Businessman Margus Linnamäe’s Apollo cinema chain has effectively reached a near-monopoly status. This week, Apollo acquired the last remaining cinema in Viljandi, previously owned by Forum Cinemas. The Competition Authority has stated it will keep a close eye on the Apollo chain.
The last cinema link in the Forum Cinemas chain in Viljandi transferred ownership to the Apollo cinema chain this week. Of the major commercial cinemas in Estonia, only the one owned by Cinamon at the T1 Mall in Tallinn remains outside Apollo’s control.
“A cinema business operates similarly to a scale-based business. If we operate within a slightly larger group, we can ultimately do it more efficiently, manage costs better and thus run the cinema business more sustainably while also offering more reasonable ticket prices,” said Toomas Tiivel, CEO of Apollo Group.
Asked whether ticket prices would now become cheaper, Tiivel replied that he wasn’t sure, as everything else in life is getting more expensive.
“Cinema ticket prices are still determined by the market and demand,” he added.