Cinema Reimagined: Cineplex Taps Rokts AI to Personalize the Transaction Moment

In a move to transform the digital movie-buying journey into a high-yield retail media channel, Cineplex, Canada's leading entertainment and media company, has officially partnered with Rokt. Announced on Tuesday, January 20, 2026, the collaboration will see Cineplex integrate Rokt’s proprietary AI-powered technology directly into its ecommerce checkout experience to deliver hyper-relevant, real-time offers to moviegoers.

By leveraging Rokt’s machine learning engine, Cineplex aims to capitalize on the "Transaction Moment"—the point of peak engagement when a customer has their credit card out and is most likely to respond to relevant suggestions.

Unlocking the "Transaction Moment"
The partnership focuses on the critical window between a customer selecting their movie tickets and completing their purchase. During this phase, Rokt’s "AI Brain" analyzes first-party data to determine the "next best action" for each individual guest.

Real-Time Personalization: Instead of showing generic advertisements, the system uses predictive intelligence to show offers that align with the specific habits and interests of the moviegoer.

Non-Endemic Opportunities: A key feature of the integration is the introduction of non-endemic offers. This means a user buying tickets to a family film might see a relevant offer for a toy brand or a local dining discount, rather than just movie-related promotions.

Seamless Integration: The technology is designed to appear natively within the Cineplex checkout flow, ensuring that the additional offers do not create "friction" or lead to cart abandonment.

Strategic Revenue Growth
For Cineplex, the partnership is less about selling more popcorn and more about diversifying its digital revenue streams. By acting as a platform for other premium brands to reach its audience, Cineplex can generate incremental profit from every online transaction.

Kristie Painting, Executive Vice President of Cineplex Media, highlighted the dual benefit: "By partnering with Rokt, we can deliver more relevant messages to our moviegoers while unlocking new revenue opportunities. We’re excited about how this collaboration will enhance the customer journey and drive meaningful engagement."

The Rise of Retail Media in Entertainment
Cineplex is the latest in a string of major entertainment entities—including AMC Theatres and Live Nation—to adopt Rokt’s AI-driven approach. As third-party cookies continue to disappear, "walled garden" ecosystems like Cineplex’s digital platform become incredibly valuable to advertisers who want to reach verified, high-intent shoppers.

Rokt’s network is currently projected to power over 7.5 billion transactions in 2026, a testament to the growing demand for "software-defined" checkout experiences. The company reported a 40% year-over-year revenue growth in 2024, fueled by its ability to turn the traditionally "boring" checkout page into a personalized marketplace.

Why It Matters for Consumers
While some might fear "ad fatigue" at checkout, Rokt’s core thesis is that relevance is the antidote to annoyance. If an offer is truly useful—such as a discounted ride-share to the theater or a special subscription deal for a streaming service—it is viewed as a "reward" or a "value-add" rather than an intrusion. By using AI to filter out noise, Cineplex ensures that guests only see what they are statistically most likely to appreciate.