By Julien Marcel, Founding President, Cine Group
This year’s UNIC Achievement Award goes to Tomasz Jagiełło, founder and managing director of Helios, one of Poland’s leading cinema operators. With more than 30 years of experience in the film industry, Jagiello has been a driving force in shaping Poland’s cinema landscape. Under his leadership, Helios has grown to 54 locations across the country. Jagiello’s innovative approach has not only strengthened Helios’ position as a market leader but has also significantly contributed to the Polish film industry’s growth.
In addition to his work with Helios, Jagiello founded Next Film, supporting film production and distribution, further demonstrating his commitment to the industry. His influence extends beyond Poland, as he actively contributes to the development of European cinema through his role as vice president of UNIC and represents the Polish New Cinema Association on the UNIC Board. Boxoffice Pro spoke with Jagiełło ahead of CineEurope to reflect on his circuit’s origins and look ahead to the great innovations coming to Poland’s exhibition sector.
Take us back to the early 1990s in Poland, when you began your career as an exhibitor. What did the cinema industry look like back then?
It’s amazing to look back on the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, only those of us who lived in Eastern European countries back then can appreciate the difference between that time and today. There was a span of two or three years where you could do anything, because all of a sudden, the structures of ownership were simply reset. The state as we knew it ceased to exist, and suddenly, you could initiate any activity without the obstacles of the past.
The institutions that operated these old traditional cinemas didn’t know what to do with them. Anybody could come in and run a cinema by making a monthly payment.
At the time, I was working as a lawyer after returning from studying at the University of Edinburgh. In my mind, it was a short-term adventure helping a few friends set up a company running two single-screen theaters.
Studios were reluctant to fully enter the market because we had very low ticket prices and lacked partners with a track record. They had no guarantees to collect their money and were searching for any representative who could cooperate with basic expectations and speak English.
You opened your first cinema in 1993. What do you remember about that first year in business?
Honestly, it looked like we were heading straight for bankruptcy after our first eight months. That is until September 2, 1993. That’s the release date of the movie that saved our business and changed my life, Jurassic Park. Suddenly, our cinema was full of people. We had a line out our door for three consecutive weeks. The magic of that movie convinced me this was my life’s calling.
The ‘90s had some terrific titles. Every month, we got access to a new, original film that broke through with audiences.
It was a great time for movies, many of them original. Last year in Poland, of the top 20 movies at the box office, 19 were based on known intellectual properties. There are so many sequels today, it feels like the cinema has become a place for series—feature-length series, yes, but series all the same. A new installment every two years, and when it comes to superhero movies, it’s a new chapter every three to four months. I’m not regretting these developments, just pointing them out.
The industry is quite different today. We have a new wave of customers, and that’s why I see huge hope for our industry. We lost approximately 20 percent of the adult market following the pandemic, but we were able to reopen and retain our younger audiences. As a result, we’ve lost romantic comedies, but family-driven titles are thriving in the market. Younger audiences don’t want to stay at home and watch a movie on their couch; they want an experience, and they love to get concessions as part of their outing. You see it reflected in the studio pipeline for the coming years: There will be a significant influx of family titles. Just look at the success of A Minecraft Movie. We were second in admissions among all European markets over its opening weekend.
How much do shorter exclusivity windows affect your business today?
It depends on the audience. Younger audiences—especially this generation—want everything now. Windows don’t matter to them because they won’t wait until a movie is available at home. They want that experience now.
Adults, on the other hand, are an audience that doesn’t mind waiting to see a movie when it’s available on streaming. As a result, we’ve lost entire genres—romantic comedies, for example—that are now going straight to streaming.
When I started in this business, we would have exclusivity windows that could last up to a year. Today, we are having conversations about a standard 45-day window or longer. It’s a big shift. And it’s a change that affects us a lot more with streaming than it did in the home video era. Back then, you still needed to leave the house to pick up a movie and bring it back home. Today, everything is so easily accessible from inside the house. The consumer is two buttons away from playing a movie in their living room. We tend to have longer windows in Europe than in the United States, and that’s one of the principal reasons why we have recovered more quickly.
Have moviegoing habits in Poland changed considerably since the pandemic?
In the Polish language, there’s a differentiation between going to see a movie and going to the cinema. In the ‘90s, people went out to the cinema. They would leave the house without being focused on a particular film; they would come to our theaters and pick something on the spot. Today, they’re going out to see a movie. I think it’s part of this blockbuster culture, where if a film doesn’t have a massive marketing campaign behind it, it’s harder to get the public out to see it.
What role do local titles play in the Polish market?
We can always rely on around 20 percent of our overall attendance to support local productions, and I strongly believe cinema companies are best equipped to influence what a domestic slate looks like. As a company, we invest in production and operate our own distribution outfit because we want to be involved in the movies that appear on our screens. For Helios to be healthy, we need the Polish film industry to share in our success.
You’ve seen firsthand what a modern multiplex can do to change the moviegoing culture in any particular market. How is Helios planning to invest in the coming years?
Capital expenditure is hugely important for our business. We need to ensure that our cinemas are always in excellent condition, which involves investing in our buildings on an annual basis. We saw a lot of acquisitions over the last decade, which forced some multinational circuits into debt. That meant the money that should have gone toward upgrading and maintaining cinemas went to the banks instead. It created a situation where many cinemas worldwide are overdue for renovations.
We were lucky at Helios because our debt wasn’t significant, and the state of our cinemas was already in great shape. This is the first year since the pandemic that we are making investments in our circuit. We just signed a deal with Christie to add a fleet of laser projectors for all our theaters. Currently, our focus is on ensuring that our cinemas are well-equipped to compete. We don’t plan to expand with new locations in the near future.
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