Advanced Television

james bond

MGM for sale

MGM (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer), the legendary Hollywood film studio home to the likes of the James Bond and Rocky franchises, is up for sale with a reported asking price of around $5.5 billion (€4.5bn). MGM Holdings has hired investment banks to find a buyer as the streaming boom sees platform owners bid fiercely for film and television […]

December 23, 2020

Forecast: Cinema to see rapid return in APAC; but not W. Europe

Ampere Analysis has published revised forecasts for global box office revenues in 2020, now just 25 per cent of the original estimate made in January, showing the devastating effect of coronavirus on the sector. At the start of 2020, Ampere forecast annual gross box office revenue of $44.5 billion (€37.1bn) globally, a stark contrast to […]

November 30, 2020

IMAX still hurting, but optimistic

Giant screen cinema operator IMAX recorded its highest-ever losses for its Q3 trading. They were brought about because of its Covid-impacted revenues which plummeted to $37.3 million from $86.4 million in the same period in 2019. But the revenues could have been worse. Asian revenues, where the Covid restrictions had been relaxed, helped boost income […]

November 2, 2020By Chris Forrester

Cinemas ‘shocked’ by Disney+ film premieres

The International Union of Cinemas (UNIC), representing European cinema operators, has responded to Disney’s decision to forego a cinema release for its upcoming Pixar animation Soul, and instead launch the movie straight onto its Disney+ streaming service on Christmas Day. It marks the third time during the pandemic that Disney has released a tentpole movie […]

October 13, 2020By Nik Roseveare

A quarter of Vue cinemas go part-time

Nearly a quarter of Vue’s UK cinemas will shut for three days a week in the wake of the barren movie release schedule. Twenty-one of the chain’s 87 sites will be closed from Tuesdays to Thursdays as of this week. The move is necessary “to ensure that our business is financially well-placed to withstand the […]

October 12, 2020

Cineworld shutters again

Cinema chain Cineworld has announced that it will be closing all of its 663 cinemas – 127 of which are in the UK, and 536 in the US – from October 8th. The decision puts some 45,000 jobs in limbo. The news came on the back of the latest James Bond movie, titled No Time […]

October 5, 2020By Nik Roseveare

Survey: 55% willing to try Premium VoD over cinema

It is a time of great uncertainty for the theatrical industry. Before Covid-19 cautions led to closures of theatres across the globe in March, the Domestic Box Office (DBO) was poised for a healthy year, up 6.9 per cent over 2019 through February. Powerhouse titles such

July 13, 2020

Cineworld signals July 10 reopening

Cineworld has revealed that it will tentatively reopen for business in the UK on July 10th. The cinema chain said in a statement: “We are excited to announce that we are planning to reopen Cineworld Cinemas across England on 10th July 2020. The opening date is subject to final clarifications and confirmation in regards to […]

June 16, 2020