Regal Cinemas owner Cineworld Group has revealed steady growth in revenues in 2021.
The recovery has been driven by a slate of movies including “Black Widow,” “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” “Venom,” “No Time to Die,” and “Dune,” Cineworld said in a trading update.
While actual financial numbers were not disclosed, the group shared a steady growth pattern with 50% in July, 54% in August, 60% in September and 90% in October. The highest growth rate was in the U.K. and Ireland, which climbed from 54% in July to 127% in October, compared to the same period in 2019. This was followed by the U.S., which grew from 45% in July to 80% in October, while the rest of the world rose from 79% to 84%.
“There are still major blockbusters to be released in 2021 including ‘Ghostbusters: Afterlife,’ ‘Encanto.’ ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home,’ ‘The King’s Man,’ ‘Sing 2’ and ‘The Matrix Resurrections,’ which we anticipate will perform very well subject to there being no deterioration in the COVID-19 situation,” Cineworld said in a statement.
“This revenue performance has been underpinned by discipline on costs where the company has been focused on streamlining operations wherever possible, although we have seen some inflationary cost increases,” the statement added.
These measures have resulted in a positive cash flow in October, the company said.
Cineworld CEO Mooky Greidinger said: “We are thrilled to see audiences returning in significant numbers. Our partnerships with the studios are as strong as ever and with the incredible movie slate to come, there are real grounds for optimism in our industry. I would especially highlight the great performances we saw from our newly refurbished cinemas in the U.S. These new cinemas clearly support our strategy to enhance the cinema experience for all our customers.”
“I am really proud of the extraordinary efforts that everybody in the business has made to manage this company during an unprecedented time. Whilst there are challenges ahead, I believe these efforts have positioned us for great success in the future and we are all looking forward to continuing to welcome our customers to the best place to watch a movie,” Greidinger added.
However, despite the growth, the company also hedged its bets when it came to forecasts, saying that forward looking statements “involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events, and depend upon circumstances that will occur in the future and therefore results and developments can differ materially from those anticipated.”
“Nothing in this announcement should be construed as a profit forecast,” Cineworld said.
In their last financial results filed in August, Cineworld had recorded an operating loss of $209 million in its interim financial results for the six-month period ended June 30, 2021. The group’s results for the period included a period of temporary closures from January to May 2021 due to COVID-19 restrictions and a limited film slate.
Cineworld is the second largest cinema exhibitor in the world with operations in 10 countries including the U.S. and the U.K. and 752 sites and 9,193 screens globally.
