CINEMATEK
CINEMATEK (Cinémathèque royale de Belgique) is a 1938-founded Belgian Public Utility Foundation that preserves, restores, and screens a world-class film archive in Brussels, serving the general public, schools, researchers, and film professionals through daily cinema screenings, exhibitions, library services, and international curatorial partnerships.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1938
- HeadquartersBrussels, Belgium
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What CINEMATEK does
CINEMATEK — legally Cinémathèque royale de Belgique / Koninklijk Belgisch Filmarchief — is a Belgian Public Utility Foundation established in 1938 to preserve and screen cinematic heritage. Operating as a bicultural institution serving both the French-speaking and Dutch-speaking communities of Belgium, it is subsidised by the Federal Ministry of Science Policy (Belspo) and receives permanent structural support from the National Lottery, with regional support from the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, Flanders, the European Union, and the Region of Brussels-Capital.
Its core operations span an extensive film archive and restoration practice (handling nitrate, acetate, and polyester stocks), a daily public cinema in multi-screen venues at Baron Horta 9 in Brussels with partner screenings at FLAGEY, permanent and temporary exhibitions (notably the Wunderkammer tracing the history of projected images), a Documentation Centre and library searchable online at cinematek.eu, an educational programme branded CINEMA'KET for ages 3–18, and a webshop selling curated DVDs and publications. It curates research dossiers, publishes film-historical material, manages the complete Chantal Akerman archive, and partners with international bodies including FIAF, ACE, The Film Foundation, and Cannes Classics.
Revenue is generated through a hybrid of ticket sales (standard €7, reduced €3.5, €10 support tickets with €3 donation), subscription cards (annual student and senior passes), the monthly Cineville Pass for Belgian cinemas, venue rental, DVD/book sales, donations and legacy bequests, and — most importantly — structural public subsidies from Belgian federal, regional, EU, and lottery sources. Approximately sixty staff execute the mission across preservation, restoration, programming, education, research, and operations. Leadership comprises Conservator Tomas Leyers and Operational Manager Marjolijn Barbier. The institution reported no funding rounds and is not publicly traded; financials are not disclosed.
CINEMATEK firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- CINEMATEK
- Legal name
- Cinémathèque royale de Belgique
- Website
- https://cinematek.be
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1938
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- CINEMATEK (Cinémathèque royale de Belgique) is a 1938-founded Belgian Public Utility Foundation that preserves, restores, and screens a world-class film archive in Brussels, serving the general public, schools, researchers, and film professionals through daily cinema screenings, exhibitions, library services, and international curatorial partnerships.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
CINEMATEK industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Film Archive and Cinema Services
- NAICS
- Motion Picture Theaters (except Drive-Ins) (512131), Museums (712110)
- SIC
- Services-Motion Picture Theaters (7830)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Screening Rooms & Cinematheques (Nonprofit/Institutional) (MPADAKAF)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Independent & Art-house Cinemas (MPADAKAB), Programming, Booking & Repertory Exhibition Services (MPADAKAL)
Keywords
Where CINEMATEK is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Brussels
- HQ country
- Belgium
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices3 records
Markets served
CINEMATEK business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Ticket Sales: Revenue from cinema screenings, including standard tickets, reduced tickets for children, students, seniors, and special support tickets that include a donation component.
- DVD and Book Sales: Online shop selling DVDs and books published by CINEMATEK.
- Membership Cards: Annual subscription cards offering discounted tickets, including student cards and senior cards.
- Gift Cards: Gift vouchers redeemable for tickets and subscriptions, valid for one year from issue date.
