Vista sees ‘mixed bag’ of cinema reopenings

It’s an anxious time in the cinema industry with most of the world’s movie theatres still closed amid the coronavirus crisis and continuing delays in the release of blockbuster movies aren’t helping.

Vista Group International chief executive Kimbal Riley describes the situation as “a mixed bag” with early reopeners South Korea and France reporting strong demand, despite the lack of blockbusters.

Such developments matter a lot to Vista, which has customers in more than 90 countries and claims 51 per cent of cinema circuits with 20 or more locations outside of China.

And while it counts movie makers and distributors among its customers, exhibitors account for more than 80 per cent of its business.

Covid-19 put the kibosh on Vista’s plan to increase its stake in its joint venture in China where cinemas remain closed indefinitely after an aborted attempt at reopening in March.

Evo Entertainment’s cinemas in Texas, one of the first to adopt Vista’s reopening technology covering everything from contactless payment to social distancing in seat allocation, have remained open, Riley said.

That’s despite the Texan authorities closing bars again in reaction to resurgent infection rates.

But the major operators in the rest of the United States are delaying reopening because of the movie release delays, rather than what’s happening to infection rates.

Release dates for movies such as Tenet, a spy film written and directed by Christopher Nolan, and Mulan, a Disney movie about a Chinese woman warrior directed by New Zealand’s Niki Caro of Whale Rider fame, keep being pushed back.

France’s Les Cinemas Pathe Gaumont signed up for Vista technology in 2018 after using its systems in cinemas in Switzerland and Belgium and, despite the virus, signed an agreement in May to extend the relationship into the Netherlands.

But despite such developments, Vista notified the market last month that it doesn’t know when the bulk of its customers will be able to reopen in any meaningful way.

So, it’s hardly surprising that Vista shares are down nearly 60 per cent year to date while the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 Index has recovered to pre-lockdown levels.

Vista shares closed down 2c at $1.39 yesterday.