From champagne coolers to front row VIP beds, cinema owners are investing heavily in premium experiences as the industry gets its box office mojo back.<\/p>\n
As the third instalment in James Cameron\u2019s blockbuster Avatar series pulls in the Christmas holiday crowds, the UK box office is expected to surpass \u00a31bn in 2025 for the first time since before the global Covid pandemic.<\/p>\n
Amid financially testing times \u2013 with the pace of a hoped-for box office recovery derailed by the Hollywood actors\u2019 and writers\u2019 strikes<\/a> \u2013 cinema owners have focused on reinventing the movie-going experience to win back film fans.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are rolling out 200 of our Ultra Lux seats, which have a built-in champagne or wine cooler, each day across Europe,\u201d says Tim Richards, chief executive and founder of the Vue cinema chain. \u201cOur \u2018worst\u2019 seat in the house is a leather recliner, and it is amazingly comfortable. We have been investing very heavily and to use an airline analogy, our new cinemas are business and first class \u2013 and that\u2019s it \u2013 but at prices for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n What\u2019s not to like? Odeon\u2019s new Luxe Suites seats. Photograph: Odeon<\/p>\n Its rival Odeon first launched its premium offering, under the Luxe brand, in 2017 and it now has 38 venues which the company says have become the \u201cdefining standard\u201d for customers across its entire estate.<\/p>\n Odeon has moved to super-charge its premium strategy with the introduction of Luxe Suite Pods, which it describes as a \u201cprivate cocoon\u201d with luxury seats that is proving a hit for date night and with families.<\/p>\n It is also introducing VIP Beds, now in nine locations, which promise to \u201ctransform the front row into the best seat in the house\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is next level,\u201d says Suzie Welch, managing director for UK & Ireland at Odeon. \u201cOver the last 18 months we have been looking at what we want to do next with Luxe, what we think our guests want next from their cinema experience. Innovations like the Luxe Suites and VIP Beds are about creating a different experience; families love them and they are great for an evening experience, like a date night. The focus is on how we can give people choice and experiences for all occasions.\u201d<\/p>\n The cost of seating in cinemas varies widely depending on factors including the time and day of the week, the type of film, sound and picture technology, and the location.<\/p>\n Vue\u2019s Ultra Lux recliner seats range from \u00a310 to about \u00a326. Odeon\u2019s range of Luxe seating runs from \u00a37.50 to \u00a335 for a VIP bed for three, and \u00a328 for a Luxe Pod for two.<\/p>\n The path to premium has been pioneered by Everyman, founded in 2000, where viewers can lounge on sofas and have food and beverages ordered to their seats.<\/p>\n Its model is proving to be a runaway success post-pandemic, with Everyman\u2019s latest results showing a 46% year-on-year increase in sign-ups to its membership programme in the first half, and revenues growing by a fifth.<\/p>\n The chain has also seen admission numbers rise, despite an increase in ticket prices, with movie-goers spending more on food and drink.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryman have led the way on premium for more than 20 years \u2013 comfy seats, food \u2013 other chains are catching on to that,\u201d says Andrew Renton, director of research at Cavendish. \u201cSmaller cinemas, a cosier feel and higher spend.\u201d<\/p>\n But the move to premium by mass-market chains \u2013 which include operators such as Vue introducing next-generation laser projectors to rival the experience offered by Imax \u2013 coincides with a significant shift in cinema-going habits.<\/p>\n Cinema attendance has been well down since the pandemic, from 176m annual UK admissions in 2019 to 126m in 2024, as many film fans fell out of love with the big screen.<\/p>\n Vue recliners. Photograph: Sheradon Dublin\/Vue<\/p>\n While the push to premium may make film-going a more attractive prospect, cinema audiences are not expected to bounce back to pre-pandemic levels, even if the number of film releases return to pre-2020 levels.<\/p>\n The cost of living crisis has meant household bills have soared, making cash-strapped consumers much more selective about what they spend their extra income on.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is probably the case that movie fans will continue to go less than they did,\u201d says Renton. \u201cHowever, they are willing to spend more on the occasion, as we have seen in other sectors, such as big ticket gigs like Coldplay and Oasis.\u201d<\/p>\n The cinema industry is also continuing to come to grips with the small screen revolution, prompted by the rise of Netflix, with consumers now awash with choice when it comes to in-home entertainment.<\/p>\n Netflix\u2019s co-founder, Reed Hastings, once succinctly summed up the intense battle for attention in the digital age when he said the company considered almost every activity to be a rival \u2013 half-joking that sleep was its biggest competitor<\/a>.<\/p>\n Cinema companies are also trying to offer more than the traditional experience as they face extra competition from the rise of the experiential economy<\/a>.<\/p>\n The \u00a398bn market for immersive experiences is booming, from The Greatest Showman-inspired Come Alive<\/a>, the long-established Abba Voyage<\/a>, and Crystal Maze, to more recent pop-ups linked to Minecraft, Jurassic World and Squid Game.<\/p>\n Any popcorn? Vue\u2019s Ultra Lux experience includes a bar Photograph: Tim Atkins Photography Ltd\/Vue<\/p>\n \u201cIt comes down to what is the purpose of cinema becoming, because it is not just about the old model where it was about going to see a film as soon as it is released,\u201d says Renton. \u201cNow it is much more about experiential leisure. They realise that to continue to capture that going-out experience they have to make a bigger difference. They are doing that through premiumisation.\u201d<\/p>\n While there have been flashes of pre-pandemic levels of commercial success, including most recently the Wicked films, the industry still lacks the blockbusters to realise its ambitions for a premium-led-experience recovery.<\/p>\n Vue\u2019s CEO, Richards, acknowledges that \u201c2025 is still a period where we have seen 20% fewer movies released compared to the average of the three-year pre-pandemic period of 2017, 2018 and 2019\u201d.<\/p>\n However, he points to the increasing commitment to the big screen shown by the Silicon Valley giants as evidence of a healthy future.<\/p>\n Apple\u2019s release of F1, Brad Pitt\u2019s highest-grossing film<\/a>, has given the iPhone maker confidence in its big-screen strategy.<\/p>\n