The Vue International Cinema chain has reduced its valuation by approximately half to around £650million ($785.6million).
The Times reports that the company is being restructured in a deal that has protected it from a €130 million legal claim in Germany and allowed new funds to be injected into operations. This follows last month’s announcement that Vue’s lenders will take control of the business, replacing previous majority owners Alberta Investment Management Corporation and Omers (both Canadian pension funds).
Vue enjoyed a record year in 2019, when it was valued at an estimated £2billion, but the chain suffered huge losses early in 2020 as a result of the UK’s Covid lockdown, and later that year when studios hesitated to release big-budget films like James Bond’s No Time To Die in cinemas.
Christopher Nolan’s Tenet, released in August 2020 struggled to recoup its $205million budget, although it has latterly enjoyed returns of $365.5million.
This year is looking brighter, buoyed by Tom Cruise’s return to fighter piloting in Top Gun: Maverick enjoying a $1.28bn global box office bonanza so far, although cinema ticket sales otherwise sit at a reported 65% of pre-Covid figures – affected by factors including Disney’s decision to release such titles as Pixar’s Turning Red directly to the Disney+ streaming platform.
