Three years after launching its multiplex, Luc Besson leaves the cinema room – The Echoes

We cannot be able to see a film by Luc Besson produced by Luc Besson, in a room Luc Besson. His company, EuropaCorp, one of the first studios to independent film in Europe, announced on Friday that it has entered into exclusive negotiations with the operator of cinema-Gaumont-Pathé to transfer its business from multiplexes, the signing of the judgment of this attempt at diversification.

He sells his site of Aéroville in Tremblay-en-France (paris region) opened since the end of 2013, and the project of multiplex in The Joliette in Marseilles, which was to be built next year and against which, she says, all remedies are purged. Source market, the transaction would be twenty million euros for the two sites.

” It is an evolution, not a revolution. Having two theatres was not sufficient for this to be an actual business of multiplexes. It would have had to have a lot more to this invest. However, we prefer to focus on our core business : film production major, including the English language, ” said chez Europacorp, which is also, at the same time, its activity of distribution.

” additional financial flexibility “

This announcement, which comes a day after the entry into the capital of the chinese Fundamental Films is not surprising really observers. “The activity multiplexes wasted a lot of capital and it was a job complicated in a sector dominated by giants. It was wasting time to the management, says Pavel Govciyan, an analyst at Natixis. The company has preferred to focus on the business more profitable, which she knows better.”

” It was especially Christopher Lambert (who passed away this year, editor’s NOTE) which was the project of multiplex. Luc Besson probably wants more focus. It gives the company additional financial flexibility, ” adds Alexander Koller, an analyst At Gilbert Dupont.

A turnover of € 7.5 million

EuropaCorp had been introduced in the operating theatres at the end of 2013 by opening its multiplex in Aéroville, which offered seats from 10 euros for the basic service, € 25 for a seat extra-wide, with champagne and smoked salmon at Petrossian.

at the time, the objective for the group was to diversify its revenues in this activity less risky in financial terms than the production and distribution, to serve as a shock absorber to smooth out the revenue. The company did not hesitate to invest 12 million euros in this project, which provided initially for the operation of seven multiplexes by 2020. But since then, the situation has changed. “With the rise in load in the series, the group gives more visibility. It therefore has less need for a complementary activity to smooth its revenues “, emphasizes Pavel Govciyan.

The activity multiplexes has generated a turnover of € 7.5 million, or 5% of the income under the non-calendar fiscal year 2015-2016 (ending in march). In a market where UGC, Pathé Gaumont and MK2 are already well established, it remained in deficit. The group hoped that this business would become profitable during the current fiscal year, with a rate of 800,000 ticket sales per year, after 770.000 for the year then ended. He has finally decided to cut it short.