It’s survived television, VHS, DVD, home cinemas and even Betamax, and now bosses at Cineworld Group Plc are predicting cinema will see off streaming by investing in technology such as IMAX and 4DX – and opening more multiplexes.
The company launched its 12-screen complex in Plymouth on October 22, featuring 4DX tech, with its moving seats and wind and water effects, and the UK’s third biggest IMAX screen.
Cineworld is also opening venues in York and Warrington before Christmas 2019, and vice president operations Shaun Jones said Cineworld was also upgrading existing cinemas as it looked to provide an experience not replicable in people’s homes.
He said that despite the advance of streaming, with new channels joining Netflix and Amazon Prime in the coming months, cinema will continue to attract huge audiences by giving a not-to-be-missed destination experience.
“Cinema has a brilliant future,” said Mr Jones, as he attended the debut screening at the Cineworld in Plymouth’s new £53million Drake Circus The Barcode leisure development. “Anybody can build a home cinema. But this is about the experience, and customer service.”
He said multiplexes such as the new one in Plymouth have a range of screens, of different sizes and offering regular 2D screenings alongside 4DX and IMAX, and said: “This gives cinema-goers the opportunity to watch a movie in the way they want to watch it.
“And 4DX is tried and tested, it’s not a gimmick, but a very popular format, and we are the only company in the UK to offer it.”
Mr Jones - whose favourite movies are, fittingly, the Indiana Jones series – began his cinema career in the early 1980s, at a time when Cineworld had only about 30 cinemas. Today it has 125 in the UK with more on the way and a “refurbishment programme” for its estate.
“I started in the days of ET and The Goonies,” Mr Jones reminisced. “They said VHS meant cinemas would die, but they didn’t.”
And he has no fear of the advance of on-demand channels and said: “I think streaming actually helps. It gets people interested in movies, and they will watch them in the way they want to.
“When the new Star Wars film (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker) comes out they will watch in in 4DX and IMAX and then stream it.
“People also want to get out of the house, and have the same experience. And we have introduced Starbucks (now a feature of many Cineworld venues) to improve the customers’ journey.”
He said cinemas also offered a value-for-money option and said: “Even across recessions cinema is seen as an affordable entertainment option, compared to things like the theatre, even bowling.”
Mr Jones said innovations such as Cineworld’s Unlimited card, which gives access to multiple screenings for one monthly price, also make the multiplex an attractive option.
Cineworld also offers special screenings for children and their parents, at cut price, and for people with autism. All examples of how it is aiming to draw in custom with high-level service.
Terry Whitehead, general manager at Cineworld Plymouth, and who rates the 2007 animated classic Ratatouille as his favourite film, agreed it was all about the movie-going experience and said: “We are going to be offering a fantastic service.”
Cineworld has 555 cinemas in the USA and others across eastern Europe and even in Israel. In total it operates in 10 nations, making it the second biggest exhibitor in the world.
In 2019 it has so far opened eight sites, including its latest in Plymouth, and now has 786 venues and 9,494 screens.
In the UK and Ireland the top five grossing films in the first six months of 2019 were, Avengers: Endgame, Captain Marvel, Aladdin, Toy Story 4 and Dumbo which grossed US$213.7million.
Cineworld is confident about the remainder of 2019 with the releases of Frozen 2, Jumanji: The Next Level, The Aeronauts, Midway, Last Christmas, Le Mans ‘66, 21 Bridges, Knives Out, Charlie’s Angles, Black Christmas, Cats, Little Women, Playing with Fire, A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood, Spies in Disguise and, of course, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
