Megarama accuses small cinemas of distortion of competition and asks distributors to limit their access to films

In an email that France Inter was able to consult, several municipal theaters are listed by Megarama as creating “a distortion of competition in terms of exposure and prices of seats for nationally released movies”.

Published on: April 28, 2026 19:34

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(Image of a Megarama cinema, December 9, 2022. THIERRY TONNEAUX / MAXPPP)

The Megarama network, which has around thirty cinema multiplexes in France, sent an email on March 3 requesting numerous distributors including Pathé, Metropolitan Films, and Gaumont to boycott several small municipal theaters accused of “competition distortion,” as confirmed by France Inter on Tuesday, April 28. These theaters are located in Val-de-Marne, Essonne, and Oise. Most of these subsidized small municipal theaters sell tickets at lower prices than Megarama’s multiplexes. Cinema in Perreux-sur-Marne (Val-de-Marne), for example, claims to have been receiving films with a delay of three to four weeks since early March.

According to François Aymé, director of the Jean Eustache cinema in Pessac, Gironde, and former president of the French Association of Art and Experimental Cinemas, this pressure from multiplexes shows a desire to establish a “two-speed system.” He also states that “the essential part of admissions, about two-thirds, occurs in the first two weeks [of screening], so if the film is delayed, the potential is significantly less.”

The CNC, contacted by France Inter, is currently studying the repercussions of the email sent by Megarama with the cinema mediator. The National Center for Cinema and the Moving Image also recalls the establishment of a consultation committee in 2025 to ease tensions between operators and distributors, “in a context where audience attendance in theaters remains fragile and where unforeseen tensions are expressed in the industry.” According to an anonymous sector specialist, “competition comes more from video-on-demand platforms than from small theaters that do not have the same economic model or audience.” Megarama has not yet responded to France Inter’s request.