Blitz-CineStar was founded in 2003 as a joint investment of the largest German cinema exhibitor, the company Kieft & Kieft and Blitz film and video distribution, the leading distributor of films in Croatia and the countries of the former Yugoslavia, which opened the first and largest multiplex cinema in Croatia in the same year – CineStar Zagreb, and over the years has been expanding its operations both in Croatia and in the region in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia.
Today, the CineStar group in the region (Kosovo, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina) includes 28 multiplex cinemas, 182 cinema halls and about 28,000 seats, which with the expected sales of almost 4.5 million tickets per year makes CineStar the largest and most successful cinema operator in the region. In addition, it is ranked among the world’s best cinema operators by the fact that the halls are equipped with the most modern technologies in accordance with the latest world trends and standards, and the fact that CineStar exclusively offered the audience the most superior cinema formats IMAX, 4DX, GOLD CLASS, SCREEN X, ULTIMATE BY DOLBY ATMOS and in its cinema introduced digital 3D technology, eXtreme halls, Auro 11.1 3D sound, 4K technology. CineStar multiplexes are fully digitized cinemas where the most modern cinema technology and interior design meet.
The CineStar group dates back to 1948, when the company Kieft & Kieft Filmtheater GmbH opened its first classic cinema in Lübeck, Germany. After more than four decades of work, in 1993 they opened their first CineStar multiplex cinema in Germany and began expanding throughout Europe. The once small family company Kieft & Kieft is today part of the CineStar Group – with more than 100 multiplexes in several European countries.
To be the best and largest cinema chain in the region, which will be the standard and measure of quality and professionalism in all business segments – the first choice for cinema for visitors, a desirable employer for employees, a reliable partner for business entities and a socially responsible company.
To provide every visitor with the best value for money through superior service and satisfaction, and to provide always the best and largest selection of films, in technologically superior theaters and the most comfortable seats, always a constant quality of a five-star cinema. The values on which we base our long-term success are quality, service, trust, innovation and understanding of the needs of our visitors.
Blitz-CineStar creates and continuously develops the high-quality CineStar brand: in 2008, 2010, 2011, 2015, 2017 and 2018, CineStar received the title of Superbrands, and in 2016, Superbrands Exclusive, which once again confirms its excellence. CineStar brand is chosen by consumers among the top 30 brands with high consumer trust in 2009; while in 2011, 2016 and 2018/2019 CineStar wins the Best Buy Award, and in 2018/2019 Croatian citizens put CineStar cinemas in first place in the entertainment category, with the best quality-price ratio, and the Best Buy Award MILLENNIALS 2018/2019/ for the absolute best price-quality ratio (overall quality of the movie offer, the quality of service in the cinemas themselves, the friendliness of the staff, the quality of the equipment and arrangement of the halls, the comfort of the seats, the overall quality of the image and sound, etc. Blitz-CineStar shows the latest films from the world’s leading studios, and introduces new technologies and an offer that offers sustainable profitability and growth. The iCineStar application won a silver plaque at the prestigious MasterCard Shopping Mobile Application Award competition for Croatia in 2013. CineStar, with its unique cinema and bar concept in CineStar 4DX™ in the Mall of Split, proved once again that it is a technological and innovation leader in the cinema industry in Europe by receiving the prestigious ICTA EUROPE award for ‘Best new-built cinema’ in 2017.
The International Union of Cinemas (UNIC) declared Blitz-CineStar the best cinema in Europe in 2019. The award was presented at the CineEurope congress in Barcelona with the explanation that it is a company that raises the bar in the industry, achieves continuous growth, provides its audience with the best possible cinema experience, putting constant innovation in the foreground – which is why Blitz-CineStar has become one of the leading and fastest growing cinema chains in the region and Europe.
We love movies… and that’s why we’re a five-star cinema