Cineworld founder dies aged 73 as tributes flood in to ‘towering figure’ who ‘shaped experience of cinema to this day’
CINEWORLD founder Steve Wiener has died aged 73.
The New York-born businessman fronted the UK-based cinema chain from 1995 with the first branch opened in Stevenage the following year.
He had initially moved to Britain to take up the role of MD for Warner Bros cinemas in Europe in 1992.
And previously was Vice President of Operations at Pitt Theatres in New York and New Jersey.
In 2004, the cinema chain's then-34 multiplexes were bought by the Blackstone private equity group for £120million.
However, Wiener continued to the lead the company.
The following year he oversaw Cineworld's buyout of the UK and Ireland operations of French cinema chain UGC, adding a further 42 multiplexes to its books for further £120m.
The Picturehouse Cinema chain was similarly acquired, as was Spanish chain Cinesur Circuito Sanchez-Ramade.
Speaking more than a decade ago, he said: “We expected over a five-year period to open five to seven multiplex cinemas and sell it on to one of the big operators.
"Today, in 2013, Cineworld is the number one cinema chain in the UK and has been for more than three years."