It has been a painful time for all, including independent movie theaters like Peckhamplex, a southeast London institution that sells tickets for just £5. Not long after that, as restrictions tightened, S&P Global downgraded the credit ratings of Vue and Cineworld, Britain’s largest movie theater chain - which also owns Regal Cinemas in the United States - and gave them a negative outlook.

Stopped in their tracks by lockdowns, companies tried to stem the outflow of cash by furloughing staff members and deferring rent payments.Īt the end of August 2020, during an interval in Britain’s lockdown, Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet” was released in cinemas. In the two years before the pandemic, British movie theaters were experiencing their best years since the early 1970s, thanks to a flow of big budget films, as well as major investments into recliner seating and high-tech sound systems. There were opening night parties, which encouraged viewers to dress up in black tie for cocktails and canapés at £50, or $68, a person.

Some London big chain theaters scheduled dozens of screenings a day, and others hosted live music to entertain viewers as they waited. This puts it in the top five opening weekends for movies in Britain ever, according to data from the British Film Institute.Īcross the country, movie theaters made a spectacle of the 163-minute, $250 million-budget film. Over the opening weekend - from Thursday through Sunday - it made £26 million, or $35 million, at the box office, not just breaking pandemic records, but also surpassing the opening weekends of the two previous Bond films. But with pressure from streaming services and the financial toll of the pandemic still in play, it remains to be seen in what direction this watershed moment will take the British movie theater industry in the longer term.Īfter a thrice-delayed release, “No Time to Die” has successfully ushered people back into theaters.

James bond video games list