Cineplex Reports Record April Box Office, Q1 Results, CineClub Milestone, and Cineworld Claim Update

Image Courtesy of Cineplex Cinemas

Cineplex has reported its highest-ever April box office for the first ten days of the month, reaching over $30M in revenue, compared to $14M in 2019 for the same period. The Super Mario Bros. Movie generated $204.6M at the domestic box office over its 5-day weekend and set the record for biggest global animated opening. Cineplex welcomed 1.1 million guests over the three-day Easter holiday weekend, making it the busiest weekend so far in 2023 for Cineplex. Amazon’s theatrical release of Air delivered strong attendance among adults, while The Super Mario Bros. Movie enjoyed a healthy percentage of Cineplex’s box office. Other titles with meaningful contributions to Cineplex’s overall box office results included John Wick: Chapter 4, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, and Avatar: The Way of Water, which has become Cineplex’s 10th highest grossing title.

“The success of these record-breaking results demonstrates a point you’ve heard me say in the past – when there is compelling content, consumer enthusiasm for theatrical moviegoing is as strong as ever. The success of The Super Mario Bros. Movie is just another example of strong consumer demand for seeing great films on the big screen,” said Ellis Jacob, the chief executive officer and president of Cineplex. “As we move forward, we are encouraged about the steady flow of content, including the commitment streamers are making to theatrical. We are excited about the strong results we are witnessing in April as it reflects a healthy box office across an expansive range of films and genres.”

This past weekend marked another milestone for Cineplex’s CineClub subscription program, as it reached 100,000 members. Launched in August 2021, the entertainment subscription program is the first of its kind in Canada and has been successful in increasing and driving frequency in attendance.

In the month of March, Cineplex reported box office revenues of $41M, which amounts to 65% of box office revenues generated during the same month in 2019. This followed encouraging results in January and February, where in each month the Company’s box office reached 88% of 2019 levels for the same month, leading to aggregate quarterly results of $123M or 79% of 2019. The top three leading film performances during March included John Wick: Chapter 4, Creed III, and Scream VI, all generating more domestic box office revenues in their opening weekend than any previous version in their respective franchises in the pre-pandemic periods. These three titles represented a combined 45% of Cineplex’s total box office for the month.

On April 11th, Cineworld filed its proposed chapter 11 plan of reorganization. The proposed restructuring transaction contemplates holders of general unsecured claims (GUC), which includes Cineplex’s claim arising from its judgment against Cineworld of approximately $1.24 billion CDN, to the extent such claims are allowed claims in the Cineworld Bankruptcy Proceedings, receiving, in aggregate, (i) $10 million in cash and (ii) interests in a litigation trust representing a right to recovery with respect to amounts relating to certain class actions against credit card issuers (collectively, the recovery pool). The allocation of the recovery pool among GUC has not yet been determined. While at this time the expected distribution amount in respect of Cineplex’s claim is not known, Cineplex does not anticipate that its recovery will be material. Given the uncertainty to date as to any potential recovery in respect of Cineplex’s claim, no amount has been accrued as a receivable in Cineplex’s financial statements. The Cineworld Chapter 11 Plan remains subject to creditor approval and court approval. If the Cineworld Chapter 11 Plan receives the requisite creditor and court approvals and is implemented, the Cineworld Chapter 11 Plan will be binding on all affected parties, and Cineplex’s only entitlement in respect of its judgment against Cineworld will be to its allocated portion of the distributions from the GUC Recovery Pool.

Image Courtesy of Cineplex Cinemas

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