Vue cinema boss: I don't see streaming as the competition

Tim Richards, CEO of Vue International, does not view streaming services as competition to cinemas. He argues that film studios learned during the pandemic that they need cinemas, as their attempts to circumvent them resulted in significant financial losses. Richards believes all parts of the film industry are interconnected and need each other. Despite the challenges of the past five years, including the pandemic closures and industry strikes, Vue has returned to pre-pandemic trading levels and anticipates a strong future, with next summer expected to be the company's busiest ever. Richards asserts there will always be an appetite for the big screen, stating that increased subscription service usage during the pandemic was due to a lack of choice, not a permanent shift in consumer behavior. He emphasizes that Vue's most frequent customers are often also subscribers to streaming services, indicating that movie lovers enjoy films in all formats. Richards views the Hollywood strikes as a supply issue, not a demand one, and maintains that there has never been a demand problem for cinemas. While Richar... download the app to read more