There are more than 2,000 cinemas in France. With its ten screens, The multiplex cinema Grand Sud opened in 2023 is very often, in terms of attendance, In the top 20 French rooms, in front of metropolitan multiplexes which may have more than double armchairs ! Celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, The first multiplex opened in Reunion, The Cambaie Ciné, the set, his, Often in the top 50. Thanks to these performance of Ciné Réunion, Reunionese rooms have access to films identical to the metropolis, And some distributors sometimes even agree to advance exceptionally the release of certain films in Reunion to take advantage of the strategic period of Reunion school holidays, different from those of metropolis. These are some of the information that Laurence Ethève confides, Director of exploitation of cinemas cinema meeting of the ethève group, in the interview she gave us. With her sister Évelyne, Laurence ethève, in charge of the group operating and event part, work alongside his father, Yves Ethève, founder of the group, To perpetuate and advance the adventure of cinematographic distribution in Reunion. If the name of a family is linked to the Reunionese history of cinema, This has been that of Ethève for three generations, each carried by a visionary passion for cinema. The most spectacular of these visions gave birth to the two temples of cinema that are the multiplexes Ciné Cambaie and Ciné Grand Sud. Laurence Éthève brings her own vision today in a more targeted approach to programming which shows her relevance and meets the expectations of the moment.
Meeting Leader : 1960s : Place of animation of the buffer founded by your grandfather linked ethève, AS poker also becomes a cinema. 1973 : Your father, Yves Ethève, Opens the Splendid cinema in Saint-Paul. 1998 : Birth of Mauréfilms. 2006 : You take the direction of the exploitation of cinemas. Are these four dates good benchmarks in the history of your family with cinema ?
Laurence ethève : Instead of 2006, I would put 2005, The year of creating the Ciné Cambaie multiplex in Reunion. As such, My position as an operating director is a bit anecdotal. The opening on July 27, 2005 of the Ciné Cambaie multiplex constitutes, For our group and in my father's career, who created all of this, a major date. If my grandfather had been there again, I think he would have been impressed by this cinema which, With his eight rooms, was the first multiplex in Reunion. We were ourselves by the site and by the influx of the public. In the first months, The place was black of people. A fifth date must be added : April 14, 2023, The opening of the Grand Sud Cine, Multiplex of ten rooms, even bigger, even more beautiful, and that works even better. Other dates will undoubtedly mark the history of the group in the future, But I think we have reached, With the South Cinema, To a kind of apotheosis of what our family has already accomplished and experienced in this profession of the exploitation of cinemas.
How is this story of your family born with cinema ?
She was born from a passion. A passion that my father had from his own father and that he transmitted to me and my sister Évelyne, who takes care of the legal part and selection of films to program, While I manage the exploitation of the rooms. My father made this passion for cinema something grandiose. For my part, I lived with the Splendid cinema. My sister and me, We grew up in this cinema.
Ciné Réunion is the brand of Mauréfilms cinemas ?
Ciné Réunion is the domain name we have chosen on the internet. It designates the exploitation, More than Mauréfilms, Our distribution company.
What motivated the creation of Mauréfilms in 1998 ?
The Splendid cinema was a single room with 400 seats. My father was not a distributor and did not master his programming as he wished. He complained of having the movies very late, And the spectators complained of having to wait for them - which did not prevent from filling the room. The quality of the place, projection, The cleanliness of cinema, The reception of spectators, the offer of two sessions for the price of a, It all liked a lot. Furthermore, at the time, The only distributor was our competitor operator of rooms, Investment and Cinema Trade, ICC. All these reasons decided my father to react. With associates, He created Mauréfilms. By becoming local distributor, We were able to broadcast more films and offer dates closer to the national release dates, But also we were able to open up to works other than blockbusters, With French films, European, Indian, etc.
With a total of 38 cinemas in Reunion, Has not the films offer reach its limit compared to the available public ?
I think there are still possibilities. Reunion has three multiplexes : One in Sainte-Marie, One in Saint-Paul and one in Saint-Pierre, to which are added the Saint-Denis cinepalmes complex and small municipal halls. But a lot of people don't go to the movies, especially when the rooms are too far from their home due to traffic problems. There is still this audience to attract to the movies. I am also one of the people who regret the closure of the small rooms. Operating constraints sometimes make the arrival of multiplexes lead to close certain small rooms that do not know how to resist this competition. We had to close the Plaza in Saint-Louis for this reason. But sometimes other solutions can be put in place to keep them open.
How is the group ethève at the start of 2025 ?
