Movie theatre ‘visionary’: Cineplex CEO Ellis Jacob praised as he plans retirement

Ellis Jacob, president and chief executive of Cineplex Entertainment, poses for a photograph after the company's annual general meeting in Toronto on Wednesday, May 17, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

TORONTO — Movie theatre giant Cineplex Inc. says president and chief executive Ellis Jacob will retire at the end of next year, in what industry watchers say marks the end of an era for the company.

Cineplex board chair Phyllis Yaffe praised Jacob for his work in building the company over the past four decades. The company said Jacob will continue to lead Cineplex in the interim and help in the transition to new leadership.

“Ellis is, quite simply, a giant in our industry,” Yaffe said in a press release.

“It has been a privilege to work alongside him for many years and we look forward to working with him through this transition.”

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Jacob was appointed president and chief executive of Cineplex in 2003 when the Canadian assets of Lowes Cineplex Entertainment and Galaxy Entertainment Inc. were merged. 

Before his current role, Jacob was president and CEO of Galaxy Entertainment, which he co-founded in 1999.

That shift more than 20 years ago marked the first time in decades that Canada’s movie theatre footprint was largely owned by Canadian companies, said Paul Moore, a professor of film history at Toronto Metropolitan University.

“Ellis Jacob is there at the helm of another moment of a big transition in the industry here in Canada — he’s at the helm of actually creating a Canadian-owned business that runs the majority of movie theatres across Canada,” said Moore.

“Historically, if you look back from the 1930s all the way up to the 1990s, there’s always been concern about our movie theatres are owned by Hollywood, and that’s why we don’t see our own stories on screen. Well, for 20 years now, we’ve had Cineplex being Canadian-owned.”

Moore said the company has navigated a number of challenges during Jacob’s leadership, including the rise of streaming platforms and plummeting box office sales during the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said the company has pulled through “partly because of its gorilla-sized proportion of the market” in Canada.

“So whenever a blockbuster does come along like Top Gun Maverick or most recently, the Minecraft movie, it’s almost always a Cineplex theatre that Canadians go see that big blockbuster,” said Moore.

“And it’s kind of protected them to a certain extent from competition domestically, and helped the transition here in Canada of the decline of everyday movie-going and the real shift to only occasional blockbuster movie-going.”

Cineplex spent much of the pandemic period grappling with the fallout from its failed sale to U.K. theatre company Cineworld Group PLC.

The scuttled $2.8 billion deal wound up in a court battle meant to decide whether Cineworld had the right to walk away from the transaction. A judge sided with Cineplex, but Cineworld made an appeal before it filed for bankruptcy in the United States. Cineplex has since said it does not expect to meaningfully recoup its costs.

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Today, Cineplex has more than 170 movie theatres and entertainment venues across Canada. The company has also long run its RecRoom arcade and dining venues, which Moore noted has helped diversify the movie-going experience for consumers.

In a statement, Jacob said he has “unwavering confidence in Cineplex’s bright future” and was committed to working with the company’s board as it transitions to a new CEO.

“After thoughtful consideration, I welcome this next chapter,” he said.

“For decades, I have been focused on making Cineplex a great Canadian company, and I move forward with immense pride in what we’ve built for generations of Canadian movie fans who come to us for those magical moments of escape that can only be found in a true theatre experience.”

RBC analyst Drew McReynolds said Jacob “has been the visionary beating heart of not only Cineplex but the broader theatrical exhibition industry for decades.”

“While these shoes are next to impossible to fill, we expect the leadership transition at Cineplex to be seamless and believe the transition timing is consistent with what should be a full industry recovery by 2026,” McReynolds said in a note on Friday.

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Sammy Hudes, The Canadian Press

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 27, 2025.