James Bond to the rescue at Cineworld
THE RELEASE last month of the James Bond film Skyfall has helped cinema chain Cineworld bounce back from a tough summer season when the Olympics drew moviegoers away from the big screen.
The group yesterday posted a 1.4 per cent fall in revenues in the 19 weeks to 4 November while cinema admissions dropped by 4.1 per cent, offsetting a four per cent rise in ticket prices in the period.
“It was a bit of a double-edged sword because the distributors don’t put films out against big events,” chief executive Stephen Wiener said.
“Whilst we had a couple of good films like Batman and Ted and both of those did well, there weren’t the supplementary titles to support the larger ones,” he added.
The group anticipates a strong close to the year, with the launch of the final Twilight film and The Hobbit expected to lift box office and retail sales. Skyfall has already reaped £70m at cinemas in the UK in the first two opening weeks.
Advertising revenues were flat year on year, a marked rebound from the 12 per cent fall posted in the first half. Wiener said its recent move to digital projectors would pave the way for higher advertising income.