Plagued by poor attendance due to a lacklustre movie line-up, cinema operator Palace Amusement Company Limited is looking to rebound from recent downturns with the release of some bigger pictures it expects to come on screen in the new year.

Marketing manager and director Melanie Graham, in a recent interview with the Jamaica Observer, said that with global film distributors and producers now somewhat back on track, the expectation going forward is for there to be better quality films as delayed projects are readied for roll-out in 2025.

“The pictures are coming back and we’re now seeing where some better quality films are returning. We’ve started to see where after that last quarter supplies have started to come back and with the opening of Mufasa: The Lion King last weekend and a few others to come… we are hopeful for the quarters coming up,” Graham told the Business Observer.

Among the strong films expected to pull patrons to the cinemas are Sonic, which will open on Christmas Day followed by Nosferatu. In January there is Den of Thieves 2, Wolf Man and Flight Risk along with Captain America: Brave New World in February as well as
Snow White and the Minecraft movie in March. Further down in the summer period, the release of blockbuster films, such as Thunder Bolt, Mission Impossible 8 and Karate Kid: Legends, are also listed among the expected chart-toppers.

“Definitely before summer we expect things to be back up and running. We just need to have the pictures as we are ready to go. We’ve already been seeing some upticks in our numbers since schools are out and we want this to continue as we move over into the new year,” Graham said.

Palace earnings, which have been impacted by the ebbs and flows of the global industry, has since the COVID-19 pandemic been faced with a new set of challenges occasioned by the Hollywood strikes last year which has contributed to poor attendance across cinemas due to less than favourable films.

At the end of Palace’s first quarter — the period from July 1, 2024 to September 30, 2024 — cinema attendance, which fell by 33 per cent, saw 60,000 fewer tickets sold resulting in reduced revenue of $345.4 million. This led to losses of $36.5 million for the three-month period, down from a profit of $22.7 million during the same period last year.

Despite strong out-turns from top-grossing films such as Despicable Me 4 and Deadpool & Wolverine during the reporting quarter, the company said these still proved to be no match for stronger blockbuster showing such as Barbie, Mission: Impossible 7 and
Equaliser 3 released in the similar quarter of 2023.

Highlighting a number of marketing initiatives undertaken to push up revenues, Graham said notable ones such as the adoption of a national cinema day which took place on October 11 followed by the staging of a Halloween night at the theatre, are two which have helped the company to increase patronage during the period.

The cinema day, held across Palace’s circuit of cinemas, saw the company benefiting from increased sales as ticket prices were slashed to $700 per person.

“It didn’t do as well as it did last year, but there definitely was more patronage as a result of its staging. We didn’t have anything interesting to pull the people out but it was better than a regular day,” Graham said as she noted the addition of the multi-sensory 4DX technology, introduced earlier this year at auditorium 4 of the Carib 5 cinema, as another of the initiatives which has been positively adding to top line growth.

“The thrill of viewing seven releases in the multi-sensory format within the period under review has left our audiences begging for more. As a result, the occupancy level is trending well, and we look forward to being able to respond positively to their demands in the months ahead, as the product pipeline is brimming with strong and marketable pictures. The outlook of the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) underscores a positive 2025 year for the industry,” Palace directors also noted in the interim report to shareholders.

Upbeat about the festive period, Graham said she is further anticipating good returns from other marketing initiatives such as the continued promotion of vouchers offered at discounted prices as well as an increase in rentals of the theatres.

Lauding the recent appointment of Steven Cooke to the role of assistant managing director as a strategic one, the senior director said his addition will not only help to deal with succession planning objectives but will also get the company ready to capitalise on more of the new age technologies.

“Steven since his appointment has taken on a number of areas particularly those concerning the efficient streamlining of our information technology services. Things have been going well and we are happy to have him as part of the management team,” Graham said.