- Public Funding and Donations: Subsidized by Federal Ministry of Science Policy, with permanent support from National Lottery, and accepts donations and legacy bequests.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Standard ticket for all screenings |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Reduced ticket for children under 12 |
| Subscription | Annual | Student discount card valid for academic year |
| Subscription | Monthly | Cineville Pass for unlimited screenings in Belgium |
| Subscription | Annual | Senior discount card for ages 65+ |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | 10+1 advantage card with free ticket |
| Hybrid | Pay-as-you-go | Support ticket for restoration and digitization |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels10 records
CINEMATEK product offering
Product offeringCore offering
CINEMATEK operates as Belgium's Royal Film Archive, preserving, restoring, and exhibiting film heritage since 1938. The institution runs daily public cinema screenings across multiple theatres in Brussels, alongside permanent and temporary exhibitions, a film restoration program, a research library with online catalogue, educational programs for young audiences (CINEMA'KET), and a webshop selling DVDs and books. It manages one of Europe's largest and most eclectic film collections, including Belgian cinema and international masterpieces, accessible to researchers and film professionals upon written request.
Product overview
CINEMATEK — Cinémathèque royale de Belgique / Royal Film Archive of Belgium / Koninklijk Belgisch Filmarchief — is a public utility foundation preserving and exhibiting film heritage since 1938. The institution operates as a single unified cultural archive combining multiple interconnected offerings: (1) a core cinema operation with daily film screenings across multiple theatres (Ledoux, Plateau) at Baron Horta 9, Brussels, and partnership screenings at Flagey; (2) permanent and temporary exhibitions including the Wunderkammer; (3) a physical and online shop for DVDs and books published by CINEMATEK; (4) a library and documentation centre with an online catalogue at cinematek.eu; (5) an extensive film archive of Belgian and international titles accessible by written request; (6) a young audiences programme branded CINEMA'KET; (7) film restoration and digitization services; and (8) an annual support ticket funding restoration projects. All offerings serve the institution's mission of preserving, restoring, and sharing cinematic heritage with the public, researchers, and filmmakers.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Cinema Screenings
Quantifiable outcome
- Seagulls Die in the Harbour restoration selected for Cannes Classics 2026 - 70 years after original competition
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use CINEMATEK
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
CINEMATEK technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
Feature3 records
CINEMATEK partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.
- FLAGEYflagshipStructural collaboration partner for Raging Summer festival and other screenings. FLAGEY hosts seasonal film programs including the annual Raging Summer event.
- Wallonia-Brussels Federation (WBI)coreStructural partnership providing regional support for the bicultural institution.
- Flanders (Vlaanderen)coreRegional support from Flemish government for the bicultural institution.
- FIAF (International Federation of Film Archives)coreInternational network membership for film archives. Part of CINEMATEK's international network of film archives.
- ACE (Association des Cinémathèques Européennes)coreEuropean film archives association membership. International network for collaboration.
- The Film FoundationminorInternational organization dedicated to film preservation. Part of international network.
- BRUZZminorMedia partner providing coverage and visibility for cultural events.
- KlaraminorMedia partner (classical music and arts radio).
- CINEAminorEuropean Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency. Support for public awareness and education initiatives.
- Festival de Cannes (Cannes Classics)flagshipCINEMATEK's restoration of 'Seagulls Die in the Harbour' (Les Mouettes meurent au port, 1956) selected for Cannes Classics 2026 - the first Belgian feature film in Cannes competition history.
- Chantal Akerman EstatecoreCINEMATEK preserves all films of director Chantal Akerman and manages her entire archive.
- Filipino Film InstitutionsminorCollaboration with Filipino film institutions including researcher Nick Deocampo and Louise Baterna for Diwata ng Karagatan rediscovery and digital preservation planning.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
CINEMATEK competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Swedish Film Institute (SFI): Sweden's national film funding, archive, and cinematheque body, operating Cinematheque Stockholm. A broader incumbent covering distribution support, digitization, and policy in addition to archive and cinema activity — overlapping with CINEMATEK on the archive/cinema core.
Emerging players
- Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI): New York's museum dedicated to film, television, and digital media with screenings and exhibitions. Operates the same archive-museum-cinema hybrid model but is younger and U.S.-focused, making it an emerging rather than fully overlapping peer.
