Tim Richards, chief executive of Vue, has been decidedly positive about the state of cinema exhibition in the United Kingdom, sticking to industry analysts’ predictions this week that the sector needs a reboot and that exhibitors could simply follow the trail of now. defunct British giants such as Debenhams and BHS.
Unlike Cineworld, which is in debt and reportedly has the last 25 locations, Richards insisted that Vue would not close the doors of any of its theaters.
“We have no goal of finishing any of our theaters,” Richards said. “We have closed any of our cinemas since the pandemic. In fact, it’s the opposite. We have acquired some new cinemas and are building some more cinemas.
Vue currently has 224 places and 1,962 presentations in 8 countries. Among the new theaters, a 10-screen Vue cinema will open in Basildon, Essex, later this summer, after the company took over after Empire Cinemas took over management and, beyond the United Kingdom, Vue will soon open a new theater in central Amsterdam. .
“The narrative [around exposure] is negative because one or two big traders are struggling, but lately I’ve seen a lot of traders like us who believe in the long term and are investing, preparing for that long term,” Richards said. .
“Cineworld has already overcome its sufferings and has carried out a clever task of restructuring,” he added.
Vue’s CEO paid little attention to the idea an analyst told Screen earlier this week that Britain’s top debt-ridden traders are going through an economic test similar to the one that British branches endured.
“There is no situation where the cinema sector is even remotely close to stores like BHS, Debenhams and Frasers. I don’t agree with that observation and think it is absolutely wrong,” Richards said.
The CEO also reflected on Vue’s appointments with its owners and why it works so hard with them in the most cordial way possible.
“We see homeowners as partners,” he said. “We are in an ecosystem with our landlords. We are key tenants of their sites. We are in key locations to revitalize the main streets of small, suffering communities, where the main streets are slowing down due to a lack of retailers.
But he also asked for fair rents. ” It makes sense from an advertising point of view to have a strong cinema [in a neighborhood]. If a complex is oversaturated, then the operator doesn’t have the means or won’t invest in this theater, and then there’s less attendance.
Asked if Vue would be interested in taking over other sites from competing operators if they became available, Richards said: “Absolutely. They would have to be qualitatively complementary to our circuit, but we have already demonstrated over the last 20 years that mergers, acquisitions and movie theater acquisitions are part of our DNA.
Richards highlighted the wide diversity of films that have performed well in the UK market over the past two years. “We’ve noticed all demographics in the market coming back to all video genres in the last 18 to 24 months,” Richards said, referring to romantic comedies like Anywhere But You and Ticket To Paradise, as well as Barbie and Oppenheimer and Pixar’s animated hit, Inside Out 2.
“There’s a long list of films in every other genre that have damaged records,” Richards said. “This confirms once again that we have a wake-up call for a problem. Our consumers are desperate to come and see a wonderful movie, whatever it may be. »
The comments come despite Richards’ earlier warnings that 2024 will be a “complicated, very complicated year” for exploitation, following last year’s moves through SAG-AFTRA and the United States’ Writers’ Guild that blocked the production of Hollywood blockbusters. .
Vue underwent “a very significant restructuring when we took £1. 1 billion off our balance sheet” in January 2023, he said. The company then underwent a second debt restructuring earlier this year. Richards said Vue had “a very strong balance sheet” and was now “in a very smart position” with shareholder support.
“We may have gotten by without the movements,” he said. “The effect of those moves has been longer than expected. Production actually stopped [in Hollywood] for eight to ten months.
“But given the commitments the studios have made with the arrival of Apple and Amazon, and a revitalized and recapitalized Paramount, we’re looking at some really exciting years ahead. “
Richards also spoke generally about Vue’s recent foray into casting. The plan is for the company’s distribution arm to first release six to 12 films per year.
Earlier this year, Vue distributed Paola Cortellesi’s Italian hit There’s Still Tomorrow in the United Kingdom. The film “did well,” Richards said, grossing about $432,000, according to the company. But Richards disappointed by earning a BBFC score of 15.
“It’s a film they screen for nine-year-old girls in schools in Italy and France. . . we will be working hard with the BBFC over the long term to get our films to the right audiences,” Richards said.
Vue’s distribution arm will handle everything from UK titles to foreign language titles.
Richards shook some of the industry’s feathers earlier this year. He told a Committee on Culture, Media and Sport tasked with examining the difficult situations facing the British independent industry, and said he believed: “There is no such thing as independent cinema, arthouse cinema or cinema. Not anymore. We are all screens. We all deliver films.
It maintains this position and states that the main chains Odeon, Cineworld and Vue now “screen the same” titles as “the auteur cinemas of previous brands”.
On the independent British side, Richards is part of the joint venture between British producers Andy Paterson and Annalize Davis, and virtual production company Dimension Studios, in Virtual Circle, through which a series of British films between 5 and £15 million. stream Vue. Training
Richards also gave the main points on how Vue will take care of Francis Ford Coppola’s epic Megalopolis, which will premiere through Entertainment in the United Kingdom on September 27.
“We know there’s an audience for the movie. With a theatrical release like that, especially with our use of AI, we know where that audience is and we’re going to play it and cater to that audience,” he revealed. “It may not be released widely, but it will be in a number of theaters across the country. “
Richards also saw Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga at Cannes this summer and enjoyed it. “I was very excited about the movie and I was disappointed that it didn’t achieve the numbers that it had because it was a wonderful movie,” he said. But I think it had some issues because of the nine-year gap of Mad Max: Fury Road and it was a prequel to a prequel. “
“Unfortunately, the nature of our business means that there are films that we think of and hope are blockbusters that don’t work. Fortunately, on the other hand, there are those little hidden gems that pop up unexpectedly and raised a billion dollars. as a black and white biopic of Oppenheimer.
Citing Deadpool And Wolverine (which will be released on July 25) and Joker: Folie A Deux (October 4), Richards talked about the rest of the list of releases for 2024. “Surely some films will be released. We only need a few more. »
Currently open are “Thelma” starring June Squibb and the music documentary “Blur: To The End. “
Screen major UK film festivals.
Bookmark this page for updates in the territory.
His first slate is a series of ongoing projects with Thai filmmakers.
The 2025 edition will take place in Park City, Salt Lake City, from January 23 to February 2.
The state government said Ly and his brother Amadou had reimbursed €300,000 from the budget of Ly’s production company and charity.
Screen International is an essential resource for the foreign film industry. Subscribe now to receive monthly editions, awards season weeklies, archives and supplements from Screen International adding Stars of Tomorrow and World of Locations.