Black Panther, Avengers help boost Cineworld revenues

In a trading update, the company said it was on track to meet full year expectations. Group admissions were up 1.1% driven by US operations, which offset weaker performances in the UK, Ireland, Europe and Israel.

“The strength of admissions in the US compared with the prior year has driven the growth in each of the group's revenue streams,” Cineworld said.

Ticket sales were up 6.1% on a constant currency basis, while retail sales of snacks and drinks rose 6.9%.

US revenues were up 10.2% on a constant currency basis, but fell 2.1% in the UK and Ireland, and 2.4% in the rest of Europe and Israel.

The highest grossing films for the period to 13 May 2018 in the UK were "Avengers: Infinity War", "Black Panther" and "The Greatest Showman".

Cineworld, which completed the $3.6bn takeover of the US outfit Regal Entertainment at the end of February, said it had changed its presentational currency to US dollars “to remove the largest driver of currency translation volatility and provide greater transparency of the underlying trading performance of the group”.

The group acquired 558 sites (7,305 screens) with the Regal acquisition, and a further two sites (24 screens) were opened in the US post acquisition, Cineworld added.