Best year ever for Lumière Maastricht

08 Jan 2025

Best year ever for Lumière Maastricht: Visitor record and award for Best Cinema in Europe, but financial challenges persist

Lumière reflects on an exceptionally successful year, boasting a record-breaking 173,000 visitors and winning the prestigious International Cinema Technology Award for "Best Cinema in Europe." Despite these milestones, the cinema faces financial challenges, particularly due to significantly increased housing costs, which threaten the sustainability of its operations.

Visitor record highlights success
The new visitor record underscores Lumière's status as a vibrant meeting place appealing to an ever-widening audience. The visitors comprised 136,000 regular moviegoers, 15,000 attendees at special events (film specials), and 9,000 children and students participating in educational activities and children’s shows—a new record for Lumière’s educational branch, Lumière LAB. Additionally, the cinema hosted 13,000 corporate visitors who utilized the venue for conferences, meetings, and private screenings.

Approximately 26,000 visitors visited Lumière’s Grand Café exclusively. This figure, however, was excluded from the total visitor count to ensure a fair comparison with previous years, where non-cinema visitors were not included.

Hyperlocal programming as a success formula
The impressive increase in visitor numbers is the result of a strategy focused on hyperlocal programming and expanding the number of corporate events. Over the past year, Lumière strengthened collaborations with various local organizations and groups, ranging from student associations to senior clubs, offering tailored programs. This resulted in hundreds of special events that reached new audiences. The cinema also actively supported local filmmakers, contributing to a growing creative community.

Furthermore, the focus on the corporate events market has paid off. “This approach serves a dual purpose: it helps cover our costs and, more importantly, introduces ‘new’ audiences to Lumière as both a cinema and a meeting place,” explained Aerd de Boode, Lumière’s director. With this strategy, Lumière plays an indispensable role in the cultural landscape of Maastricht and beyond.

Highlights in 2024
Film enthusiasts flocked to POOR THINGS, the visually stunning film by director Yorgos Lanthimos. Another popular choice was the cinematic masterpiece THE ZONE OF INTEREST, which chillingly portrayed the Holocaust and won the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes. Both films attracted over 5,000 visitors. The Italian drama C’E ANCORA DOMANI, a stylish melodrama about a housewife in 1946 Rome, also drew substantial audiences.

The highly popular Lumière Open Air Film Festival was once again a resounding success, with over 3,500 attendees enjoying a unique outdoor cinema experience. For the youngest film fans, the special Cinemini program gave children aged 2 to 6 the chance to enjoy their first cinema visit. This season, the program welcomed 826 young attendees, emphasizing its value for education and entertainment.

As the crowning achievement of the year, Lumière proudly received the ICTA EMEA Award 2024 last summer. The award was presented by Till Cussmann, International Director of ICTA (International Cinema Technology Association), during a ceremony ahead of the CineEurope conference in Barcelona. The accolade recognizes Lumière’s technological leadership, design, and innovation in the film exhibition sector. Cussmann praised Lumière as a role model for the European cinema industry, highlighting the comprehensive and unique experience it offers visitors, which goes far beyond simply screening films. He emphasized that Lumière demonstrates how arthouse cinemas can thrive.

Financial vulnerability despite growth
Despite its success, Lumière’s financial situation remains precarious. Sharply rising costs for housing, staff, and energy pose a persistent challenge. The high energy costs are particularly burdensome for the national monument that houses Lumière.

“Although we are extremely proud of what we have achieved, rising costs make it difficult to ensure our continuity and fulfill our ambitions,” said De Boode. “We are working closely with the Municipality of Maastricht to find solutions and maintain our role as a cultural attraction for the region.”