Kinepolis tix sales drop 6.8%

LONDON -- European multiplex group Kinepolis has announced a 6.8% drop in ticket sales and a 4.9% fall in box office for the first six months of 2011. Box office revenue was Euros 66.8 million ($96.5 million), from admissions of 9.8 million. The Ghent, Belgium-based group, which operates 22 cinemas in Belgium, France, Spain, Poland and Switzerland, said the decline was due to a weaker lineup of films than in early 2010, when "Avatar" gave an exceptional boost to admissions. Nonetheless, attendance figures were also down 2.3% compared with the first half of 2009. Kinepolis reports that admissions and box office have picked up significantly since June, with the summer blockbuster season boosted by rainy weather. The group posted sales of Euros111 million ($160 million) in the first half, down 1.2%. But net profits were up 20.6% to Euros14 million ($20.2 million), thanks to greater efficiency and lower interest and taxes. The exhib suffered the biggest declines in France and Spain, where ticket sales dropped 10%. Admissions fell by just 3% in Belgium, reinforced by a stronger lineup of local movies. In the first half of 2011, Kinepolis became the first European exhibitor to start installing Barco 4K projectors across all its sites. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com