Advertisement
UK markets close in 6 hours 34 minutes
  • FTSE 100

    7,718.10
    -4.45 (-0.06%)
     
  • FTSE 250

    19,445.35
    -41.18 (-0.21%)
     
  • AIM

    736.18
    -0.45 (-0.06%)
     
  • GBP/EUR

    1.1687
    -0.0017 (-0.15%)
     
  • GBP/USD

    1.2669
    -0.0060 (-0.47%)
     
  • Bitcoin GBP

    50,594.48
    -2,943.97 (-5.50%)
     
  • CMC Crypto 200

    885.54
    0.00 (0.00%)
     
  • S&P 500

    5,149.42
    +32.33 (+0.63%)
     
  • DOW

    38,790.43
    +75.63 (+0.20%)
     
  • CRUDE OIL

    82.63
    -0.09 (-0.11%)
     
  • GOLD FUTURES

    2,155.90
    -8.40 (-0.39%)
     
  • NIKKEI 225

    40,003.60
    +263.20 (+0.66%)
     
  • HANG SENG

    16,529.48
    -207.62 (-1.24%)
     
  • DAX

    17,955.94
    +23.26 (+0.13%)
     
  • CAC 40

    8,162.27
    +14.13 (+0.17%)
     

FTSE: Cineworld plunges almost 60% as lack of blockbusters bites

Cineworld has warned that a lack of blockbuster will affect sales
Cineworld woes: Tom Cruise’s Top Gun: Maverick, was one of the few major releases in the first half of 2022. It made £65.3m in the UK in June alone, and its worldwide gross has topped £1bn to date. Photo: PA

Cineworld (CINE.L) fell to its lowest level ever on Wednesday, slumping as much as 61% on the day as it warned that a lack of blockbusters will dent sales.

The cinema chain said on Wednesday that the company could also be forced into a rescue deal as recent admission levels proved disappointing.

Reduced ticket sales are expected to continue until November, the company admitted, and it is now in discussions with shareholders over a potential restructuring deal.

Any rescue deal "will likely result in very significant dilution of existing equity interests in Cineworld,” the firm said.

Read more: UK inflation hits 10.1% as food prices hit 40-year high

ADVERTISEMENT

It comes as a number of DC films including The Flash and Aquaman 2 have been pushed back to 2023 due to COVID production delays. Avatar: The Way of Water is also not set to premier until December this year after COVID-related issues delayed its release by over a year.

However, Tom Cruise’s Top Gun: Maverick, was one of the few major releases in the first half of 2022. It made £65.3m ($78.65m) in the UK in June alone, and its worldwide gross has topped £1bn to date.

Shares were trading around 8p after the news, down 75% year-to-date, and 97% lower than in 2019.

Cineworld is the world’s second largest cinema chain, and also owns the Picturehouse cinema chain in the UK and the Regal chain in the US. It now has a market capitalisation of just £113m.

The firm has been struggling under a huge $8.4bn (£6.9bn) debt pile, which was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the closure of cinemas around the world.

It has also been hit by the success of streaming platforms, with new releases sometimes heading straight online instead of onto the big screen.

Losses hit $3bn in 2020, and $576m in the first six months of last year.

The group was previously ordered to pay Canadian rival Cineplex more than £700m in damages for abandoning a planned takeover.

It was taken to court after it pulled out of a 2019 deal which would have seen it become North America’s biggest cinema operator.

Read more: Crypto slides as Michael Burry predicts tech stocks crash

The Canadian court ruling denied Cineworld’s counterclaim, citing breaches in the merger agreement. A legal fight over the damages is ongoing.

Cineworld has more than 9,000 screens globally, and operates in 10 countries including the United States and the United Kingdom.

It admitted around 95 million movie-goers in 2021, up 75% compared to 2020, but well below the 275 million seen before the pandemic.

Watch: How to save money on a low income