Leading cinema chains in the UK and Ireland 2019, by market share

Here we see information on the leading movie theater chains in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2019, ranked by market share based on revenue. Cineworld, Odeon and Vue, the leading three chains, accounted for almost 70 percent of the exhibitor market combined. Cineworld had the largest market share at 23 percent.

A world of cinema in the UK

Cineworld operations included 787 cinema sites across ten European markets in 2019. In the UK, the cinema company also runs an arthouse cinema chain under the name Picturehouse Cinemas as well as Cineworld Cinemas, a chain of multiplex venues. Cineworld competitor Odeon took a close second place with a market share of 21.9 percent. The Odeon cinema company, originally founded by Oscar Deutsch in 1930, is a subsidiary of the Odeon Cinema Group together with cinema chain UCI Cinemas. The cinema brand operated 112 cinema sites across the UK and Ireland in 2019.

The cost of cinema

In 2020, cinema ticket prices in the UK decreased to 6.75 British pounds on average. Due to the coronavirus pandemic and the following cinema closures, the average annual cinema-going spending per head in the UK was 4.37 British pounds in 2020, down from over 18 British pounds the year before.