Odeon and UCI chains hoping for blockbusters boost

Odeon & UCI Cinemas Group is banking on a raft of blockbuster movies to help boost box office takings after reporting an “encouraging” start to 2015.

Cinema blockbusters including The Theory of Everything helped boost ticket sales for the Odeon & UCI Cinemas Group. Picture: Contributed

The firm posted a 12.2 per cent rise in paid attendance during the first quarter, well ahead of market growth, and pointed to particularly strong performances in the UK, Germany and Italy – driven by the likes of Fifty Shades of Grey and The Theory of Everything. Revenues in Q1 topped £183.9m, up from £163.3m a year earlier.

It said a strong pipeline of films for the remainder of the year, including Jurassic World, the new Bond film Spectre and the latest Star Wars movie, would provide “positive momentum and growth”.

Group chief executive Paul Donovan said: “We have had an encouraging start to 2015 – outperforming the growing market as a result of the strategic actions that we are taking. The outlook for the rest of the year remains positive.”