TORONTO – The Force was with Cineplex last year as the latest installment in the “Star Wars” saga helped propel Canada’s dominant theatre chain to its best-ever annual and fourth-quarter financial results.
“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” was in the company’s theatres for 14 days of the final three months of the year — and was Cineplex’s top film for 2015.
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Box office ticket sales was $196.3 million in the final three months of 2015, up 13.8 per cent from a year earlier.
Cineplex’s total revenue from all sources including concession sales, advertising and newer business initiatives was $407.4 million, up 22.6 per cent.
Profit more than doubled to $76.8 million, up 139.4 per cent from $32.1 million.
In the fourth quarter, Cineplex had record attendance of 20.4 million — 7.1 per cent higher than a year earlier.