France’s CGR Cinemas Keeps Moving Forward, ‘Super Mario’ Success in ICE Format Touted at CineEurope
variety.comBen Croll Founded in 1966, CGR Cinemas has since grown into France’s second-largest exhibition chain, boasting more than 700 screens across the country and a premium export branch in the guise of ICE Theaters.
Since the beginning, the business has both remained in the hands of the Raymond family and stayed anchored in the southwest town of La Rochelle.
After putting the company up for sale in 2021, owners Jean-Luc and Charles Raymond canceled the deal this past May, holding on to the company and installing Laurent Desmoulins as directing manager.
Both Desmoulins and Charles Raymond will be on-hand at this year’s CineEurope, accompanying the wider ICE Theaters team to showing force on the convention floor. “The group is staying in the family fold,” says ICE Theaters senior VP sales and strategy Guillaume Thomine Desmazures. “And that’s a very reassuring message, both for the French industry and for ICE Theaters’ international exhibition partners.
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