Vue, the cinema chain, reported a loss of over £90m last year, despite the success of films such as Inside Out 2 and Deadpool & Wolverine.
The company posted a pre-tax loss of £91.8m for the 12 months to 30 November 2024, following a loss of £73.7m in the previous year, as reported by .
This follows a series of annual losses, with Vue reporting pre-tax losses of £253m in 2022, £228.4m in 2021, £413.4m in 2020 and £52.8m in 2019.
Based in Jersey, the chain also reported a revenue of £737.9m for its latest financial year, down from £759m, according to new accounts filed with Companies House.
By the end of its financial year, Vue was operating 224 cinemas across the º£½ÇÊÓƵ, Italy, Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Ireland and Lithuania, one less than the previous year. Its Taiwan operations were sold at the beginning of 2024.
Box office revenue fell from £418.9m to £401m as admissions dropped from 72.3m to 70.1m. Concession sales decreased from £236.3m to £232.5m, while screen advertising revenue dipped from £28.7m to £28m.
Despite these figures, Vue stated that its revenue performance was "ahead of expectations, although lower than the prior year due to a decrease in market size across all territories."
The decline was partially offset by the strong performance of Inside Out 2 and Deadpool & Wolverine.
In a report by City AM in November 2024, it was revealed that Vue's sales did not see an uplift from releases such as Wonka, Kung Fu Panda 4, and Dune: Part 2 during the first half of its financial year, while its earnings took a significant hit.
A statement endorsed by the board read: "Despite film production resuming in early 2024 following the Hollywood SAG-AFTRA actors strike (which halted film production for six months from July 2023 to December 2023), the impact of the strike has been at its most material in 202 and into 2025 due to a lower number of completed films being available for theatrical release."
"Accordingly, in Q1 FY24 the group undertook a further restructuring process with its external lenders to enhance liquidity, reduce its senior loans and enhance its capital structure."
The cinema chain incurred costs amounting to £8.6m over the year, predominantly associated with its financial restructuring efforts.
Vue eyes 'very positive' future
Looking ahead with optimism, Vue commented on its future prospects: "FY25 has started very strongly with key titles including Wicked, Moana 2, Mufasa: The Lion King, Sonic The Hedgehog 3 and Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy all driving significant admissions."
Anticipated highlights for Q2 FY25 include major releases like Minecraft, Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning and Disney's Snow White.
The third quarter of FY25 is set to be particularly robust for Vue, with expectations high for Jurassic World; Rebirth, Fantastic Four: The First Steps, How To Train Your Dragon, Superman: Legacy, and a slate of other strong supporting films.
"The disruption to film production caused by the Hollywood strikes of 2023 is expected to have unwound by the end of FY25 and the outlook for FY26 is very positive with Avatar 3, Wicked 2 and Zootropolis 2 all scheduled to be released in December 2025, driving a very strong start to FY26."
Founded in 1999 under the initial name Spean Bridge Cinemas, Vue was born from the entrepreneurial efforts of Stewart Blair, an ex-executive of United Artists Theatres, and Tim Richards, who previously held an executive position at Warner Bros. International Theatres.
The current CEO of Vue, Tim Richards, has been recognised for his contributions to the industry and was honoured with a CBE on the King's New Year Honours List.
