Kinepolis’ financial year ended in 2022 with a happy ending: its turnover was close to €500m, up 88% year-on-year, while its result returned to positive territory with a gain of €27.5m.

These promising figures do not, however, match those of 2019, the last financial year before the covid-19 pandemic. At that time, profits reached €54.4m on sales of €551.5m. 

In 2022, 29.3m spectators were counted compared to 40.3m three years earlier. “I am particularly proud of the turnover and results we have achieved with this level of attendance,” said the group’s CEO, Eddy Duquenne, in a statement.

Reflecting this positive outlook, a dividend of €0.26 gross per share will be proposed at the next general meeting, scheduled for 10 May.

Sweets sales account for almost a third of revenue

And for good reason: sales per visitor have never been so high, the operator said in a press release. While the box office (ticket sales) accounts for just over half of sales (52%), income from the sale of drinks and snacks (known as in-theatre sales) now accounts for 31% of financial income, compared with 28% three years ago.

In 2022, the blockbusters “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Avatar: The Way of Water” boosted cinema attendance. This was followed by “Minions 2: The Rise of Gru,” “Jurassic World Dominion” and “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.”

“We are excited to see what Hollywood is doing with its theatrical release schedule for the next few years, especially when we look at the success of local films and Hollywood blockbusters over the past year,” the CEO said. Many new releases are expected in the coming months, while Kinepolis intends to continue its strategy of premiumisation of the offer and expects the consequences of its expansion strategy. In the Greater Region, this includes the opening of the multiplex in Metz Amphithéâtre, but also the purchase of the former Gaumont in Amnéville.

640,000 spectators in Luxembourg

In Luxembourg, attendance jumped by 53% in one year in the group’s three cinemas, adding up to 640,000 admissions, a figure that is still 65% of the level recorded in 2019. The Kinepolis cinemas in the grand duchy have been equipped with the TMS Eikona Cinema Manager system since June 2021, a centralised content management tool that optimises the energy management of projectors. The tool is expected to be rolled out to the group’s Spanish and French complexes this year.

Kinepolis operates 110 cinemas in Europe, as well as in Canada and the United States. The company was founded in 1997 and has been listed on the Brussels stock exchange since 1998. It employs around 60 people in the grand duchy, including 45 employees.

This story was first published in French on . It has been translated and edited for Delano.