Globally, We are fine. But nothing is ever acquired. The profession of cinematographic operator is entirely dependent on the films offer offered upstream by distributors. When you have promising films, If the quality of reception and service is there, Everything is fine. On the other hand, in a period, like the one who followed the Cinema Day last August, where for more than two months there was no release of important films, it becomes more complicated. Successes like a little thing in addition, The Comte de Monte-Cristo, Deadpool, cartoons like vice versa 2, will last a little, but if, behind, You no longer have a carrier offer to bring spectators, activity necessarily falls back. However, in the meeting, We are fortunate to offer, in our multiplexes, A cinematographic offer in general larger and varied than in many metropolitan multiplexes, where programs are much more focused on American or French blockbusters than with us. It should also be noted that in France the cinema industry is doing very well, And we follow this trend.
The release date plays a lot in the success of a film ?
It is fundamental. All our activity revolves around the exit dates of the films. Distributors, who are
decision -makers on this point, Always wonder when to offer their films so that they are not in competition with each other and to revive the interest of the public throughout the year. When a film comes out, He dies slowly : The second week is already a little lower than the first, the third a little lower than the second, etc. There are of course exceptions, untouchable, But they are very rare. They must therefore play with the release dates of the films to maintain the desire for the cinema of the spectators.
So you know the outings of 2025 ?
Quite. We know about a year in advance which films we can offer. The calendar is established by large French or international distributors. Key trips are still focused on vacation periods, knowing that these are not quite the same in Reunion as in Metropolis. In Christmas and June-July-August, You generally have a series of big films that are linked, One per week. One May 2025, For example, We will have the second part of the last mission impossible. The third avatar is scheduled for Christmas 2025. These will be extremely promising films.
How is a multiplex offer built : An all audience blockbuster in the main room, completed by films targeting their audiences further ?
The blockbuster is essential to attract the public. It is even called, In our professional jargon, notre « locomotive », It’s quite telling… The blockbuster will also cause confectionery recipes, a fundamental revenue contribution for cinemas. And it is indeed thanks to the blockbuster that we can offer other films attracting less, even little, by the public, and for which we may even have operating losses depending on the conditions of access to these less promising films. Hence our choice to have a varied offer in terms of cinematographic genres to satisfy all audiences. So we often see spectators put their children in a room while they will see something else.
Where are we in Reunion in terms of cinemas attendance ?
The Grand Sud Cine, Open April 14, 2023, is one of the 20 best rooms in France, and the Cambaie cinema of the 50 best rooms. For us, It’s a great satisfaction. The Ciné Grand Sud was ranked first French cinema in terms of entries on several films in the first week of operation, Like Garfield : hero despite himself, Or second for the film never more with Blake Lively, very appreciated in our Reunionese rooms. Likewise, The Ciné Grand Sud rose to the national podium of the three best French rooms for the film Les Segpa in Ski in January 2024. Same thing for the film on Bob Marley in February 2024. I regularly have distributors who tell us on Monday morning that we were first during the weekend, that we have the best start in France, The best weekend in France ! You have to realize that, With our ten rooms, We compete with metropolitan behemoths that have more than 20 rooms !
Cinema as a place of life and animation : up, The confectionery and the fast food space of the Grand Sud Cine ; down, The Grand Sud Cinema Games area and one of the two Cambaie cinema restaurants.
One of Mauréfilms' objectives was to be able to offer films in Reunion at the same time as in Metropolitan France. Are you satisfied with advances on this point ?
Totally. We are completely on the date of national release. When we shift a local outing, It is a concerted and validated decision with the distributor and a choice on our part, always to favor the interests of the film concerned. We even have outings in advance on the metropolis. Consequence of the good performance of our multiplexes, Distributors agree to take into account the dates of Reunion school holidays, Which means that films go out in Reunion before the metropolis, sometimes exclusively in our cinemas. It’s a very nice brand of confidence in us and our Reunion audience. However, Since the transition to 35 % of the film rental rate, imposed by our competitor in particular, Access to the film has become fragile, in particular with some of the largest distributors who have been able to try to impose offset exit dates for us. We had to fight to maintain these national exit dates. We will not let go of this point, Because it is out of the question that our Reunion audience is considered a second zone audience after the cap of this rate, that we fought.
The rental rate fixes the share of the recipe going to the distributor of the film. Distributors wanted to align the rate practiced overseas, 35 %, on that of the metropolis, 50 %. Where are we today ?
Since December 2023, A law caps this rate at 35 % in DROM-Coms. Before, We paid a little more to the distributors and the beneficiaries of the film. It is an overseas cinemas union created in the Antilles, to which our local ICC competitor joined, But not us, who asked and voted for this law. We were opposed to this measurement, Because we favor the release date of the films to generate recipes. Earning less money overseas, Distributors impose additional programming constraints. I give two examples of consequences for applying the rate of 35 % : The vice-versa 2 animation fim,
Disney distributed, did not go out in overseas on the same date as in metropolitan France. Disney refused. Same thing for Mufasa : The Lion King, Released in Reunion on December 25 instead of December 18 as in mainland France. Distributors can also request to increase the number of sessions : If this number is insufficient, We don't have the film. However, cinemas attendance at the Ethève group allow us to mitigate this drawback and maintain correct access to a maximum of films.
