igh-end cinema chain Everyman’s revenue and profits fell in the first half of the year, but it said the joint releases of Barbie and Oppenheimer on 21 July boosted sales and shows “cinema remains as relevant as ever”.
The cinema – known for its comfortable seats and food options like pizza and hot honey halloumi – brought in revenue of £38.3 million in the six months to 30 June, down slightly from 2022. Profit, meanwhile, fell by 22.7% to £5.8 million.
But things pickwed up in July, which the business put down to ‘Barbenheimer’, which drove a record week for admissions. Revenue for the month came to £10.6 million, while profit doubled July 2022’s total at £2.6 million.
With those figures included, revenue for the first seven months of the year is up slightly and profit close to flat.
CEO Alex Scrimgeour said: “Everyman remains an affordable and popular choice for consumers. The record week of admissions we saw in July demonstrates both the value of original content, and the fact that cinema remains as relevant as ever. Alongside this, we continue to see increasing demand for our high-quality food and beverage offering. The all-encompassing Everyman experience leaves us very well placed to satisfy consumer demand for premium entertainment.
None of what we do would be possible without the incredible Everyman team both in our venues and head office. I would like to take this opportunity to thank them all for their hard work and willingness to go that extra mile for our customers. We have added three carefully selected new venues to our estate and we look forward to building on the significant momentum we have seen in July and August.”
Everyman has been a success at a time when many market leaders in the cinema sector are struggling, as those who to go out to watch a film are opting for more of a luxury experience. Cineworld emerged from bankruptcy protection earlier this month, but only after its shareholders were wiped out. Odeon revealed in accounts filed last week that customer numbers were still “significantly” below pre-pandemic levels in 2022.