Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

Le Grand Rex, originally called Le Rex, is an iconic cinema built in the 1930s in Paris, embodying the Art Deco style. Designed by architect Auguste Bluysen and engineer John Eberson, it is commissioned by Jacques Haik, a producer nicknamed "the king of cinemas". The façade is carved by Henri-Édouard Navarre, while Maurice Dufrène decorates the large hall, inspired by a fantasy Mediterranean city. Inaugurated on December 8, 1932 with Les Trois Musquetaires, it welcomes 3,300 spectators (compared with 5,000 envisaged) and impresses with its starry vault and 35 meters tower.

During the occupation, the Grand Rex was requisitioned by the German army as Soldatenkino to distract the troops. A clock and loudspeakers broadcast the timetables of the trains, even during the sessions. In 1942, he was the target of an attack by the Valmy detachment. After the Liberation, he reopened in 1944 with an American film and chewing gums at the intermission. In the 1950s, he innovated with attractions such as the Water Fairy (3,000 litres projected at 20 meters) and adopted CinemaScope in 1953. In 1957, Gary Cooper and Mylène Demongeot inaugurated his mechanical staircase, a first in Europe.

Since the 1980s, the Grand Rex has diversified its activities: Caesar ceremonies (1983), concerts (Madonna in 2020), and theme marathons (Star Wars, Marvel). Ranked a historic monument in 1981, it modernises its rooms, such as the Infinite room (2023) with its Dolby Atmos and its Real-D Ultimate screen. In 2022, for his 90 years, his facade returned to its original hues (champagne, ivory, cream). Today, with 2,700 seats, it remains the largest active cinema in the world, combining heritage and state-of-the-art technologies.

The complex also offers behind-the-scenes visits (Rex Studios) and an escape game on 7th art. Owned by Marianne Hellmann, it is operated by SAS Le Grand Rex Paris. Its Grand Large screen (280 m2), hidden in the ceiling, and its Art Deco frescoes make it a unique place, awarded in 2024 and 2025 as the best cinema in the world.

Under the occupation, a fresco depicting Charlie Chaplin was censored (transformed into a clown) by the Nazis, before being rediscovered in 2020. The cinema also served as a reception centre for prisoners of war in 1945. In the 1960s, his attendance exceeded that of the Louvre. In 1988, his giant screen became the largest in Europe (excluding IMAX), inaugurated by Luc Besson's Le Grand Bleu.

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