Another cinema chain going down the pan

ianh said:
I think this summer will have at least 3 "billion dollar" films (we've had one already) so has the harm already been done to all of the cinema chains by now?
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Which ones?

1. Inside Out 2 (?)
2. Deadpool & Wolverine
3. ?????

I was looking at movie trailers earlier and there is absolutely nothing I’m interested in other than Deadpool.
 
@Stu999 Potentially, and only based on the previous films $1.1 billion dollar box office - Joker 2 in October - but I know it's a tough sell if its as much of a "musical" as is being made out and its one of those that could be an utter flop or a billion dollars, I just can't tell right now.
 
I agree with stream delay, some films are still showing in screens when it hits streaming, but interestingly a lot of the "nostalgia" films have been very popular. Running a cinema must be very expensive with the energy use to keep the rooms at temperature and the projectors running, the leases on site will have escalated with inflation and minimum wage hikes affecting staff levels I'm not surprised that sites have to close.

Bedford will be mothballed. That site was dead before Cineworld took over and only recently got new paint and surround sound (yes it's that dated, refurbed in lockdown). They had planned to take over the unit next door and increase to 9 screens but VUE in the town centre killed the expansion plan, it did get busier when the university expanded but the town isn't big enough for 2 cinemas and I suspect those will be the first to go.
 
Despicable Me 4 could easily do $1bn+.

There's 2 Cineworld in Aberdeen, the one in Union Square and the one at the beach. The beach one is nearly always dead, has free parking and the screens are better set up so my go to, but I suspect it might get canned. They were talking about even putting in an iMax there a couple of years ago.
 
smilertoo said:
The only way to save Cinema would be to bring back the old release delay, no TV or Video for a year+.
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Certainly less and less appeal going anymore.
The local odeon multiplex cinema and shopping centre is scheduled to be knocked down at some point. That will be the end of cinema for me.
It offered free parking and 5 pounds tickets.
 
Haze said:
You dont think cost is an issue? In the paper the other day for a Family of 4 + snacks and drinks, was crazy expensive.... But then i think food should be banned in the cinema
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Cost is only an issue when you compare the full price on display the same as theme parks and chain restaurants. There's 2 for 1 tickets during the week, discounted screenings, voucher codes, family offers and some screens are considerably cheaper when there's competition of another cinema nearby. I've seen couples easily rack up a £50 bill just to ignore a film while my average ticket price and a can of soft drink is currently at £3 a film. One of the reasons I don't usually buy a drink at the cinema is because the queue is too long!
 
Bad News - Cineworld to close 25 of their 100 cinema chains in the UK imminently with another additional 50 to renegotiate their rent as part of their restructuring process. It's understandable they want to downsize but if they close off in the wrong areas that could kill it imo.

I have had my membership for almost 30 years since the virgin cinema days. It will be a real shame to see it go. :(

news.sky.com

Cineworld to axe hundreds of jobs in blockbuster restructuring plan

The cinema operator will confirm a restructuring plan on Friday which would lead to the immediate closure of roughly half a dozen sites across the UK, Sky News learns.
news.sky.com news.sky.com

Here a list of the confirm closures so far.

Glasgow Parkhead
Bedford
Hinckley
Loughborough
Yate
Swindon Circus
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www.digitalspy.com

Cineworld confirms 6 cinemas closing in the UK

The closures were announced today (July 26).
www.digitalspy.com www.digitalspy.com

UK Cineworld locations at risk

1. Cineworld Queens Links, Aberdeen
2. Cineworld Union Square, Aberdeen
3. Cineworld Aldershot
4. Cineworld Ashford
5. Cineworld Ashton-under-Lyne
6. Cineworld Barnsley
7. Cineworld Basildon
8. Cineworld Bedford
9. Cineworld Belfast
10. Cineworld Broad Street, Birmingham
11. Cineworld NEC, Birmingham
12. Cineworld Boldon Tyne and Wear
13. Cineworld Bolton
14. Cineworld Bracknell
15. Cineworld Bradford
16. Cineworld Braintree
17. Cineworld Brighton
18. Cineworld Broughton
19. Cineworld Burton upon Trent
20. Cineworld Bury St Edmunds
21. Cineworld Cardiff
22. Cineworld Castleford
23. Cineworld Cheltenham
24. Cineworld Chesterfield
25. Cineworld Chichester
26. Cineworld Crawley
27. Cineworld Dalton Park
28. Cineworld Didcot
29. Cineworld Didsbury
30. Cineworld Dover
31. Cineworld Dublin
32. Cineworld Dundee
33. Cineworld Eastbourne
34. Cineworld Edinburgh
35. Cineworld Ely
36. Cineworld Falkirk
37. Cineworld Parkhead, Glasgow
38. Cineworld Renfrew Street, Glasgow
39. Cineworld Silverburn, Glasgow
40. Cineworld Gloucester Quays
41. Cineworld Harlow - Harvey Centre
42. Cineworld Harlow - Queensgate
43. Cineworld Haverhill
44. Cineworld Hemel Hempstead
45. Cineworld High Wycombe
46. Cineworld Hinckley
47. Cineworld Hull
48. Cineworld Huntingdon
49. Cineworld Ipswich
50. Cineworld Leeds
51. Cineworld Leigh
52. Cineworld Llandudno
53. Cineworld Bexleyheath, London
54. Cineworld Enfield, London
55. Cineworld Feltham, London
56. Cineworld Hounslow, London
57. Cineworld Ilford, London
58. Cineworld Leicester Square, London
59. Cineworld South Ruislip, London
60. Cineworld The O2 Greenwich, London
61. Cineworld Wandsworth, London
62. Cineworld Wembley, London
63. Cineworld West India Quay, London
64. Cineworld Wood Green, London
65. Cineworld Loughborough
66. Cineworld Luton
67. Cineworld Middlesbrough
68. Cineworld Milton Keynes
69. Cineworld Newcastle upon Tyne
70. Cineworld Isle of Wight, Newport
71. Cineworld Spytty Park, Newport
72. Cineworld Northampton
73. Cineworld Nottingham
74. Cineworld Plymouth
75. Cineworld Poole
76. Cineworld Rochester
77. Cineworld Rugby
78. Cineworld Rushden Lakes
79. Cineworld Sheffield
80. Cineworld Shrewsbury
81. Cineworld Solihull
82. Cineworld Speke
83. Cineworld Stevenage
84. Cineworld St Helens
85. Cineworld St Neots
86. Cineworld Stoke-on-Trent
87. Cineworld Regent Circus, Swindon
88. Cineworld Shaw Ridge, Swindon
89. Cineworld Telford
90. Cineworld Wakefield
91. Cineworld Warrington
92. Cineworld Watford
93. Cineworld Weston-super-Mare
94. Cineworld Weymouth
95. Cineworld Whiteley
96. Cineworld Witney
97. Cineworld Wolverhampton
98. Cineworld Yate
99. Cineworld Yeovil
100. Cineworld York
 
