Cineplex Inc. (TSX: CGX), the Toronto-based chain that describes itself as Canada’s largest film exhibitor, reported record third-quarter revenue of C$440.2m ($310m) on Friday 6 November 2026, up 26.2% on the same quarter of 2025. Box office of C$215.7m ($152m) was the highest in any quarter in the company’s history, according to its results release, and the quarter’s adjusted EBITDAaL more than doubled to C$70.7m ($49.9m).
Key facts
- Revenue: C$440.2m ($310m), up 26.2% from C$348.9m, the highest quarterly total in the company’s history, Cineplex says
- Box office: C$215.7m ($152m), up 35.2%, on 14.8 million admissions, up 23.1%
- Profit: net income from continuing operations of C$23.8m ($16.8m) against C$1.4m; adjusted EBITDAaL of C$70.7m ($49.9m), up 112.2%; adjusted free cash flow of C$52.9m ($37.3m), up 241.3%
- Premium formats: 51.4% of box office, a third-quarter record, with box office per patron of C$14.54 and concession spend per patron of C$9.99
- Strategic review: the board is weighing alternatives including a sale, advised by Goldman Sachs and TD Securities; no timetable has been set
What the quarter delivered
Every comparison below is with the same three months of 2025. Admissions rose to 14.83 million from 12.05 million. Box office per patron, which is box office divided by paid attendance, rose 9.9% to C$14.54, an all-time quarterly high. Concession revenue per patron rose 3.5% to C$9.99.
Net income from continuing operations was C$23.8m, or C$0.34 a diluted share, against C$1.4m a year earlier. Adjusted EBITDAaL is a non-GAAP measure that deducts cash rent from adjusted EBITDA. Cineplex puts it at C$70.7m, up from C$33.3m, and its margin on revenue rose to 16.1% from 9.6%. The company calls that the second-highest third-quarter figure in its history, so unlike revenue and box office it is not a record. Adjusted free cash flow was C$52.9m against C$15.5m.
Over the first nine months, revenue was C$1,114.9m, up 17.4%. Adjusted EBITDAaL was C$115.7m against C$56.5m, which means the third quarter produced 61% of the nine-month total. Net income for the nine months was C$9.2m, against a loss of C$37.6m.
Box office by month
Cineplex’s monthly table shows how uneven the quarter was. July box office of C$72.6m was level with the previous July, August doubled to C$98.0m from C$49.1m, and September rose 20% to C$45.1m. October, which falls outside the quarter, came in at C$42.3m, up 42% on C$29.9m.
These numbers match what Cineplex published on 13 October, when it released box office alone: the same C$215.7m quarter and the same three monthly figures. The only difference is a C$1,000 change in the 2025 quarter base, which that release gave as C$159,478,000 and the new one as C$159,477,000. The October release also said box office per patron had passed C$14 for the first time and that premium formats made up more than 50% of the quarter. The full results confirm both, at C$14.54 and 51.4%.
Cineplex credits the quarter to a strong slate led by Spider-Man: Brand New Day and The Odyssey. Chief executive Bill Walker said in the release that Spider-Man became the highest-grossing film of all time at the US and Canadian box office and that The Odyssey had passed $1.8bn worldwide; both are Cineplex’s statements, not figures FilmBunch has checked. He added that Cineplex operates 8 of the world’s 41 IMAX 70mm screens, which often sold out. For the market context, see FilmBunch’s reports on IMAX’s record quarter and Sony Pictures’ Spider-Man quarter.
Premium-priced product is defined by Cineplex as 3D, 4DX, UltraAVX, IMAX, ScreenX, DBOX and VIP, so the 51.4% covers more than large-format screens.
Food, media and amusement
Cineplex reports a record for theatre food service revenue, but the release gives two figures. The highlights list C$150.6m, up 27.0%, while the theatre section gives C$148.1m, up 27.3%. The release does not explain the C$2.5m gap. Attendance times concession spend per patron points to about C$148m.
Cinema media revenue was C$19.1m, down 0.4%, in what Walker called a softer advertising market. Location-based entertainment (The Rec Room, Playdium and Junxion) took C$34.0m, down 1.7%, though adjusted store-level EBITDAaL rose 4.6% to C$6.1m.
Debt, outlook and the sale review
The release gives no net debt figure and no financial guidance for the fourth quarter. Walker said cash generation brought the company inside its target debt range of 2.5x to 3.0x, without defining the ratio or saying where in the range it sits. Cash from continuing operations was C$57.1m against C$26.8m.
On the slate, Walker pointed to a strong list of coming films and continued studio commitment to cinemas. The 13 October release was more specific, citing advance sales for Avengers: Doomsday and Dune: Part Three. FilmBunch has also reported on Universal’s re-release of The Odyssey on 1,000 North American screens.
The results come with the strategic review announced on 23 September, the day Walker took over as chief executive. Walker previously ran Landmark Cinemas, which was sold to Kinepolis in 2017. The board will consider alternatives including a sale and has engaged Goldman Sachs and TD Securities as financial advisers and Goodmans LLP as legal counsel. Outgoing chief executive Ellis Jacob is a special adviser to the board until 31 December 2026. Cineplex said in September that no decisions had been made and no timetable existed, and that it would disclose developments only when appropriate or required. The new release adds no update.
All dollar conversions in this article use the European Central Bank reference rates of 30 September 2026, the last day of the quarter, which put C$1 at $0.705 (C$1.4183 to the dollar, cross-calculated from EUR/USD 1.1355 and EUR/CAD 1.6105). For comparison, FilmBunch has also covered the record quarters at AMC Theatres and CJ CGV. More under Money & Policy.
Our reading
Cineplex’s quarter had the same shape as the other exhibitors’ results this week: two films and premium formats did most of the work. By our arithmetic, about two-thirds of the 35.2% rise in box office came from more admissions and the rest from higher spend per ticket, so premium pricing mattered but attendance mattered more. July was flat, so the record rests mainly on August, when box office doubled.
The profit measure carries the argument. Adjusted EBITDAaL came out only second-best for a third quarter, even though revenue was a record, and 61% of the nine-month total arrived in one quarter. Anyone weighing the sale process will look at the other quarters as well as this one. The release gives no debt amount and no fourth-quarter guidance.
The next evidence is the filed management discussion and analysis for net debt, then the December slate, then any disclosure from the strategic review, which Cineplex has said it will make only when it chooses or must.
Sources
- Cineplex Inc., third-quarter 2026 results release (GlobeNewswire, 6 November 2026; all Cineplex figures in this article)
- Cineplex Inc., September and third-quarter box office release (GlobeNewswire, 13 October 2026)
- Cineplex Inc., appointment of Bill Walker and strategic review release (GlobeNewswire, 23 September 2026)
- The Canadian Press via BNN Bloomberg (6 November 2026; profit, per-share and prior-year comparison)
- Retail Insider (6 November 2026; segment figures and October box office)
- European Central Bank euro reference rates, 30 September 2026 (EUR/USD 1.1355, EUR/CAD 1.6105)