Cineworld, the world’s second biggest cinema chain, said admissions fell in the first half of the year, as the box-office hit Avengers: Endgame failed to make up for a weaker overall line up of films.
The company reported a fall of more than 14% in cinema-going in the first half, from 158.8m to 136m year-on-year.
The drop in admissions meant the chain, which became the world’s second largest by number of screens after its $3.6bn (£2.95bn) takeover of the US movie theatre group Regal last year, also reported a significant fall in first-half revenues and profits.
Revenues fell 11% to $2.1bn and pre-tax profits dropped almost 13% to $140m.
The company said it expected the weaker performance because the three biggest films of 2018 – Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom – were all released in the first half making for a tough year-on-year comparison.
Anthony Bloom, the chair of Cineworld, said: “As expected, revenue was softer on a comparative basis for the first half of the year due to the difference in timing of major releases.”
Despite the release of Avengers: Endgame, the biggest grossing film of all time, this year’s first half slate, which included Captain Marvel and Aladdin, did not provide quite the same overall box-office pull.
Attendance has been hampered by misfiring sequels including Men in Black: International, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, and The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part.
Cineworld is hoping that the release of the new Star Wars and Frozen films would boost admissions in the second half of the year, and said a stronger line up of films meant it was confident it would hit its financial forecasts for the full year.
The Cineworld chief, Mooky Greidinger, said: “Supported by a strong box office performance in July and a very encouraging second half release schedule, we maintain our outlook for the full year.
“Very strong admissions for The Lion King demonstrated the ongoing popularity of the theatrical business around the globe. Still to come are It: Chapter Two, Joker, Frozen 2, and one of the most anticipated movies in recent years, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.”
