Thousands of people will this weekend sit down at a Vue multiplex to watch Ridley Scott’s highly anticipated blockbuster sequel Gladiator II.
There’s a lot riding on the movie. Overall ticket sales across UK and Ireland cinemas were down 8 per cent at £830 million in the year to September, analysis of industry-circulated figures shows. The takings relate to approximately 81 per cent of the cinemas in the UK. The remaining 19 per cent are not collated.
The downturn comes at a time when the industry was supposed to be recovering from the devastating effects of the pandemic.
Figures also reveal that Vue has leapfrogged larger rivals Cineworld and Odeon for the first time. Its annual ticket sales were £206 million, compared with £199