James Bond Spectre boost for Cineworld

Daniel Craig is set to return as James Bond in Spectre, co-starring Monica Bellucci, providing a lift for Cineworld. Picture: Getty

Takings at Cineworld are tipped to get a second-half boost from a flurry of blockbuster releases including the new James Bond movie, Spectre.

Analysts at Barclays have predicted that box office admissions will be up 3 per cent for 2015, due to the number of big films that have been released or that are coming out before the end of the year.

Cineworld is expected to report a solid set of interim results this Thursday but is likely to get a further boost from the forthcoming Bond release and Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

In March, the group, which has more than 100 sites under the Cineworld and Picturehouse brands, reported that annual profits beat expectations, jumping 73 per cent to £75 million driven by the acquisition of rival Cinema City. Peel Hunt believes 2015 first-half earnings, excluding interest write-offs and one-offs, will come in at some £60m.