Blockbuster sales at cinema

Published on Thursday 2 July 2009 10:09

BLOCKBUSTERS including Slumdog Millionaire, Wolverine and Terminator Salvation drove half-year box office sales up by 17.9 per cent at Cineworld, the group said.

The UK's second biggest cinema chain, which operates the cinema at Fountain Park, reported back on a "healthy" first half thanks to the strong line-up of films, with director Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire becoming the unexpected hit of the year so far, grossing more than 31 million in the UK and Ireland.

Cineworld said trading in its core business was ahead of forecasts, but added this was partially offset by a "softening" in advertising income and higher utility bills.

Total pro-forma revenues rose around 12.2 per cent in the past 26 weeks, with comparable sales up 10.6 per cent.