14/10/2002 - Born of Gaumont & Pathé, EuroPalaces begins consolidating its presence in new European territories in Florence and Rotterdam

With the opening of two new multiplexes, French exhibition colossus, EuroPalaces (who also run film pramming for the Gaumont and Pathé circuits) has begun to make inroads in the Italian and Dutch markets.
Earlier this month EuroPalaces, a joint venture by Gaumont and Pathé, opened two new multi-screen complexes respectively in Florence and Rotterdam. Vis Pathé in Campo Bisenzio is situated 10 km from the Tuscan capital, has 16 screens and a total seating capacity of 3,800. The multi-screen was built together with a local company called Vis and cost Euros32million. The owners hope it will attract an average annual audience of 1.3million.
The Pathé De Kuip multi-screen in Rotterdam opened its doors to the public on 3 October. It has 14 screens and a seating capacity of 2,746. This move launched EuroPalaces’s European strategy. Following last April’s opening of a complex in Turin, and now Florence, next year EuroPalaces plans on building new multi-screens in Bari and Rome. Before 2005 is out, the French company will also have a 10-screen complex in Le Haye, Holland, with others subsequently coming on line in Switzerland.
An ambitious programme for the that is run by Eduardo Malone, who recently announced that EuroPalaces’s aim – since its inception in June 2001 – was to build 23 new multi-screens, 11 of which outside France.

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(Translated from French)