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Is that not basically all their cinemas?

The Aberdeen Queen's Link cinema seems to be a likely candidate even though it's better than Union Square, other that it being a bit out of the town centre. Union Square is always fairly busy so no way will they close that.
 
Bedford is no surprise, the leisure park it's on lost bowling 15 years ago which became bingo, laser tag 25 years ago still empty, 2 other restaurant units empty for over 20 years and the other downstairs units were transformed to a gym. When the university expanded it saw business pick up but then Vue parked a brand new facility in the centre of town which basically killed off any visitors unless they needed to park. It's a more traditional cinema with sloped floors rather than tiered seating and they did have plans to expand and refurbish before the town granted planning for the 2nd cinema.

Loughborough and Hinckley I'm surprised at because those are in new purpose built facilities, probably with extortionate rent escalation as the article mentions that other sites are being negotiated back down to "market value".

Overall I don't have much sympathy for the chain, they tried to buy out their competition at extortionate prices all on borrowed cash and had no protection during covid to repay the loans with no assets. These types of deals should not be allowed.
 
Jokester said:
Is that not basically all their cinemas?

The Aberdeen Queen's Link cinema seems to be a likely candidate even though it's better than Union Square, other that it being a bit out of the town centre. Union Square is always fairly busy so no way will they close that.
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No allegedly there going to be 25 of them to stay as is. Which 25 we dont know but if i had to guess it will most likely be the busiest most profitable ones in big cities. In Scotland there really only 2 that fit that critera but i hope the local one from mine (which isnt considered a big city) wont close down.
 
I've worked in smaller independent cinema for a long time. For what its worth, I dont think cinema is going away, it's just in a period of flux. As are other forms of entertainment; who's buying music now, no one, but they will drop £100+ to go to a concert. People want to go out. The problem we face as an industry, is that we don't get to control what gets made, and to be fair Q2 was pretty poor. But things are looking a lot better for the rest of the year, and thoughout next year. I guess good films are like busses...

Cinema is in flux and I don't know where it will end up, but it will be around. If people are still going to the theatre, and to opera, and to whatever other form of entertainment you can think of that feels antiquated, then there will always be a place for cinema. People want to go out, not everyone, and may be not all the time - or as much as they wish they could afford - but they do want to do something. They want to see a film and chat about it with their friends over drinks; they want to see the look on their kid's faces when they see Cars 7 on the biggest screen they've ever seen (In Cars 7, Lightning has to beat Count Draculcar to win the Transylania 5000 race to the save the world, or whatever - it's dumb and your kids will love it); and they want to see that film they've been patiently waiting for for the last year as soon as they can. Streaming and cinema can cooexist, just like spotify and live music can cooexist.

I think there is also some over saturation. I'm not in the most densly popluated area and I can drive 15-20 minutes in any direction and get to big multiplexes, which I see as more of a business miscalculation than cinema itself being in danger. Some sites will close and people will drive they extra 5-10 minutes. Some modernisation needs to happen, but I think the idea that every cinema needs a balling imax/dolby vision £1mil per screen upgrade is just not true, in my opinion. I love the bells and whistles, but most people cannot tell, or simply do not care. I used to think they would, but a long time ago we had a staff only showing of a film one night, and the brand new print (yes, print) had a massive scratch down the middle of the lead actor's face during a pivotal, close up monologue. When I asked everyone at they end, not a single person had noticed, that's when I realised I wasn't in the majority. On the flip side, though, the one thing that home cinema can't replicate is the feeling of the room, the volume changes how it feels. I watched the trailer for Twisters recently; on my PC it looked fine, when I checked it out on screen in the theatre it felt completely different. Not every film needs to feel like that, but I think its an underestimated thing.

If you haven't been to the cinema in years, that's fine, hopefully you see something come along in the future that gets you out. We have regulars, and we have people who haven't been in years; we just try to give them all a good time. I wish it felt more affordable; we are seeing the same price increases, interest rate rises, etc, as you so as an industry there unlikely to be a downward trend in prices. But as we all wait for the economy to right itself, we are trying to make the experience as worth it as we can.
 
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