With its two hours-and-43 minutes run time, the landmark film poses different questions for independent venues, which look to balance blockbusters such as Bond with smaller, arthouse fare. Other efforts from Reel include a Bond quiz, and marketing with local press – “just to create more of a sense that James Bond is coming, and there’s no delay anymore,” said Faisal. The brand is also running separate Facebook campaigns for each of its cinemas, reducing the ‘customer journey’ for online booking to a single click from Facebook through to the booking page. It’s about how to bring the habit back for people to come out how to show them how safe an environment is.” “It’s not about our losses because losses were happening. “We took the very tough decision about how we want to bring people back in,” said Faisal. No Time To Die marks a test of the company’s low-cost post-Covid policy. Since cinemas reopened in May, Reel Cinemas has set all standard tickets at £3.50 for screenings starting after 1pm, and £2.50 for those starting before. With 13 venues, Curzon Cinemas is bringing in additional staff to handle the extra business, “initially on temporary contracts but with the hope of making them permanent if trade continues to be strong and business isn’t impacted by Covid,” said director of operations Alex Sheldon.Īdvance bookings at Reel Cinemas’ 15 venues are more than 900% up on its typical level, according to the brand’s head of operations Muhammad Faisal, with over 2,000 tickets sold across the sites after four days, compared to a standard of 200.Īudiences will be able to see the film for £2.50 at Reel Cinemas venues including this site in Blackburn, opened in May 2021 Interest is equally high at mid-size chains. The company is also recruiting 10% extra frontline staff to handle increased demand around the film newcomers will join in permanent roles, “in anticipation of a sustained level of overall increased admissions,” said a Vue spokesperson. Vue Cinemas will show the film in all 91 of its locations, with a maximum of 25 screenings per day at its flagship Westfield London site. The chain will also have the first UK-Ireland cinemas to show James Bond in 4DX, a multi-sensory format which adds effects including motion, wind and in-auditorium lights to the experience and in ScreenX, which offers additional footage extended onto the side walls of the auditorium in a 270-degree screen. “We already have screenings selling out so it is looking likely that we will need to add additional showings,” said Crane. Key venues such as the Cineworld O2 in Greenwich, southeast London will be showing the film 50 times per day, according to Stuart Crane, Cineworld Group’s VP of Film. Advance ticket sales opened on September 13, with the film becoming the chain’s highest pre-selling title since Avengers: Endgame in 2019 after only four days. With final numbers still to be confirmed by distributor Universal, it may yet challenge for the widest release of all time in the region, currently held by Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker which opened on 744 sites in December 2019, just ahead of Mary Poppins Returns which went out on 743 a year before that.īoth of those titles were released by Walt Disney Studios Universal’s widest UK release to date is Downton Abbey, which started in 732 locations in September 2019.Ĭineworld, the UK and Ireland’s second largest cinema chain by number of venues, will be showing the film in all 100 of its sites, with the majority of those playing it at one minute past midnight on the Thursday opening day. No Time To Die will open in over 700 cinemas across the UK and Ireland, marking the largest release of the year, surpassing the 650 sites for Disney’s Black Widow in July. Screen has spoken to stakeholders from across the sector about preparations for the 25th film in the Eon series, and what it could mean for the future of cinema in the territory. With cinemas still recovering from enforced closures across 20, the scarcity of tentpole blockbusters, combined with the underperformance of several that have released, has offset wider positivity around box office recovery. James Bond will return in seven days, and the release of No Time To Die on September 30 comes not a moment too soon for the UK cinema industry.
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