Odeon is the largest cinema chain in the UK, with over one hundred cinemas.

Odeon entertain more people in the UK than any other cinema chain accounting for nearly a third of all tickets sold in the UK.

Founded in 1930 by Oscar Deutsch, Odeon was acquired in 1941 by J Arthur Rank who had interests in film production and distribution. Odeon remained a part of The Rank Organisation for a further 58 years. An extensive re-branding campaign in 1998 further re-enforced Odeon's position as market leader in the UK and introduced "Fanatical About Film" to the UK cinema-goer. The re-branding and refurbishment campaign culminated in the £3million upgrade of the flagship cinema, the Odeon Leicester Square.

On the 21st February 2000, Odeon was sold to Cinven, who merged the newly re-branded Odeon chain with their existing ABC cinema chain. The resulting chain of cinemas were all re-branded and Odeon enjoyed over two years of continuing positive growth.

Following this success, Cinven sold Odeon to a consortium of investors early in 2003.