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Warner Village plexes change Vue

February 9, 2004
(Variety)

A major new cinema brand made its debut in Blighty this weekend , when the multiplex circuit formerly known as Warner Village finally started its transformation into Vue.

Vue, backed by a consortium of venture capitalists, bought WV's 36 theaters last May, merging them with the four-site SBC loop. But it has taken until now for the company to begin its redesign of the circuit (the U.K.'s second largest), and to put the Vue name on the marquee.

The first two theaters, in York and Doncaster, converted to the new look Feb. 8. The rest of the 386-screen loop will follow over the next three months, to be completed by the end of April.

The frontage of the flagship Warner (now Vue) West End in London's Leicester Square is being decked out with two vast outdoor screens, to display still images of the movies unspooling inside.

Vue is aiming to create a more upscale, adult ambience in a bid to attract a broader, older demographic to multiplexes that previously had a brash and juvenile feel. 'When you have a nightclub atmosphere, that's not going to appeal to the audience that wants to see 'Calendar Girls,' " explains Vue CEO Tim Richards.

The Muzak is being turned down and the lighting up. A pastel color scheme replaces the old neon; the murals are being switched from cartoon characters to tasteful variants on Vue's flame logo; and gamerooms will be replaced with coffee bars.

Richards believes that attracting "the graying baby boomers" is the key to sustaining the long-term upward curve of U.K cinemagoing. He's untroubled by last year's fall in admissions and box office.

"2002 was the biggest year in 30 years, and even though the market fell back in 2003, it was still up on 2001. In fact, last year turned out marginally better than we predicted when we bought Warner Village. I think that this year will be back up to the level of 2002, or slightly better," he says.

Vue is acting on this conviction with an aggressive program of new construction. It plans to open six new sites in 2005 and another six to nine the year after. Separately, Richards says that he has made "a major capital commitment" to upgrading the existing theaters, over and above the cost of the brand makeover. One old WV site is being sold off as surplus to new corporate requirements.

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