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

In an email seen by France Inter, several municipal theaters are listed by Megarama as causing “distortion of competition in terms of exposure and ticket prices for nationally released films.”

The Megarama network, which has around thirty cinema multiplexes in France, sent an email on March 3 asking numerous distributors like Pathé, Metropolitan Films, and Gaumont to boycott several small municipal theaters, accused of “distortion of competition,” France Inter learned on Tuesday, April 28, confirming a report from Le Monde.

In this email, which France Inter was able to review, several theaters are listed by Megarama as causing a “distortion of competition in terms of exposure and ticket prices for nationally released films.” Megarama therefore asks distributors to “take these elements into account before discussing their upcoming releases.” The cinemas cited are located in Val-de-Marne, Essonne, and Oise. Most of these subsidized small municipal theaters sell entry tickets cheaper than the Megarama network’s multiplexes. Contacted by France Inter, the 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 type of pressure from multiplexes shows a desire to “implement a two-tier system.” He also asserts that “the majority of entries, about two-thirds, occur in the first two weeks [of screening], so if the film is delayed, the potential is significantly lower.”

Contacted by France Inter, the CNC indicates that it is currently studying, with the cinema mediator, the next steps to take regarding this email sent by Megarama. The National Cinema Center also recalls that a consultation committee was established in 2025 to ease tensions between exhibitors and distributors, “in a context where cinema attendance remains fragile and unexpected tensions arise within the industry.” According to a sector specialist who prefers to remain anonymous, “the competition comes more from video streaming platforms than from small theaters that do not have the same economic model or audience.” Requested by France Inter, Megarama has not yet responded.