Most industry insiders predicted that Drabinsky's blueprint for his cineplex concept would fail, principally because the large overhead for his theaters forced his company to charge much higher ticket prices than competitors. But the critics were wrong. Toronto's moviegoers were more than willing to pay a few extra dollars to watch a film in Drabinsky's upscale theaters. Over the next several years, Drabinsky and Gottlieb expanded their company with the help of well-heeled investors whom they convinced to pony up large sums to finance the development of multiscreen theater complexes throughout Canada and the United States. By the mid-1980s, their company, Cineplex Odeon, controlled nearly 2000 theaters, making it the second- largest theater chain in North America.