The box office success of 50 Shades of Grey proved short and sweet for Cineworld, Britain’s largest cinema company, as an initial rush of excitement faded fast.
The movie provided some much-needed impetus for cinemas after a series of flops last year triggered a downturn at the box office. A number of blockbusters, notably the new James Bond and Star Wars films, look set to restore growth. The release of the film adaptation of E.L. James’ bestseller in the typically quiet February window ensured that the year kicked off with a bang.
Mooky Greidinger, chief executive of Cineworld, said: “It was a huge, huge opening but it didn’t hold as well because so many people saw it in the first week.”
For last year, Cineworld’s revenue rose 52 per cent to £619 million and pre-tax profit more than doubled to £67.3 million as a result of its merger with Israeli rival Cinema City, which is also one of the largest cinema companies in eastern Europe.
Cineworld reported growth of almost 2 per cent in the UK with admissions down a modest 1 per cent, compared with 6 per cent for the industry.
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Another big gamble for Cineworld this year will be to transfer its Trocadero cinema in central London to the arthouse Picturehouse brand.
The site has been losing £1 million a year and the company is locked into a long lease. It is understood to have spent about £4 million refurbishing the site in the style of Picturehouse, which it hopes will stem losses. “The location is amazing . . . but it’s not big enough to compete with the Leicester Square giants,” said Mr Greidinger.
Shares in Cineworld rose 4.4 per cent, or 19¾p, to 467¾p.
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