations, setting new standards for environmentally responsible cinema operations. Boxoffice Pro spoke to Thiele about Kinopolis’ ongoing dedication to sustainability, as well as the company’s outlook on premium experiences and the 2025 slate.
The German cinema community—and Kinopolis in particular, through the adoption of reusable cups—is taking proactive steps to establish minimum sustainability standards for cinemas. Looking towards the future, what are your hopes as to how European cinemas can embrace sustainability?
It is our responsibility as a society, and therefore also as a company, to contribute to a higher level of sustainability. Two topics are paramount: improving energy efficiency and reducing nonrecyclable packaging materials. We are particularly proud that we were the first German cinema chain to completely eliminate disposable cups. We strive to make a positive contribution to sustainability in as many areas as possible. Despite all our initiatives, we still have a long way to go.
Back in 2022, an amazing 89 percent of tickets sold in Germany for Avatar: The Way of Water were for 3D screenings. Are you expecting something similar with Avatar: Fire and Ash later this year? How has Kinopolis’ audience embraced 3D outside of the Avatar franchise?
The 3D market share of Avatar: The Way of Water was nothing less than sensational. It also demonstrated that the audience is still extremely interested in watching movies in 3D. This, of course, requires that the movie itself delivers a stunning 3D quality and that the studios prioritize 3D in their marketing campaigns. Quality 3D is something you can only get at the cinema, yet that fact is not often communicated sufficiently to moviegoers. Even at trade shows, we hardly ever see any clips or trailers in 3D. At Kinopolis, we emphasize 3D in terms of both programming and marketing, and we continue to achieve 20 to 30 percent 3D market share for animated films and 40 to 50 percent for action films. Ninety percent will not be achieved again until the next Avatar.
Aside from 3D, what are the premium formats that your customers have most embraced? What’s your premium footprint, and is there room for expansion?
The most attractive premium formats are our recliner and D-Box seats, Dolby Cinema, and the in-seat service we offer in select cinemas. The central idea behind our premium offerings is that we want to give our guests the flexibility to choose which type of seat they want to sit in and how much money they want to spend. This means that we deliberately do not equip entire theaters with electric recliners, giving guests with lower budgets the opportunity to attend our cinemas as well. Nevertheless, the trend is clearly moving toward expanding our premium offerings, and as a result, we are continuously investing in our theaters.
For the past three years, German cinemas have hosted Kinofest, where over a two-day period guests can see movies at a steep discount. What are your thoughts on Kinofest and its ability to get moviegoers out to the cinema?
I am a huge fan of Kinofest, and we’ve supported it from the very beginning. The cinema experience is better than ever, yet customer awareness needs improvement. Therefore, it is crucial that we as an industry offer attractive incentives to lure our audiences back to the cinema and communicate to them the great experience we provide. Furthermore, Kinofest is an opportunity to get additional attention from the public and the media. I would be happy if we developed additional initiatives and offered Kinofest twice a year in Germany.
We’ve seen over the last few years how a lack of major tentpole releases can be harmful to the cinema industry. How has Kinopolis found success bringing moviegoers in during slow periods? And what are your thoughts on the 2025 slate?
The success of the cinema industry will always depend on the availability of strong, attractive, and exclusive product. Of course, cinemas can offer temporary price incentives during weaker periods to attract additional guests. However, in the long term, this conflicts with our goal of offering high-quality cinema experiences at a reasonable price point. For this reason, the continuous availability of high-quality and attractive movies is more important than ever. The first quarter of 2025 unfortunately fell short of expectations, but I am much more confident about the second half of the year and expect that we will match and possibly even exceed 2024.
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