Odeon increases revenues thanks to Gladiator 2 and Inside Out II

Gordon Deegan

Paul Mescal’s Gladiator II and Disney’s Inside Out 2 were two of the box office hits that helped the Irish arm of the Odeon movie group to increase revenues by one per cent from €29.65 million to €30.04 million last year.

New accounts filed by United Cinemas International (Ireland) Ltd show that despite the slight lift in revenues, pre-tax losses increased by 70 per cent from €4.7 million in 2023 to €8.06 million last year.

A large contributor to the increase in pre-tax losses was the firm’s interest payments rising from €1.9 million to €3.24 million in 2024.

The group’s operating losses increased by 73 per cent from €2.79 million to €4.82 million last year after taking into account non-cash depreciation charges accounting for €3.1 million.

The firm’s main costs were made up of cost of sales of €9 million and distribution and administrative expenses of €25.84 million.

The directors state that at the beginning of 2024, the industry was impacted by the Writers Guild Strikes, leading to delays in several major film releases.

The firm operates 11 cinemas here containing 77 screens and the directors state that cinema attendances across the sector here last year totalled 11.8 million compared to 11.5 million in 2023 - an increase of 300,000.

The directors state that “cinema remains relatively inexpensive compared to other out-of-home leisure options".

They state that “indeed, in the post-pandemic period, audiences have returned to cinemas in large numbers when new films have been released; and they continue to do so despite these cost of living pressures".

The 2024 annual report of the Irish Film Classification Office (IFCO) published earlier this year showed that Disney’s Inside Out was the biggest box office hit of 2024 when it generated €6.2 million at the Irish box office, with Paul Mescal’s Gladiator II ranked 5th with box office revenues of €3.67 million.

On the future development of the business, the directors state that “the company will continue to invest in its existing portfolio of sites and seek new opportunities."

They state that this strategy "will be driven by the cash generation of our business and will be contingent on maintaining adequate liquidity as well as a required return threshold".

The directors for United Cinemas record that the average ticket price at Odeon movie theatres last year of €8.24 compared to €8.90 in 2023, and the average food and beverage spend was €5.77 compared to €5.90 in 2023.

A breakdown of revenues shows that box office revenues actually declined from €16.43 million to €16.32 million and this was offset by retail revenues increasing from €10.67 million to €11.42 million.

Screen advertising revenues increased to €339,000 while other revenues declined from €2.23 million to €1.96 million.

Lease costs last year totalled €5.14 million, while profits were also hit by a €533,000 onerous lease commitment.

At the end of December last, the firm had a shareholders’ deficit of €37 million that includes accumulated losses of €45.24 million, offset by a share premium account of €9.49 million.

The firm’s cash funds last year increased from €2.64 million to €4.15 million.