Fewer film releases have hit UK cinemas, the head of one of the UK’s biggest cinema chains has told Sky News.
“Our issue is a supply issue, our issue is not enough movies,” the chief executive of Vue International, Tim Richards, said.
“We know the numbers: 36% fewer films released last year, 20% fewer films released this year.”
The post-COVID-19 cinema recovery has taken years longer than expected, Mr Richards said. “We’re still significantly down [compared] to before pre-pandemic run rates, and that’s now going on four years.”
This is because of a lack of films, he added. “After the pandemic we just didn’t have the movies for [audiences] to see. And now that they’re back, our customers are back with us.”
The stakes are high. With the Hollywood actors’ strike and writers’ walkout happening at the same time, the UK cinema industry is not out of the darkness, Mr Richards said.
The latest strikes are different, he said, compared to previous Writers Guild walkouts in 2007 and 2008 which lasted 100 days. That industrial action was not really felt as the studios managed to release films, Mr Richards said.
“This time feels a little bit different, if it goes for a longer period of time then we might feel the impact of it.”
“I mean, it’s been 40 years since their last strike and 60 years since both writers and SAG-AFTRA [Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists] were on strike together.”
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Robbie and Gosling on Barbie ‘absurdity’
Overall, however, it’s been an amazing summer with an incredible selection of movies, Mr Richards said.
The impact of the so-called Barbenheimer – an amalgamation of the Barbie and Oppenheimer film titles – led to the biggest weekend of cinema-going since before the pandemic.
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Advance bookings at Vue cinemas were the largest since the 2019 release of Avengers Endgame, Mr Richards said.
Nearly a fifth (23%) of Vue customers booked to see both movies at the same time, he added.
“I don’t think anyone saw that coming.”
“It just really goes to show that when the movies are out there, our customers are desperate to come out and be entertained on a big screen.”
Mr Richards said the era of companies like Netflix and Disney+ having a negative effect on cinema viewing is over. “Streaming services have their day in the sun and that’s come and gone.”