Cineworld profits double: Fifty shades of payday for movie theatre chain
Cineworld’s annual pre-tax profits more than doubled to £67.3m, despite a decline in 2014 box office sales.
The UK’s largest cinema chain had revenue up by 52.5 per cent to £619.4m, up from £406.1m, in the 53-week period ending 1 January 2015.
Chief executive of Cineworld, Moshe “Mooky” Greidinger, said it had been a hard but fruitful year for the firm. Last year, it acquired Cinema City, growing its share in the global market and becoming the second largest cinema chain in Europe, with 1,875 screens.
“I believe we can be optimistic about our industry, which is more than 100 years old and will probably be around for another hundred,” said Greidinger. “We don’t see ourselves as competing with home cinema entertainment.
“We offer our customers an experience. Watching a movie on your iPhone is very different from watching it at an IMAX.”
Last month’s release of Fifty Shades of Grey surpassed the company’s expectations and enjoyed record levels of weekend admissions.
Cineworld remains confident this success will continue throughout the year with the release of a number of sequels, including the new James Bond film, Spectre.