The UGC Normandie cinema, on the Champs-Elysées, will close its doors in June after 87 years of existence, due in particular to “the drop in attendance”, the UGC group announced on Monday April 22 in a press release.
The group, which took over this cinema inaugurated in 1937 fifty years ago, says it “considered different options with the owner of the building” but ultimately made the decision to close. She highlights the significant drop in the number of spectators in the cinemas of the Champs-Elysées, due “mainly to the tourist and event development” of the famous Parisian avenue, which in turn would have caused “an increase in rents”. The employment of Normandie employees will be maintained within the group, assures UGC, which operates 50 cinemas in France.
At the end of 2023, another historic cinema on the Champs-Elysées, the Gaumont-Marignan, had also closed. The George V, located on the same artery, ceased its activity in June 2020.
“UGC Normandie occupies a central place in the history of UGC and cinema in France and around the world,” said Samuel Loiseau, general director of UGC cinema operations, quoted in the press release.
“Page of History”
To pay tribute to these “fifty years of history”, the cinema will organize, from May 1 and until June 13, a series of events, including the auction of “iconic objects” from this room, the screening of classics of the 7th art and concerts. “Turning this page of history on a happy note with those who love this place seems essential to us,” believes Mr. Loiseau.
At the end of 2022, Paris had the highest density of cinemas in the world, with 398 screens in 75 cinemas, according to city hall figures. Their geography is changing a lot: theaters are closing on the Champs-Elysées, which are less and less a place to go out, but projects are multiplying in other, more dynamic neighborhoods and on the outskirts.
Among the expected openings, Pathé, UGC's competitor, is to inaugurate an imposing project at Opéra, designed by Renzo Piano, and is to reopen La Géode (19th arrondissement). La Pagode (7th arrondissement), the oldest arthouse cinema in the capital, must also reopen its doors.
