There was good news and bad news for Cineplex, which operates two movies theatres and a massive entertainment complex in Burnaby.
The bad news is that the company is still seeing losses.
The good news is that there was a period when the company’s numbers did surge before Omicron and capacity restrictions took a toll.
Cineplex Inc., which operates a multiplex at Metropolis at Metrotown and a VIP theatre and the Rec Room at the Amazing Brentwood, reported a loss of $21.8 million in the fourth quarter as it was helped by October and November movie releases, but faced closures and capacity restrictions at most of its locations in late December.
The company says the loss amounted to 34 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Dec. 31 compared with a loss of $230.4 million or $3.64 per diluted share in the last three months of 2020.
So the loss was much smaller than the previous year. Movies like SpiderMan: No Way Home did huge business. As Omicron cases continue to drop, there is optimism that B.C. will get rid of capacity restrictions in theatres in the coming months as blockbuster season ramps up again.
Revenue totalled $300 million compared with $52.5 million a year earlier as theatre attendance rose to 10.2 million compared with 800,000 in the fourth quarter of 2020.
Box office revenue rose to $125.9 million during the fourth quarter, compared with $7.3 million a year earlier when theatres were closed for the majority of the quarter.
Food services revenues increased to $87.2 million compared with $10.5 million a year earlier and total media revenue rose to $32.8 million compared with $12.5 million in the final three months of 2020.
Amusement revenue climbed to $45.1 million compared with $13.6 million a year earlier, while other revenue rose to $8.9 million compared with $8.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2020.
- With reporting by the Canadian Press
