2023-12-24 17:57:36
When Barbie et Oppenheimer were released the same day, July 19, tips were exchanged on social networks in order to see these films in the best conditions. And the queues lengthened in front of the Grand Rex in Paris, the only cinema in the capital to screen Christopher Nolan’s film in 70 millimeters, or in Imax theaters – the two formats in which the director shot his biopic of the father of atomic bomb.
“Even if it means seeing a Nolan film, it might as well be in optimal conditions”, said one of the participants in the discussion. Even if that meant paying sometimes up to €21.50 per seat. But whatever. Since the platforms entered our homes, putting thousands of hours of programs just a click away, going to the cinema must take on an exceptional character to convince certain spectators, particularly the youngest, to leave their sofas.
The operators have understood this well. For several years, they have undertaken to distribute so-called “premium” rooms in France, combining greater seating comfort and sound and image projection quality which, thanks to new technologies, allows for a unique experience. XXL screens with Imax, enveloping sound with the Dolby Atmos system, seats that move according to the action with 4DX or even an immersive atmosphere with ICE developed by the Circuit Georges-Raymond (CGR) network: the cinemas are now competing with each other with proposals to make “the room experience” a strategy for winning back the public. Particularly since the Covid epidemic and the prolonged closure of theaters, which put a stop to attendance and considerably changed habits. “This is the only way to differentiate ourselves and adapt our working tool to this new situation, believes Aurélien Bosc, president of Pathé cinemas, leader in this field. Cinema has a future, provided it modernizes.”
Premium is a revolution that is coming
This is not the first time that cinema has been forced to reinvent itself. Already in the 1950s, cinemascope became widespread to counter the arrival of television in homes. Then the appearance of multiplexes in the 1990s boosted attendance to its lowest level since the arrival of the VCR and the proliferation of channels. Since then, exhibitors have continued to invest in modernizing theaters, but with the arrival of premium cinema, a new revolution is on the horizon. To the attractiveness of technology are added criteria of comfort and services which lead certain circuits (Pathé, CGR) to completely rethink their cinemas to give them an exclusive character.
Last year, the first two 100% premium cinemas opened their doors. The Monciné d’Anglet (Pyrénées-Atlantiques) relied on the experience of the Spanish group to which it is backed. “This global move upmarket allows us to not reserve premium only for blockbuster films by depriving ourselves of part of the audience”, explains its director François-Xavier Menou. A successful bet, according to him, since with Simone, the trip of the century programmed when opening alongsideAvatar 2, “the senior public was receptive to this improvement in comfort”. And if the price of the ticket has increased, a variable pricing system depending on the occupancy rate of the rooms allows the ticket to be adjusted from €6.50 to €12.90.
A ticket for €19.90
In Paris, the Gaumont-Parnasse, which has since become Pathé-Parnasse, was completely renovated with this in mind, becoming the first cinema of this type in the capital. The experience begins at the entrance: digital facade, reception areas redesigned by designer Ora-ïto, completely dematerialized route with self-service confectionery and reservation at the place in order to avoid queues. The coldness of the hall is offset by the warm atmosphere of the rooms, where every other row has been removed, to accommodate very large and soft flannel armchairs with reclining legs and backs. In the front row, benches « lounge » offer the comfort of a 1st class airline.
These heavy investments – 5 million euros of work – and the reduction in capacity, from 2,100 to 800 seats, have a cost for spectators. The price of the ticket is €19.90, knowing, as Pathé explains, that with subscriptions, only one person in five on average pays the full price.
This upmarket strategy is perfectly embraced by the Pathé group, which plans to invest 100 million euros in the renovation of its theaters. “Cheap cinema today is television, explained its president Jérôme Seydoux during a parliamentary hearing. I don’t believe in low cost cinema. What works best at Pathé are the premium rooms. »
This is confirmed by Aurélien Bosc. “Premium is experiencing real popularity. It concerns less than 10% of our capacities but represents 1/3 of our entries for major film events. » With the aim of attracting younger customers by adapting to their consumption patterns and tastes. At Pathé-Parnasse, the average age of spectators has fallen by eight years since its move to premium.
A very reductive cinema-show
“I am not very comfortable with this term premium which leads to an increase in prices and makes cinema less affordableregrets François Aymé, who runs the Jean-Eustache cinema in Pessac (Gironde). It also refers to a notion of cinema-spectacle which is quite reductive. »
The risk of such a development is to break with a tradition of cultural leisure which until then remained accessible and popular. And to widen the gap a little further between multiplexes and independent cinemas. A trend already highlighted in a 2016 CNC report on “The cinema of tomorrow” : “It is likely that the multiplexes will have evolved “towards the great cinematic spectacle”, as opposed to the living spaces that will be the city center cinemas”he prophesied.
“The added value compared to platforms cannot only be that of comfort and technologycontinues François Aymé. It also means offering events, meetings and debates to build public loyalty. With premium, the viewer comes once to see Avatar and doesn’t come back for months. » The diversity of films programmed in these cinemas is the other challenge of such an evolution. Blockbusters and family films are favored there, to the detriment of a cinematographic offering which is more diverse in France than elsewhere and which fears being deprived of outlets.
—–
A young and urban audience
Barely 5% of cinemas were equipped with at least one premium room in 2022, i.e. 101 establishments and 129 screens. A proportion which has increased significantly (+ 53%) since 2018.
Pathé-Gaumont cinemas are undoubtedly the leaders in this field with around a hundred premium rooms in their network.
These rooms appeal to a more male audience (62.8%), younger (67% between 15 and 24 years old) and more urban, according to a Médiamétrie survey carried out for the CNC in 2019.
92.8% of spectators who attended a screening in a premium theater are satisfied, 72% are ready to repeat the experience but 74.9% consider the place too expensive
#XXL #screens #seats #move.. #revolution #theaters