In the cinema, as everywhere else, consumer expectations and habits are changing, accelerated by the health crisis. But by combining creativity and technology, historical players and newcomers are getting ready to reinvent the cinema experience.  

250 jobs and 000% of the GDP, that's the weight of cinema in France. With its park of 1 screens and the production of more than 2 films per year, France is seen as the European champion in the sector. But between the consequences of the health crisis and the changes in use, the actors of the cinema must redouble their creativity to make the spectator want to return to the room. In this context, La French Touch brought together Aurélien Bosc, president of Pathé Gaumont cinemas, Elisha Karmitz, general manager of the MK000 group, Pierre Emmanuel Le Goff, founder of La twenty-cinquième heures, Mathieu Robinet, founder of Tandem and Magali Valente, director of cinema at the national cinema and moving image center (CNC), on the scene from We Are French Touch (WAFT), to share their vision of the cinema of tomorrow. 

Invite the live in dark rooms 

« A room should be modern. We have to offer customers a strong show and create the event “says Aurélien Bosc, president of Pathé Gaumont cinema. With its subsidiary Pathé live, the group has established itself as the pioneer in the broadcasting of cultural events in the cinema. Since 2008, from Comédie Française plays to Kpop concerts, Pathé live has been offering great shows live in its cinemas thanks to its satellite video transmission system. " This allows us to reach audiences or communities of fans who are not necessarily used to going to theaters. », justifies Aurélien Bosc.  

Open the cinema even more to debate  

 On the MK2 side, if the observation is the same, the programming is quite different.  “We started to schedule conferences by French intellectuals, from François Sureau to Michel Pastoureau via Patrick Boucheron or Manon Garcia, to create a space for debate “, explains Elisha Karmitz. Called MK2 Institute, this initiative aims to accelerate the circulation of ideas and give access to knowledge to the general public, in physical or digital form.  

Use new digital tools 

The production and distribution company La Vingt-cinquième Heure is also trying to reinvent the cinema experience. " The digital revolution makes it possible to reach viewers where they are, i.e. on platforms, to bring them back to the cinema. “says its founder Pierre Emmanuel Le Goff. With “Cult'”, the Vingt-cinquième heures allows spectators to access from home, to access the programming of theaters near their homes. " These virtual cinemas offer broadcasters the possibility of having an additional room with revenue sharing equivalent to what is in person. » 

Create powerful experiences, inside and outside the rooms 

For Mathieu Robinet, founder of the distribution and production studio Tandem, it is necessary to re-enchant the cinema experience and to make the outings eventful. " We make sure that each film we work on is a brand, that people appropriate it and that the experience begins before the theater and continues after. This requires the creation of content, meetings or debates to extend the experience and the life of the films. With this strategy, the ambition of the founder of Tandem is to attract young people to cinemas and to make each spectator an ambassador for the film. To reach this new audience, Mathieu Robinet explores new marketing levers, such as Tik-Tok. " On this platform, I discovered a parallel universe, crazy and quite creative. And I was able to bring young people to theaters that I could never have reached with traditional media. »