Paris’s biggest movie theater, UGC Ciné Cité Les Halles, is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year as the world’s cinema with the highest attendance, according to the Comscore institute. Nearly every Parisian has forgotten, but the first UGC multiplex occupies the site of the former Parc Océanique Cousteau, an ocean-themed attraction that went bankrupt in 1992, as well as a former rock museum and a six-screen cinema, the Forum Horizons.
Over the years, the multiplex expanded. With its 27 screens, more than 3,800 seats and an eclectic programming of over 500 films each year, it has established itself as the world’s top destination for moviegoers. Last year, it welcomed 2.8 million visitors, ahead of its two main rivals: Lotte Cinema World in Seoul, South Korea, and AMC Empire 25 in New York. “We are the only ones offering such diversity, with films from 65 countries,” said Patrice Le Marchand, its director, who started as a young usher in this very cinema. Since 2015, nearly 3 million people have come through its doors each year.
The crucial Wednesday morning screening
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