OpenLobby.EU
Explore

Union Internationale des Cinémas

UNIC

The Union Internationale des Cinémas (UNIC) represents cinema trade associations and operators across 39 European territories.

Lobbying Activity

International Union of Cinemas urges levies for streaming platforms

17 Dec 2025
Topic — Evaluation of EU rules governing audiovisual media services, competitiveness, and cultural diversity.
Message — The group supports mandatory financial contributions from all media services, including online platforms. They demand a level playing field to sustain the local film ecosystem.12
Why — This would reduce the competitive advantage of international streaming services over cinemas.3
Impact — International VOD platforms would be forced to pay levies in specific countries.4
Read full response

Meeting with Thomas Schmitz (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen)

16 Dec 2025 · Cinema

Meeting with Christel Schaldemose (Member of the European Parliament)

3 Dec 2025 · geoblocking and other IMCO issues

Meeting with Per Clausen (Member of the European Parliament)

3 Dec 2025 · employment and industry issues

Meeting with Mario Furore (Member of the European Parliament)

16 Oct 2025 · AgoraEU

Cinema group UNIC urges binding EU anti-piracy legislation

26 May 2025
Topic — EU assessment of measures targeting the unauthorized retransmission of live entertainment content.
Message — UNIC calls for a legislative initiative to replace the current non-binding recommendation. They seek mandatory "take down and stay down" rules and real-time injunctions.12
Why — Stronger enforcement would prevent economic losses during exclusive, time-sensitive theatrical release windows.3
Impact — Online intermediaries would face stricter verification duties and faster removal requirements.4
Read full response

Meeting with Laurence Farreng (Member of the European Parliament) and Air France-KLM and

16 May 2025 · Festival de Cannes - Audiovisuel, Europe, IA et financement de la culture

Response to A Culture Compass for Europe

8 May 2025

The International Union of Cinemas (UNIC) welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the Commissions reflections on shaping a coherent and forward-looking cultural policy for the EU. As the trade body representing cinema operators across 39 European territories, we wish to underline the essential role of film and cinemas as part of Europes rich cultural fabric a sector that contributes to Europes cultural diversity, social cohesion, competitiveness, and innovation. While the consultation rightly identifies multiple forms of cultural expression, we urge the Commission to explicitly include film & cinemas in its vision. In a market characterised by cultural and linguistic differences, cinemas provide an opportunity for people to understand and express their sense of local, national and European identity, and seek to engage both young and old and those from different backgrounds and walks of life, ultimately celebrating European diversity. Cinemas also create popular culture within a country when a film or scene becomes iconic and in turn part of national culture. Regardless of their size or location, cinemas are modern meeting places that help stimulate dialogue on a range of important issues, combat social exclusion, revitalise interest in culture and foster innovation and creativity. The cinema experience is unique a shared, immersive form of cultural participation which remains one of the most affordable cultural out-of-home experience. Cinema is also a wider cultural facilitator, bringing other events beyond film to the big screen such as opera, ballet, theatre, music concerts, debates, TV programmes, Q&As, art exhibitions, gaming and sporting events. Cinema operators from large multiplexes to single-screen independent venues are simultaneously cultural institutions, local employers, and innovation hubs. The experience inside the auditorium continues to be transformed, as highlighted in our recent Innovation and the Big Screen report. Some operators invest in ground-breaking technologies from state-of-the-art sound systems to extra-large screens to provide an ever more immersive experience. Others have invested in new theatre designs, service concepts and seating upgrades to provide more comfort. Across Europe, cinemas are also taking meaningful steps to reduce their environmental impact, whether by improving building insulation, upgrading HVAC systems, adopting energy-efficient laser projection, or shifting to greener concession practices. Cinemas contribute to each countrys GDP, create local jobs, pay rent and local taxes. They create value for the entire European film industry revenues from cinema tickets are redistributed, contributing to the creation and promotion of a vast range of content and the overall well-being of the European cultural sector. Cinemas also have above-average multiplier effects on neighbouring commercial activities, contributing to urban regeneration by creating new jobs and attracting investors, small businesses and new residents. It is essential that Europe takes the right approach to culture and cinema. All cinemas can play a key role in re-establishing a positive and forward-looking narrative for the European project, at the same time strengthening cultural diversity, social cohesion and economic development across all Member States. We call on the Commission to ensure that film and cinemas are fully reflected in its cultural compass for Europe as accessible, sustainable, and community-based experiences that matter to millions across the continent.
Read full response