The COVID Crisis caused a sudden fall in attendance until 2022. Has the public returned to the cinemas or is there always a covid effect on attendance ?
I think the public has not completely returned. I see him, if only around me : I have friends who have still not returned to the movies, And that has nothing to do with the question of purchasing power. They lost the habit and focused on something else. But you also have young people who have never set foot in a cinema, who watch the movies on Netflix, Disney+, etc. They never see any show : nor cinema, ni concert, nor theater ... I think we have this challenge to go get these people, these young people, who do not know the cinemas. This is a challenge posed to us, As well as bringing people back to the cinema.
Annual statistics before the COVID crisis announced more than two million admissions to Reunion per year, All rooms combined. Have we returned to this level of attendance ?
Yes, I think, By counting our entries and those of our competitor. It’s very good, But I insist that this audience, it must be kept, make him want to come back regularly to the cinema. Nothing is acquired. This is a challenge that requires us to offer the same quality of welcome, of comfort, security, cleanliness, technical mastery, Every day at all sessions, at that of 1 p.m. on weekdays where an audience of retirees comes, as that on Saturday evening with its mass and family audience. Quality must be the same for everyone and all the time.
Opening the Ciné Grand Sud in April 2023 was a challenge. This ultra -modern and imposing multiplex, with its restoration offer, Doesn't he reconnect, in a certain way, with the original spirit which was that of the poker of ace of the 1960s ?
I admit that, When my father wanted to build the cinema Grand Sud in full covid - a colossal investment of more than 30 million euros ! - We wondered, My sister and me, If this challenge was not too big for us. But my father was right, It was the thing to do to meet the need for cinema. At the base of our approach, There is the pleasure that the customer must take to come in our cinemas. My father always told me : The customer must appropriate the site, that he doesn't just come to see a movie and go away. This is what we wanted to achieve at Ciné Cambaie and the Ciné Grand Sud : These are places of entertainment including restaurants and games, where the public does more than going cinema.
Your first competitor today is not Netflix and streaming platforms ?
I have never been afraid of streaming platforms. My personal opinion, is that there are a lot of choice on these platforms, But this choice is not really qualitative. It’s not the same thing at all to watch a movie on a cinema screen, by sharing it with other people in a room, What to watch it on a television, A computer or mobile phone. There is a magic of cinema that is only felt in a room.
Use an overseas cinema is more expensive than in metropolitan France ?
Yes. Insularity necessarily creates additional costs. I will give you an example : The cinema tickets that I bring by plane, with an additional cost. And I'm not talking about digital projectors, armchairs or equipment for which I must also bring the service provider who will install them. There is also the cost of promotion. Film distributors advertise on general television channels or in metro stations in major metropolitan cities, The stations, ski resorts, etc. These are promotional supports that do not reach our Reunion audience. We are obliged to provide a specific promotion budget in the media and to bring from the POS. Finally, Our payroll is greater than that of many metropolitan multiplexes. This results from the choice of quality we make. Quality goes through staff for reception and customer service, For site maintenance and safety. for example, in our establishments, An employee takes care of the toilet permanently, From the opening to the closure of cinemas.
The price of places per unit is much lower in Reunion than in metropolitan France. How is this price difference explains ?
The last time I went to the cinema in mainland France, I paid for my place 18 € ! And for such a price, We don't have the guarantee of a quality service, Not even a clean room. Ciné Cambaie and Ciné Grand Sud offer a price full of 10,10 €. We have already had price readjustments, But never more than a few tens of cents. We want cinema to remain accessible to the greatest number. For this purpose, We also modify our prices : The morning session is cheaper, And we offer subscription cards at attractive prices for people often coming to the cinema or for families. We have three loyalty card offers : 10 places, 20 places ou 30 places. They offer discounts that go up to more than 30 % on the price of the ticket. But we do not offer an unlimited cinema offer as there are in mainland France.
Does cinema advertising resist the development of the advertising market, who is increasingly moving towards Internet and social networks ?
It remains a significant complement. Cinema is a showcase which have benefited from partners who have often followed us for a very long time. The cinema media is the only one to have this ability to capture the attention of a receptive audience, Because relaxed and in good humor. We come to the cinema for pleasure. The receptivity of information is greater because it feels good.
The cinemas of the ethève group are distinguished by discovering opera films. The cinema opera : Does this offer find its audience ?