Direct peers
- BFI (British Film Institute): UK national film archive that runs BFI Southbank repertory cinemas and the BFI IMAX. Operates the same cinematheque-plus-cinema model as CINEMATEK with extensive restoration, education, and UK-wide programming — directly comparable in mission, scale, and audience offering.
- Cinémathèque suisse: Switzerland's national film archive, museum, and cinematheque in Lausanne/Penthaz. Directly comparable to CINEMATEK in scope (archive + museum + programming + restoration), audience type, and FIAF membership, though smaller in scale.
- Cinemateca Portuguesa: Portugal's national film archive and cinematheque in Lisbon. Operates the same archive-plus-cinema-plus-museum model with FIAF affiliation, public funding, daily screenings, and active restoration program — a clear functional peer at similar scale.
- Deutsche Kinemathek: Berlin's German film museum and archive, integrated with the Arsenal cinema at the Sony Center. Comparable to CINEMATEK as a national film heritage institution with permanent exhibition, daily screenings, restoration work, and FIAF membership.
- Filmarchiv Austria: Austria's national film archive, housed within the Austrian Film Museum in Vienna. Comparable national-archive function with FIAF affiliation, restoration activity, and programming, although its exhibition footprint is museum-focused.
- Cineteca di Bologna: Italian film archive and laboratory, internationally renowned for its restoration work (L'Immagine Ritrovata) and Il Cinema Ritrovato festival. A direct peer in archive + restoration + repertory festival programming, with deeper restoration-commercial scale than CINEMATEK.
- Eye Filmmuseum: Amsterdam's combined film museum, archive, and cinema. It mirrors CINEMATEK's hybrid archive/exhibition/cinema model in a neighboring Benelux market, with comparable scale, repertory programming, school programs, and FIAF membership — making it the closest geographic and operational peer.
- Cinémathèque française: The French national film archive and cinematheque in Paris. It is the most direct functional and institutional analog to CINEMATEK — both operate public film archives with daily repertory screenings, exhibitions, educational programs, restoration services, and museum components, sharing FIAF membership and comparable public-subsidy structures.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
CINEMATEK social profiles
Digital presenceCINEMATEK financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
CINEMATEK leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
CINEMATEK funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
CINEMATEK M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about CINEMATEK
What does CINEMATEK do?
CINEMATEK operates as Belgium's Royal Film Archive, preserving, restoring, and exhibiting film heritage since 1938. The institution runs daily public cinema screenings across multiple theatres in Brussels, alongside permanent and temporary exhibitions, a film restoration program, a research library with online catalogue, educational programs for young audiences (CINEMA'KET), and a webshop selling DVDs and books. It manages one of Europe's largest and most eclectic film collections, including Belgian cinema and international masterpieces, accessible to researchers and film professionals upon written request.
Is CINEMATEK a public or private company?
CINEMATEK is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was CINEMATEK founded?
CINEMATEK was founded in 1938. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is CINEMATEK based?
CINEMATEK is headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, in the Europe region.
How does CINEMATEK make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Ticket Sales are the primary driver. The others are DVD and Book Sales, membership Cards, gift Cards and public Funding and Donations.
Who are CINEMATEK's main competitors?
Swedish Film Institute (SFI) is listed as a broad incumbent. Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI) is listed as an emerging player. Direct peers are BFI (British Film Institute), Cinémathèque suisse, Cinemateca Portuguesa, Deutsche Kinemathek, Filmarchiv Austria, Cineteca di Bologna, Eye Filmmuseum and Cinémathèque française.
Does CINEMATEK have an API?
No public API is recorded for CINEMATEK.
What industry is CINEMATEK in?
CINEMATEK's product category is Film Archive and Cinema Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPADAKAF, Screening Rooms & Cinematheques (Nonprofit/Institutional), with a secondary code of MPADAKAB, Independent & Art-house Cinemas. Its NAICS code is 512131 and its SIC code is 7830.