Barbie and Oppenheimer too late to stop Everyman falling to a first-half loss

First-half losses at Everyman Media Group soared more than fivefold following a weaker slate of major film releases and the costs of new venue launches.

Britain’s fourth-largest cinema operator reported a £4.3million loss for the six months ending June, against a £798,000 loss in the equivalent period last year.

It suffered the double whammy of an annual comparison with blockbuster releases in the first half of last year and from this year’s two big films, Barbie and Oppenheimer, arriving later in summer.

The company noted that costs were primarily pushed up by salary hikes and the opening of new sites in Salisbury, Plymouth and Northallerton in Yorkshire.

Turkey: Everyman Media Group reported a £4.3million loss for the six months ending June

In addition, although average cinemagoers spent more on tickets, food and drinks, falling admissions led to the firm’s turnover declining by £2.4million to £38.3million, which it blamed on the timing of big box-office movie screenings. 

In the opening half of 2022, new releases included superhero movie The Batman, Kenneth Branagh drama Belfast and the long-awaited sequel Top Gun: Maverick.

By comparison, some of the most popular films this year only came out during the mid-summer, notably Barbie and Oppenheimer.

Many Britons have taken part in the ‘Barbenheimer’ phenomenon, viewing the two movies consecutively and helping Everyman achieve a record week of admissions in July and bumper trading last month.

Consequently, the company’s turnover between the beginning of 2023 and the end of August was £60.2million, a 13.3 per cent increase on the previous year.

Alex Scrimgeour, the firm’s chief executive, said: ‘Everyman’s strong year-to-date performance underpins our confidence in meeting market expectations for the full year, whilst equally demonstrating that the UK cinema sector is as vibrant as ever.

‘We remain confident in our prospects as we continue to be supported by a slate of high-quality second half releases, a carefully expanded estate and new banking facilities which ensure we are well configured to take advantage of future opportunities.’

Upcoming blockbusters include the fantasy musical Wonka and the epic historical drama Napoleon, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Oscar-winning actor Joaquin Phoenix as the titular French emperor. 

The sci-fi sequel Dune: Part Two was previously due to come out later this year but has been delayed into 2024 because of the labour disputes affecting Hollywood.

Yet Everyman expects to do very well from the screening of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour concert film next month, which broke first-day presale records for distributor AMC in the United States.

Everyman Media Group shares were flat at 55.5p on late Wednesday afternoon and have slumped by approximately three-quarters over the past three years.

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk