Cinema’s Luxury Upgrade: How Premium Experiences Are Reviving the Box Office
The UK box office is poised to exceed £1 billion in 2025 – a first since before the COVID-19 pandemic – as cinema owners invest heavily in elevated experiences, from champagne coolers to VIP beds, to lure audiences back to the big screen. Amidst a challenging economic climate and disruptions from industry strikes, a focus on premium offerings is proving to be a key strategy for reigniting the moviegoing experience.
The Rise of the Luxe Cinema
For years, the industry faced a decline in attendance, dropping from 176 million annual UK admissions in 2019 to 126 million in 2024. However, a shift towards luxury is underway. Vue Cinemas is rolling out 200 of its “Ultra Lux” seats – complete with built-in champagne or wine coolers – each day across Europe, according to company founder and CEO Tim Richards. He describes the current standard as remarkably comfortable, stating, “Our ‘worst’ seat in the house is a leather recliner… our new cinemas are business and first class – and that’s it – but at prices for everyone.”
Odeon launched its “Luxe” brand in 2017, now featuring in 38 venues and considered the “defining standard” for customer experience. The chain is further innovating with “Luxe Suite Pods,” described as “private cocoons” ideal for dates and families, and “VIP Beds” which transform the front row into a premium viewing location.
“This is next level,” says Suzie Welch, managing director for UK & Ireland at Odeon. “Innovations like the Luxe Suites and VIP Beds are about creating a different experience; families love them and they are great for an evening experience, like a date night. The focus is on how we can give people choice and experiences for all occasions.”
Pricing the Premium Experience
The cost of these enhanced experiences varies. Vue’s Ultra Lux seats range from £10 to £26, while Odeon’s Luxe seating options span from £7.50 to £35 for a VIP bed accommodating three people, and £28 for a Luxe Pod for two. This tiered pricing reflects factors like time of day, film type, and available technology.
Everyman Cinemas, a pioneer in the premium experience since 2000, has seen significant success with its sofa-style seating and in-seat food and beverage service. The chain reported a 46% year-on-year increase in membership sign-ups in the first half of the year, alongside a 20% revenue growth, demonstrating the appeal of this model.
Catching Up and Competing with Home Entertainment
Other chains are taking note. According to Andrew Renton, director of research at Cavendish, “Everyman have led the way on premium for more than 20 years – comfy seats, food – other chains are catching on to that.” Vue is also investing in next-generation laser projectors to compete with the immersive experience offered by Imax.
However, this move towards premiumization coincides with a broader shift in viewing habits. The rise of streaming services like Netflix – whose co-founder Reed Hastings once quipped that sleep was its biggest competitor – has given consumers unprecedented choice in home entertainment. The cinema industry is also facing competition from the booming £98 billion experiential economy, encompassing immersive experiences like The Greatest Showman-inspired Come Alive, ABBA Voyage, and pop-ups linked to popular franchises like Minecraft and Squid Game.
“It comes down to what is the purpose of cinema becoming,” Renton explains. “Now it is much more about experiential leisure. They realise that to continue to capture that going-out experience they have to make a bigger difference. They are doing that through premiumisation.”
A Promising Future, But Challenges Remain
Despite recent successes like the Wicked films, the industry still needs a consistent flow of blockbusters to fully realize its ambitions. Tim Richards, Vue’s CEO, acknowledges that 2025 will still see 20% fewer movie releases compared to the pre-pandemic average of 2017-2019.
However, he points to increased commitment from Silicon Valley giants like Apple – whose F1 film starring Brad Pitt proved a box office hit – and Amazon, following its $8.5 billion acquisition of MGM, as positive signs. “It takes 18- to 24 months-plus for a major production to go from being green lit to the big screen,” Richards says. “We are just really now starting to see the Hollywood machine rev up and get going again.”
Looking ahead, a robust slate of releases is planned for 2025, including new installments of Super Mario, Spider-Man, Avengers, Dune, Moana, a fifth Toy Story film, and a third Jumanji movie. Omdia estimates that the UK will see 850 film releases next year, the most since 2019.
“In totality, next year and in 2027 we will see the same number of releases, or an even greater number, than before the pandemic,” Richards concludes. “When the history books are written, this is the end of the post-pandemic period and new era of film.”
