Cineworld Share Discussion Threads

[john09] 30/7/2021 07:04

this raises more cash than I have hot dinners

[millenniallnvestor] 29/7/2021 14:55

Cineword endgame, even if iron man sells his apartment, wouldn't cover the debt.

[lthtrust] 29/7/2021 11:37

Avengers endgame! It looks like the start of Cineworld's endgame to me. The half yearly update on August 12th will be interesting.

[bbmsionlypostafter] 29/7/2021 11:04

The Chilling Thing Disney’s “Black Widow” Said about the Future of Movie Theater Chains
by Wolf Richter • Jul 12, 2021 • 180 Comments

Opening weekend ticket sales in 98th place, but streaming revenues hit it out of the ballpark.


Some of the headlines about “Black Widow,” the Marvel movie that opened over the weekend, were quite a show. If “record” was mentioned without “pandemic̶1; as qualifier, they lied. What the box office data did show is how difficult it now is for brick-and-mortar theaters to bring in the money, and just how much of a killing Disney, which owns Marvel, made by streaming the movie simultaneously over the weekend on Disney+.

During its opening weekend, Black Widow brought in $80 million at box office ticket sales in North America. This was only a “record” for any movie since March 2020, a “pandemic record,” so to speak.

But these ticket sales lagged far behind the actual records set during opening weekends by other movies. According to movie data tracker, The Numbers, those ticket sales were in 98th place!

And they were 78% lower than the record debut weekend for a movie, “Avengers: Endgame,” which premiered in April 2019 and grossed $357 million at theaters in North America during the first weekend.

The brutal reality for brick-and-mortar theaters now:

“Avengers: Endgame” played in 4,662 theaters the weekend it premiered; on average each theater grossed $76,601.
“Black Widow” played in 4,160 theaters over the weekend; on average each theater grossed $19,231. That’s what this “record” means for movie theater chains.
This 98th place does not include the impact of rising ticket prices. A lot of the movies that beat “Black Widow” debuted many years ago, when ticket prices were a lot lower, and it took a lot more tickets to get there, including “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” which opened in November 2001 and grossed $90 million. At the time, the average ticket price was $5.66, compared to $9.16 in 2019.

Walt Disney disclosed the other fascinating thing about the plight of brick-and-mortar movie theaters: It had raked in $60 million from streaming “Black Widow” over the weekend on Disney+, for $29.99 per home, on top of the monthly subscription fee, no theaters involved.

Disney gets a cut of maybe less than 50% of the $80 million in box office ticket sales. But it gets 100% of the $60 million it took in via Disney+.

This was the first time that Disney disclosed this type of streaming data since it launched Disney+ in November 2019 – and it shows the very chilling prospects for brick-and-mortar theaters.

What changed during the pandemic was Disney’s decision to release movies simultaneously in movie theaters and on Disney+.

So now, some people can go to a theater to watch a movie when it premiers and make an event out of it; others can watch the movie at home when it premiers, the whole family for $29.99, which cheap soda and popcorn thrown in on top.

If studios had tried before the Pandemic to release a movie simultaneously in theaters and on their streaming channel, thereby breaking the theatrical window, it would have caused theater chains to boycott the release, which would have been the end of that story.

But the power relationship between studios and theater chains has changed forever. And studios have their own streaming services. If theater chains try to boycott a movie, so be it; they will just push more people to the streaming service.

This has effectively broken the three-month monopoly that the “theatrical window” – the time between a movie’s release in theaters and its release on other channels – gave to theaters. During those three months, consumers didn’t have a choice (other than a bootleg copy): If they wanted to watch the movie, they had to go to the theater. That three-month monopoly was never designed to benefit consumers, but to benefit movie theaters.

Now movie theaters have to compete with streaming from day one, and consumers have a choice. And consumers are deciding: Some still go to the movies and make an event out of it, but lots of others watch it at home. And this changes the equation of just how many brick-and-mortar movie theaters are needed, and what they can do to survive with the theatrical window broken, the monopoly gone, and choices for consumers wide open.

[millenniallnvestor] 28/7/2021 16:27

Cine doesn't choose what films it can show, and cine doesn't choose when its debt needs to be paid.

[superspoons1] 28/7/2021 14:40

I think its worth pointing out that back in July 2019, the films released that month were as follows - hxxps://www.moviefone.com/movies/2019/july/

compared to what was released July 2021 - hxxps://www.moviefone.com/movies/2021/july/

Hardly surprising the US Box office was less than half given the product on offer - the studios are still paying catch-up but have some big films in the tin already - 007 for instance.

Time will tell, but I for one am happy to wait.

[srpactive] 28/7/2021 14:40

MI

You really are being very silly now, what seems to be your problem?

I have said many times all views welcome positive or negative.

dyor

active

[millenniallnvestor] 28/7/2021 14:26

Thanks for the update and figures LTH, im sure srp will say that it will go through the roof on August 16th.

[lthtrust] 28/7/2021 14:18

Total US box office for the weekend July 23-25 is currently just $70,462,234. This is less than half of the 2019 $162,868,014 US box off total for the 2019 July 26-28 weekend. source boxofficemojo.

[millenniallnvestor] 28/7/2021 13:56

Let's not rule out that this could slog to lower depths srp...

[srpactive] 28/7/2021 10:47

Boris saying Aug 16 is the day double jabbed do
not need to self isolate and is nailed on.
That is when I feel the viewing figures for the
entertainment industry could start to improve.

Hopefully a grind higher now.

dyor

active

[srpactive] 28/7/2021 10:31

L

One step at a time, if we can close above 67p for starters
it would be a start.

dyor

[lostabillion] 28/7/2021 10:27

Come on CINE, 80p please.

[babbler] 28/7/2021 10:01

What is the population of this country and what is 715 as a percentage of that. Tragic as it may be that its above 0...

[peteret] 28/7/2021 09:58

68.6Quick shorters sell sell before it's to late

[chiefbrody] 27/7/2021 20:13

And he'll probably be saying the same next year.Remember, it's about more than just Covid.

[millenniallnvestor] 27/7/2021 13:46

Correct me but I think he also said that last year around october time too!

[chiefbrody] 27/7/2021 13:22

That nutter Ferguson is saying its behind us come Oct. Not over.Then theres the whinging NHS moaning about something new every other day.Until the doomsters can be put back in their box, it'll take a long time for anything to recover to pre Covid levels.And if Boris gets his way with Covid Passports......One for the brave this.

[srpactive] 27/7/2021 11:52

Tickling the 67p again, fingers crossed for a break through higher.

dyor

[srpactive] 27/7/2021 10:48

Yes, science chap Mr Ferguson states all over by October,
hopefully so for a record breaking Christmas viewing and
better for all the at risk people.

dyor

[millenniallnvestor] 27/7/2021 10:42

715 people on ventilators @ 23rd July

More people going to hospital, not looking good.

[srpactive] 27/7/2021 10:16

Yes the balance sheet needs to be addressed, but I feel they will
do this once the viewing figures and revenues pick up.

We shall see, good posts all.

dyor

[millenniallnvestor] 27/7/2021 10:09

It needs more than a meme miracle lol

Cineworld need to stumble across a chest of £8 billion in treasure and pawn it

[williamcooper104] 27/7/2021 09:37

And with no deep/liquid options market it can't get a meme miracle bounce