Recline and rise?

Cinemas bank on luxury to tempt back viewers

- Mark Sweney

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.

As the third instalment in James Cameron’s blockbuster Avatar series pulls in the Christmas holiday crowds, the UK box office is expected to surpass £1bn in 2025 for the first time since before the global Covid pandemic.

Amid financially testing times - with the pace of a hoped-for box office recovery derailed by the Hollywood actors’ and writers’ strikes - cinema owners have focused on reinventing the movie-going experience to win back fans.

“We are rolling out 200 of our Ultra Lux seats, which have a builtin champagne or wine cooler, each day across Europe,” said Tim Richards, chief executive and founder of the Vue cinema chain. “Our ‘worst’ 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 - and that's it, but at prices for everyone.”

The Odeon chain launched its premium offering under the Luxe brand in 2017 and it now has 38 sites which the company says have become the “defining standard” for customers across its entire estate.

Odeon has moved to supercharge its premium offering with the introduction of Luxe “suite pods” which it describes as a “private cocoon” with luxury seats that is proving a hit for date night and with families.

It is also rolling out “VIP beds”, currently in nine locations, which promise to “transform the front row into the best seat in the house”.