UK-based exhibitor Cineworld Group said that admissions have been “below expectations” since reopening in April 2021 due to a “limited” release slate.
In a statement, Cineworld added that the lack of major releases will continue until November 2022 and is “expected to negatively impact trading and the Group’s liquidity position in the near term”.
Since releasing the statement today (August 17), shares in Cineworld Group have fallen by around 50% in early trading.
Cineworld’s debt was at $4.84bn in March, and the company is facing a massive fine in its ongoing dispute with Canada’s Cineplex, following the abandoned takeover of the company by Cineworld in mid-2020.
In the statement Cineworld said it is exploring options to “obtain additional liquidity and potentially restructure its balance sheet through a comprehensive deleveraging transaction.”
It adds: “Any deleveraging transaction will likely result in very significant dilution of existing equity interests in Cineworld.”
Major Hollywood releases have slowed in the second half of the summer following earlier successes such as May’s Top Gun Maverick, which grossed nearly $1.4bn worldwide.
Cinema chains will be pinning their hopes on major titles set for release in the final quarter of 2022, such as Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (November 11) and Avatar: The Way Of Water (December 16).
Cineworld is the second largest exhibitor in the world and operates over 9,000 screens in seven different countries.
Last year, the company’s revenue rose to $1.8bn thanks to global hits Spider Man: No Way Home and James Bond’s No Time To Die but these figures have been far off the pre-pandemic levels of $4.37bn recorded in 2019.
No comments yet