Meeting with Joanna Scheuring-Wielgus (Member of the European Parliament)

8 Apr 2025 · Addressing challenges faced by the Polish cinema industry

Meeting with Erik Marquardt (Member of the European Parliament)

17 Mar 2025 · General exchange

Response to Evaluation of the Geo-blocking Regulation

10 Mar 2025

UNIC represents cinema associations and operators from 39 countries about 44,000 screens. AV services are excluded from the scope of the Regulation as the end of Geoblocking would drastically alter key principles on which the film sector relies to cater to different audiences, to offer a diversity of content and to contribute to the economy. In the film sector, exclusive territorial licences are standard. With the use of release windows, this leads to a portioning in terms of geography and time, to finance, produce, distribute and show content that is tailored to each territory. The costs of developing, producing, marketing, distributing and showing films are extremely high and risky. Most European content is partly financed through territorial coproduction and/or pre-sales agreements with a range of local partners who will recoup their investments across different distribution channels. Licensing on a territorial exclusive basis is essential to finance content and build demand. Cinemas relies on 3 key principles, which would be endangered by the end of Geoblocking: Territoriality of copyright; Windows and exclusivity; Contractual freedom. Film distribution acquires rights for films on a territory-by-territory basis. Cinemas then enter into commercial agreements with them to screen films exclusively in theatres in given territories for a specific period. A share of cinemas ticket revenues will go directly to film distributors, who will reinvest into the financing and promotion of new films. In some territories, cinemas also contribute to public film funding via levies and so to the production of local content. Distributors and cinema operators create markets for content, considering cultural/linguistic specificities. Release strategies vary according to audiences preferences; competition from local/international content; holidays; local practices & habits. Local content is tailored for local audiences for a number of films, it doesnt make commercial sense to release them outside of their home territory. The theatrical success of a film remains essential to its success and generates revenues for other windows. Ensuring that, where appropriate, a film has an exclusive run in cinemas (and doesnt compete with other distribution channels in a given territory, or simultaneously in other territories should there be cross-border access) is essential. The extent to which the same film could be available in different windows across Europe may be limited for major international productions but is common for local and European films. Individual titles are often released months apart across Europe, building first on national success before they can be viably and successfully released somewhere else. Should a film be available to all consumers across Europe on a national VOD platform before or even while it is still playing in cinemas in another country, the exclusivity and value of the theatrical release would be seriously undermined. If the film has not been released yet in a given territory but is available cross-border on a platform, why would a cinema take the risk to show it? Cinemas wouldnt take the risk to screen the film if theyre not able to secure an exclusive licence, as they would not be able to recoup their significant investments or they will have to increase ticket price to cover that risk. This could force many to favour American blockbusters as they ensure faster income. The reduced willingness and ability of cinemas to pay for content would have a detrimental impact on the ability of distributors to license their works and therefore invest in European content. Banning Geoblocking would mean a huge loss of revenues, decreased diversity (in terms of content and in terms of cinemas that would be able to survive) and result in a huge part of the market being destroyed to the detriment of consumer choice.
Read full response

Meeting with Aurore Lalucq (Member of the European Parliament)

3 Mar 2025 · Secteur de l'exploitation cinématographique

Meeting with Pascal Arimont (Member of the European Parliament)

6 Feb 2025 · Future of the Cinema sector in Europe

Meeting with Joanna Scheuring-Wielgus (Member of the European Parliament)

16 Jan 2025 · Priorities of the Cinema industry

Meeting with Pierre Jouvet (Member of the European Parliament)

16 Jan 2025 · enjeux du secteur du cinéma

Meeting with Anthony Smith (Member of the European Parliament)

16 Jan 2025 · Présentation du secteur de l'exploitation cinématographique

Meeting with Saskia Bricmont (Member of the European Parliament)

