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Cineworld hopes 3D Harry Potter film will revive sales Cinema chain blames World Cup for slump in takings and pins hopes on wave of 3D films, including latest JK Rowling adaptationBritish cinema chain Cineworld said it was banking on teen wizard Harry Potter to weave some 3D magic this autumn, after ticket sales slumped during the World Cup.The company said admissions dropped by 681,000 to 22.7m in the first six months of the year as Britons chose the action in the Cape Town over Iron Man 2 and Robin Hood. Steve Wiener, Cineworld's chief executive, said British gross box office takings were down 30% for the month of the tournament, compared with the near-10% uplifts enjoyed by the industry in May and July.The shares closed down 5%, at 199p, after investors were disappointed with pre-tax profits of £11.8m for the 26 weeks to 1 July, a similar figure to that delivered this time last year.Wiener said the picture was distorted by the World Cup, which also had the effect of deterring studios from releasing films. "July was a very strong month for us and we are back on track," he said.Trading in the second half has been given an early boost by the runaway success of Toy Story 3, which is on course to overtake Mamma Mia as the UK's second-highest grossing film of all time, as well as Eclipse, the latest Twilight series offering.Cineworld also expects films such as Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps and Little Fockers to boost takings this winter but their success is expected to be dwarfed by that of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, which is the first 3D instalment of the series.Despite attracting smaller audiences, sales finished up nearly 4% at £162m, an increase that Nick Batram, a KBC Peel Hunt analyst, said was due to higher admission charges for 3D films: "Box office growth was driven by 3D and predominantly the success of Avatar." The average ticket price increased by 34p to £4.93.Cineworld said 3D cinema was gathering momentum with 18 films in the format due to be released between now and Christmas, a big step up from the first half of the year, when there were seven. Cineworld said takings were down more than 3% at its snack counters, but a silver lining was provided by sales of 3D glasses, which helped boost takings in its division by 35%.Film industryHarry Potter3DZoe Woodguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
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