Everything that is replaying ballets, operas, plays, filmed concerts indeed finds its audiences. It is a way for us to democratize these shows and an opportunity to attract this audience, I was talking about, who is not going to the cinema.
Another noticed initiative : Cult cinema, The replay of famous films (The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Apocalypse now…). These sessions refuel. Where this idea came from ?
She was born by chance. A day of strike when my children did not have school, I took them to see, In one of the rooms of Cambaie cinema, A film that we had already watched at home. Friends later told me that they would have liked to come too with their children. Specific cinema sessions. At the beginning, My father was not too favorable to the initiative. The first cult cinema broadcast his favorite film, The last of the Mohicans. The room was only filled halfway, But when the film distributor saw the figure, He called us, enthusiastic, to tell us : "It's great, In Paris you would never have had so many spectators ! »We passed the godfather : full room. Pulp Fiction : full room. The big blue : full room. For Seven, People applauded in the room. On the other hand, Jean de Florette and Manon des Sources, Two films that I find great, have worked less well ... People often come with their children to make them discover films that have marked them in their youth. They relive the same emotion. A new concept of this formula has been in place for a few months in our rooms : Cin’colo, with the projection of documentaries or feature films on the life of animals, nature, environment and ecology. It works so well that we decided to launch during the January holidays a Marmailles ecolo for children !
Lacaze cinema is the only cinema of art and essay in Reunion. You seem to be attached to this little cinema ?
Yes, We are. These are two small rooms of 45 and 65 places, In the city center of Saint-Denis. This cinema has a loyal audience, who likes to exchange, And what is missing at the Lacaze cinema, This is a place where people could come together after seeing the film. We could take inspiration from the sessions of classical cinema that we offer in Saint-Paul with Paul Obadia, Doctor of Cinematographic Studies, which comments on heritage films before their broadcast. A formula appreciated by the public. However, we have already set up things that work very well at the Lacaze cinema, Like the "surprise favorite" : people come without knowing what they will discover, They only know that it will be an art and essay film that has never gone to Reunion.
Reunion seeks to become a land of films and, With Gao Shan Pictures studio and Rubika school, She becomes known in the animated film. Local room operators have a role to play to support this movement ?
I really appreciate this local production process. We have just set up a new niche called Ciné ’Marun : from time to time, A session will highlight a film created or shot in Reunion. We did a first session at the end of the year with the film Lémuria, Preceded by the short film Pius Dan Lo : The room was full. Lately, The Gao Shan Pictures studio produced the animated film Angelo in the mysterious forest. I really like what they do. But local production needs greater highlighting. Local media should be more interested in : Reunion spectators must be made aware of the fact that Reunion has become a place of film and film creation. The film Reunionese Marmaille, who benefited from a local outing before the national exit and very well worked, should contribute. We are on the right path.
Mascareignes room, praised cinema for events (Like the Congress of Trade Strato Run commercial strategies, of which Leader Réunion is a partner) : is events an activity you want to develop ?
We only make rooms available, But we do not organize private events. It started shortly after the opening of the Cambaie cinema, When asked a quote to rent a room : We had not thought of room rental at all. Twenty years later, almost every week, We rent a room of Cambaie cinema or cinema Grand Sud for events, conferences, Work meetings, seminars, With breakfasts or lunch or dinner cocktails. The Mascareignes room, Above the restaurants of the Cambaie cinema, welcomes private events, weddings, baptisms, communions, and from time to time professional events.
Operate a cinema : The job makes moviegoers dream. But is it still a dream job at all digital ?
I would say yes, It’s a very beautiful job : operate a place of leisure and imagination. But a demanding job that requires total availability and a lot of personal investment. We are open 365 days a year. Technical or organization concerns can intervene at any time, each day. The show, his, must never stop.
Laurence ethève : "My journey is atypical"
"We all have transversal skills that can apply to several trades", says Laurence ethève. These skills, The director of exploitation of the cinemas of the Ethève group acquired them in teaching in metropolitan France and in Reunion. "I wanted to become a teacher, like my mother. After setting foot in an English course in college, I chose English and I became English teacher. I had several caps in teaching, Between principal teacher, coordinator, tutor. It was a vocation, And I am delighted to have exercised this job. But I ended up getting bored. I was hungry for projects, to organize things. " Also, When Yves Ethève gives a new dimension to his cinema activity by opening Ciné Cambaie in 2005, He naturally turns to Laurence, His eldest daughter, To structure the directional team. "I observed, I benefited from knowledge of great collaborators and collaborators. I have certainly made mistakes, But I quickly learned and I proven my. "Laurence and Évelyne Éthève ensure today (with their father still very present) the operational management of a company employing 70 people in the three cinemas of the group.