21 Nov 2024 · droit d'auteur

Meeting with Gerolf Annemans (Member of the European Parliament)

21 Nov 2024 · Presentation of the sector

Meeting with Sandro Ruotolo (Member of the European Parliament)

14 Oct 2024 · Cult priorities 2024-2029

Meeting with Laurence Farreng (Member of the European Parliament) and EUROCINEMA, Association de producteurs de cinéma et de télévision and

20 May 2023 · Secteur du cinéma français et européen

Meeting with Salima Yenbou (Member of the European Parliament)

11 Jan 2022 · Echange

Meeting with Agnieszka Skonieczna (Cabinet of Commissioner Thierry Breton) and Association of Commercial Television and Video on Demand Services in Europe and

24 Aug 2020 · Impact of COVID-19 and recovery measures for the media and audiovisual ecosystem

Meeting with Thierry Breton (Commissioner) and

3 Apr 2020 · Impact du COVID-19 sur le secteur audiovisuel et media

Meeting with Mariya Gabriel (Commissioner)

25 Jun 2019 · UNIC Manifesto

Response to Measures to further improve the effectiveness of the fight against illegal content online

28 Mar 2018

UNIC represents key cinema operators and their national associations in 37 territories across Europe and beyond. In 2017, cinemas in UNIC territories accounted for 1.3 billion admissions and over €8 billion in box office revenues, representing a quarter of the global theatrical market for films. The fight against illegal content online is of the utmost importance for us and we therefore support measures to further improve its effectiveness. The copyright-intensive industries contribute €509 billion to Europe’s GDP, along with 7 million jobs, making them a key economic contributor. Combatting illegal content online is vital for the cultural and creative industries, to ensure the future growth of the above-mentioned figures as well as a healthy environment for consumers to have legal access to high-quality content. This requires cooperation and collaboration from all parties, including online platforms. Piracy is the biggest threat to the well-being of the entire film industry, including cinemas. As illustrated by “The Dual Impact of Movie Piracy on Box-Office Revenue: Cannibalization and Promotion,” a study from Carnegie Mellon University, cinema operators lose close to 15% of box-office revenues to online film theft. This figure is of course staggering, but even more so when coupled with the knock-on effects of piracy in terms of its impact on employment, content-production and the general economic health of the industry. The Commission’s proposal is a step in the right direction in this regard, even though we believe that more could be done to get online platforms to take greater responsibility for removing illegal content uploaded by users. Take down and stay down measures and the use of mandatory automated detection technologies would for example be additional means to a stronger approach by European legislators to effectively tackle illegal content online in all its forms. We do appreciate that there are other factors involved, such as the reputational challenges relating to taking down users’ content and the “need to avoid that legal content is erroneously taken down”. In reality, in the case of audiovisual works only 0.0002% of take-downs are of legal content, so it seems fair to suggest that this risk is somewhat mitigated by the negative impact of infringements on the cultural and creative industries. Coupled with this, the fact that “the longer illegal content is online, the more damage it can do,” is testament to the need for illegal content to be detected swiftly, removed appropriately and kept offline for good. This echoes the Commission’s previous communication on the issue, insofar as “the potential economic damage” of IPR infringement “may be closely related to the speed of its removal.” Online platforms are the gate-keepers of the internet in this regard; they have the means and power to remove content that has been flagged as illegal in the interest of establishing a safe, fair and legal online environment. It is therefore crucial that progress and efforts made by online platforms is closely monitored, particularly as there may be a need for additional measures in the future.
Read full response

Meeting with Eric Peters (Cabinet of Commissioner Mariya Gabriel)

22 Nov 2017 · cinemas in the Baltic territories and Finland; European film and cinema; MEDIA programme

Meeting with Stig Joergen Gren (Cabinet of Vice-President Andrus Ansip)

15 Nov 2016 · Copyright package, AVMSD reform, Creative Europe MEDIA programme

Meeting with Anna Herold (Digital Economy)

23 Feb 2016 · DSM

Meeting with Marlene Holzner (Digital Economy), Marlene Holzner (Digital Economy)

17 Feb 2015 · Media Policy

Meeting with Bodo Lehmann (Digital Economy)

2 Dec 2014 · Copyright