Ellis Jacob, pictured here in 2021, spent decades in Canada’s theatre industry.Christopher Katsarov/The Globe and Mail
After 22 years of overseeing Canada’s biggest theatre chain, Ellis Jacob is set to retire as chief executive of Cineplex Entertainment on Dec. 31, 2026, the company announced Friday.
A longtime veteran of the Canadian theatrical industry, the Calcutta-born Jacob got his start in the sector in the late 1980s at Cineplex Odeon Corp., then led by Garth Drabinsky and Myron Gottlieb. Since then, he has ridden the various waves of Canada’s ever-shifting exhibition landscape, sticking with Cineplex Odeon through its merger with the U.S.-based Loews in the late ’90s before joining Alliance Atlantis Communications.
After securing backing from Onex’s Gerald Schwartz and top Canadian film industry leaders Robert Lantos, Victor Loewy and Michael MacMillan, Jacob founded Galaxy Entertainment, which focused on building multiplexes in mid-size Canadian markets. In 2003, Galaxy merged with the Canadian assets of Loews Cineplex, with Jacob becoming chief executive of the new entity, Cineplex Entertainment, in 2003.
Since then, the company has acquired rival Famous Players and elements of Empire Theatres to become a Canadian giant with more than 1,600 screens in 156 theatres, for a market share of about 73 per cent.
However, Cineplex has had to contend with vast changes in the sector over the past several years, from shifting consumer behaviour that was accelerated by the pandemic to myriad crises in Hollywood’s production ecosystem.
Last month, the company reported a loss of $36.6-million in its latest quarter as its revenues fell 10 per cent compared to the same time a year prior, which Jacob attributed to a weak film slate from the U.S. studios. Theatre attendance fell to 8.4 million, down from 9.8 million in the same quarter last year.
Cineplex has also been offloading assets, selling its amusement-solutions business Player One Amusement Group to a private equity firm last year, and receiving “nominal proceeds” for the sale of its digital-rentals business to CosmoBlue earlier this year.
Jacob, an Order of Canada recipient who Cineplex board chair Phyllis Yaffe described in a statement as “quite simply, a giant in our industry,” will continue to lead the company and assistant with the transition to a new leadership structure.
“After thoughtful consideration, I welcome this next chapter. 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,” Jacob said in a statement. “I remain committed to working with the board and the talented team at Cineplex during this transition period and have unwavering confidence in Cineplex’s bright future.”
