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INDUSTRY France

Bac Majestic’s still a player

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- Despite a disappointing 2002, France's premiere indie distributor is bent on re-vamping and relaunching the company

In financial trouble since the autumn of 2002, France’s premier independent distributor, the Bac Majestic Group, just published its end-of-year report with a 3.5 per cent drop in profits for 2002 with respect to 2001, and a turnover of Euros90.8m.
Bac Majestic has, however, no intention of going down without a fight and is implementing some major changes that include letting its exhibition activities go. After the closure of its Nimes multiscreen and selling off its theatres in Brest, Lille and the Elysée-Biarritz in Paris, Bac Majestic Exhibition, who reported profits of Euros3.2m in 2002, a 6.8 per cent drop, is also planning to sell off its theatres in Douai and Toulon this year.
94 per cent of the Bac Majestic Group’s activities are concentrated on distribution (Bac Distribution) and its film catalogue. Here the Group reported a 1.9 per cent increase, generated by its vigorous video arm, West Side (who reported 2002 profits of Euros15.7m, an increase of 74 per cent on 2001).
Bac’s coproduction and foreign distribution arms reported a 9.2 per cent improvement with total profits standing at Euros3.3m. However domestic theatrical distribution and the sale of films to TV is in a bad way, despite the excellent results of a few titles like 8 Women [+see also:
trailer
film profile
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and The Pianist [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
. This is a negative consequence of last October’s divorce between Bac Majestic and StudioCanal. Whilst maintaining Mars Films, Studio Canal left Bac Films entirely to Bac Majestic.
Bac Majestic refuses to be beaten and hopes to recover lost terrain with the forthcoming release of a number of strong titles like 18 Years Later by Coline Serreau, Ni pour, ni contre by Cédric Klapisch, Stupeur et Tremblements by Alain Corneau, and Spike Jonze's Adaptation, starring Nicolas Cage and Meryl Streep.

(The article continues below - Commercial information)
(The article continues below - Commercial information)

(Translated from French)

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