Since the mid-2010s, the creation of movie theaters and multiplexes, as well as the renovation of historic theaters, has increased throughout French-speaking Africa.
According to our latest census, there are 50 of them spread across 12 countries, offering a total of 10,000 places each week.
CANAL+OLYMPIA and MAJESTIC cinemas were the first to invest in this sector, which had completely disappeared in the 1990s. They were more recently joined by the PATHE group. Together, they account for two-thirds of the number of movie theaters in French-speaking Africa (80% if we exclude French institute theaters).
CANAL+ OLYMPIA has built complexes that are not only used for cinema but can also be used for cultural events and concerts: the 15 CANAL OLYMPIA theaters located in the capitals and major cities of nine countries each have around 300 seats.
MAJESTIC cinemas have established themselves in Ivory Coast and offer five modern and comfortable theaters of various sizes in Abidjan: in total, MAJESTIC cinemas offer approximately 1,300 seats each week.
PATHE is a more recent player, as the DAKAR multiplex, which has seven theaters with a total of 1,394 seats, dates from 2022, and the Abidjan multiplex, which will have six theaters, is set to open in the coming weeks. A few independent theaters such as Cine Guimbi, Cinekin, and the Sembene Ousmane complex in DAKAR complete this offering, which is reinforced by the theaters of French institutes in nine cities that also offer occasional film screenings.
