Fresh studies have shown that the Cineworld at Aberdeen’s struggling Queen’s Links Leisure Park is losing scores of customers.
It follows the closure of several seafront restaurants next to the cinema, with Frankie and Benny’s the latest to shut.
And the bad news for the complex comes after bosses last year scrapped plans to extend the building with an Imax screen.
On a much wider scale, the global movie giant is struggling to overcome mountains of debt as audience numbers fail to bounce back from the pandemic.
But the Union Square branch is bucking the trend – with an increase in visitors.
Why was study on Aberdeen Cineworlds carried out?
The latest local analysis comes as the future of the north-east’s movie offering remains uncertain.
Reports examining the sector in Aberdeen have been made public as work continues to bring the Belmont Filmhouse back to life.
Experts have calculated the recent takings at the city’s three cinemas as part of the project.
Despite the new Avatar movie packing audiences in across the UK at the start of 2023, the first two months of the year brought mixed fortunes in Aberdeen.
Experts on ‘demise of cinema’
A report from Mustard Studio states: “Recent commentary has often predicted the demise of cinema after the pandemic, with audiences initially slow to return across the board.
“There is no denying that Cineworld (along with its US subsidiary Regal Cinemas) filing
for bankruptcy in 2022 has resulted in marketplace jitters.”
Those jitters might be felt at Aberdeen’s Queens Links…
Compared to the same two months in 2022, takings at the Cineworld there dropped by 16%.
Across January and February last year, the business took in £258,421.
This year, that was £221,823.
The Vue on Shiprow also saw a decline, but only of 3%.
Takings went from £115,776 to £112,602 in that spell.
However, the report adds: “While current trading conditions remain challenging, a wholly pessimistic outlook may increasingly be at odds with the numbers.”
Cause for optimism as Aberdeen Cineworlds show differing results?
A look at the finances of the nearby Union Square Cineworld tells a different story.
It saw a year-on-year increase of 12% from January and February in 2022.
Income rocketed from £412,794 to £462,941.
Overall, Mustard concludes that this “suggests that Aberdeen’s market is steady at present, but not much more”.
What does Aberdeen film fan Andy say?
Cineworld member Andy Morton, a features writer for the P&J, says he hasn’t noticed Aberdeen being noticeably less busier than others elsewhere.
In fact, he says Aberdeen venues have been busier than some he visited using his Unlimited card in London.
But he wasn’t surprised to learn that the “shabbier” Queens Links cinema, with “poorer sound quality”, is less popular than the plusher Union Square.
“That one is always my first port of call in Aberdeen,” he said.
‘Every empty seat is a reminder…’
The former manager of Aberdeen’s Belmont Filmhouse, Colin Farquhar, last year wrote about how Cineworld’s survival is “important for all cinemas”.
He said: “Every empty seat is a reminder that the industry is still struggling with a world which might not be changed completely, but whose habits have been wholly dented by coronavirus.
“People are still not going to cinemas often enough.”
How often do you visit the cinema? Let us know in our comments section below
How could findings help Belmont Filmhouse find a new future?
The obvious advantage the Union Square cinema has over its seaside stablemate is its close proximity to scores of restaurants – many of which are family-friendly.
The Queen’s Links venue is next to Codona’s but neighbouring Chiquito and Bella Italia diners have been closed for some time – and Frankie and Benny’s will shut this month.
The industry experts who prepared the report say any new operator will need to have a firm focus on food and drink to make a success of a reopened Belmont Filmhouse.
Read more about their recommendations below:
Conversation