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UNIC AND BOXOFFICE PRO REVEAL INAUGURAL “GIANTS OF EXHIBITION: EUROPE”


Brussels: 7 June 2022 - The International Union of Cinemas (UNIC), the trade body representing the interests of cinema operators across 39 European territories, and Boxoffice Pro, the world’s leading trade publication covering the global theatrical exhibition industry, today released the inaugural Giants of Exhibition: Europe listing, ranking the top 50 European cinema groups by screen count. A ceremony honouring the circuits will be held on June 21 in Barcelona during CineEurope, the biggest and longest-running convention dedicated to cinema operators in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

Modeled after Boxoffice Pro’s long-running Giants of Exhibition ranking of the top 50 exhibition circuits in North America, Giants of Exhibition: Europe serves as an iconic industry reference, recognising Europe’s largest cinema chains. Each group or company’s ranking is determined by its total screen count in Europe as of 1 January 2022.

This year’s ranking is led by ODEON Cinemas Group, the UK-based European subsidiary of AMC Theatres, with nearly 2,500 screens across the United Kingdom and Ireland, Finland, Germany, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden.

The top four is rounded out by Cineworld (UK), Vue International (UK), and Les Cinémas Pathé Gaumont (France). Each of the top four circuits on this year’s list have a multi-national European presence of over 1,000 screens across the region.

Welcoming today’s announcement, UNIC CEO Laura Houlgatte said:

“On behalf of all UNIC members, I would like to congratulate each of the fifty companies featured in the 2022 inaugural Giants of Exhibition: Europe ranking, which celebrates the biggest cinema operators in Europe. With headquarters based in 18 territories and operating across more than 35 territories, this ranking serves to demonstrate the strength and diversity of the European cinema industry. These companies have played a central role in bringing audiences back to the big screen in recent months, illustrating their resilience and underpinning our confidence in the sector’s ability to come back stronger from this pandemic.”

“Building on the success of our Giants of Exhibition rankings, we are very happy to inaugurate this European list to recognize the circuits that have been so pivotal in the recovery of the wider European cinema market,” added Julien Marcel, CEO of The Boxoffice Company. “It is incredible to see the diversity of operators among European leaders in terms of region of origin, capital structure, and type of cinemas. On behalf of Boxoffice Pro and everyone at The Boxoffice Company, I would like to congratulate these companies.”

This year’s Giants of Exhibition: Europe includes circuits based in 18 different markets across the region. UK and France are the most represented markets on the list with seven circuits each, followed by Spain (6), Turkey (5), and Germany (4). Other territories featured in the list are Austria (1), Belgium (1), Czech Republic (1), Denmark (1), Ireland (2), Italy (1), Poland (1), Portugal (2), Serbia (1), Slovakia (1), Sweden (1), and Ukraine (1). As a statement of solidarity with Ukrainian exhibitors, as well as with the Ukrainian people, UNIC and Boxoffice Pro’s corporate parent, The Boxoffice Company, have jointly agreed not to include the names and screen counts of the Russian companies that would otherwise have featured in the top 50.

Please click here for this year’s full ranking of the Giants of Exhibition: Europe.


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