Kinepolis’ Luxembourg business accounts for 3.3% of its total revenue. Photo: Matic Zorman/Archives

Kinepolis’ Luxembourg business accounts for 3.3% of its total revenue.  Photo: Matic Zorman/Archives

Impacted by the strike in Hollywood at the start of 2024, the Kinepolis group enjoyed a good second half of the year, enabling it to catch up a little. Results linked to visitors are at a lower level than in 2023, but sales per visitor have increased. In Luxembourg, 730,000 cinema-goers visited the country’s three cinemas, compared with 820,000 the previous year.

For the Kinepolis group, which operates 100 cinemas worldwide, including 64 in Europe (three in Luxembourg), half-years follow one another but do not resemble one another. After six months marked by the strike in Hollywood, which had an impact on cinema attendance, the second half of the year saw Kinepolis achieve “the highest sales and financial results in its history for a second half of the year.” The wider range of films on offer from June onwards encouraged cinema-goers to flock to movie theatres. The group has managed to restore its financial strength to 2019 levels.

Kinepolis posted profits of €41.8m, down 27.9%, and Ebitda of €167.3m, down 11.1%. Total revenue was €578.2m, down 4.5% compared to 2023, while revenue from visitor-related activities (admission tickets, drinks, snacks) fell by 5.1% to €301.5m.

“Taking into account a weak first half, we have managed to post solid results for 2024. As long as the (big) films are there, visitors naturally follow, and there is no doubt that our commitment to ‘premiumisation’ and a quality cinema experience is paying off. Given that we have now regained the financial strength we had before the pandemic, the expected expansion of the Hollywood film offer is particularly promising for our group,” commented Kinepolis Group CEO Eddy Duquenne.

However, the number of visitors to cinemas across the group fell in 2024: 32.6m, down 7.9% on 2023, which the cinema explained as “a lack of international blockbusters.” Over the year, the top five most-viewed films were “Inside Out 2,” “Deadpool & Wolverine,” “Despicable Me 4,” “Moana 2” and “Dune: Part II.” Locally, the biggest hits were “Un p’tit truc en plus,” “The Count of Monte-Cristo” and “L’Amour Ouf.”

730,000 visitors in Luxembourg

In Luxembourg, 730,000 visitors went to the country’s three Kinepolis cinemas (down 10.2% on 2023). However, in the second half of the year alone, as on a worldwide scale, attendance rose by 9.3% compared with 2023. The grand duchy contributed 3.3% to the overall result in 2024, compared with 3.2% the previous year. The group derives most of its revenue from Belgium (26.5%) and Canada (24.4%).

Kinepolis’ main achievements include the installation of new ScreenX and Laser Ultra theatres in Europe and North America. In Europe, 81% of Kinepolis cinemas are equipped with laser projection. According to the group, this contributes to energy savings of around 6GWH per year. It has also renovated several cinemas, including Amneville in France, near Luxembourg. In total, the group has invested €42.6m in maintaining its current complexes.

This article was originally published in .

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