Barbie and Oppenheimer are too late to prevent Everyman from losing in the first half
- The London-based cinema chain earned £4.3 million for the six months ending in June
- Falling ticket purchases led to revenues falling by around £2.4m to £38.3m
- Everyman has benefited greatly from the release of Barbie and Oppenheimer
First-half losses at Everyman Media Group rose more than fivefold due to a weaker slate of major film releases and the costs of launching new locations.
Britain’s fourth-largest cinema operator reported a loss of £4.3 million for the six months ending in June, down from a loss of £798,000 in the same period last year.
It suffered the double whammy of an annual comparison with blockbuster releases in the first half of last year and with this year’s two big films, Barbie and Oppenheimer, due later in the summer.
The company noted that costs were driven up mainly by salary increases and the opening of new sites in Salisbury, Plymouth and Northallerton in Yorkshire.
Turkey: Everyman Media Group reported a loss of £4.3 million for the six months ended June
Although the average cinemagoer spent more on tickets, food and drink, falling attendances led to the company’s turnover falling by £2.4 million to £38.3 million, which was due to the timing of major cinema screenings.
The first half of 2022 includes the superhero film The Batman, the Kenneth Branagh drama Belfast and the highly anticipated sequel Top Gun: Maverick.
By comparison, some of this year’s most popular movies didn’t come out until mid-summer, most notably Barbie and Oppenheimer.
Many Britons have taken part in the ‘Barbenheimer’ phenomenon, watching the two films back-to-back and helping Everyman achieve a record week of attendance in July and record sales last month.
Consequently, the company’s turnover between the start of 2023 and the end of August was £60.2 million, an increase of 13.3 percent on the previous year.
Alex Scrimgeour, the company’s CEO, said: ‘Everyman’s strong performance to date supports our confidence in meeting market expectations for the full year, while demonstrating that the UK cinema sector is as vibrant as ever.
‘We remain confident in our prospects as we continue to be supported by a range of high quality publications in the second half of the year, a carefully expanded estate and new banking facilities that ensure we are well prepared to take advantage of future chances.’
Upcoming blockbusters include the fantasy musical Wonka and the epic historical drama Napoleon, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Oscar-winning actor Joaquin Phoenix as the titular French Emperor.
The sci-fi sequel Dune: Part Two was previously scheduled for release later this year, but has been pushed back to 2024 due to the labor disputes facing Hollywood.
Still, Everyman expects to do very well at the screening of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour concert film next month, which broke pre-sales records for distributor AMC in the United States on its first day.
Everyman Media Group shares were steady at 55.5 cents late Wednesday afternoon and have fallen by about three-quarters over the past three years.