The dark rooms of the new cinema at La Flèche are sold out. After three years of work at a cost of eight million euros, Le Kid has reopened its doors in new premises located at 11 rue Carnot. Since the first session on June 9, the success has not been denied. “We had expected between 37,000 and 38,000 admissions. Here, we go to more than 43,000 admissions in six months. We are very happy”, rejoices Jean-François Joly, director of the cinema of La Flèche.
The novelty effect obviously plays and allowed the cinema of La Flèche to stand out. The reopening of cultural venues from May 19, 2021 had not aroused any real enthusiasm in the other Sarthe venues. “When our colleagues were grimacing, we had plenty to see this highly anticipated new cinema at La Flèche with more modern and more pleasant premises”, considers the director of the Kid. In the new premises, the cinema has three rooms, one more than in the old building.
The public who could tend to go to big cinemas in Le Mans or Angers returns to La Flèche
A precarious balance because of the health context
The evolution of the Covid-19 epidemic forces us to remain cautious for the coming weeks. A government decision can quickly have an impact on attendance. This was the case when the health pass entered into force in cultural places on July 21. The film Kaamelott did not fill up as expected at the Kid.
The progression of the Omicron variant therefore plunges the director of the cinema of La Flèche into a blur. “We see that things are stabilizing at the cinema admissions level, but there are still people who have not returned among the faithful that we had, there are people who have not returned or very little. . And in my opinion, it is mainly out of fear “, notes Jean-François Joly.
Nevertheless, the director is pleased to have seduced a new audience. “We hope to retain him. It will depend on our quality of reception, the circumstances related to health and then, it will depend on the programming”, he says.
Locomotive films that attract the general public
The program for this end of the year is precisely one more explanation for the excellent attendance at the cinema of La Flèche. Spiderman attracts the general public just like Les Bodins. The comedy duo’s latest film, released in November, has already attracted more than a million spectators across France. It is also the biggest cinema success of La Flèche for seven years and La Famille Bélier.
“At the time, we had 3,500 admissions. There, Bodin’s, we have 5,200 admissions, so it’s huge! There are people who no longer came to the cinema, especially the elderly, who come to see only this type of films there and which even come back to see it two or three times “, underlines Jean-François Joly, director of the cinema of La Flèche. The Bodins have everything to please: family humor and the pride of representing the rural world.
It is something linked to the terroir. There are lots of things and it puts them in a good mood.