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Vue steps up in class Until it was overtaken recently by a theater in Japan, the Warner West End in London's Leicester Square was the highest grossing cinema for "Matrix Reloaded" anywhere in the world. In its four-month run, the movie grossed £800,000 ($ 1.33 million), more than double any other Brit site. That's something that Vue, the new owner of the Warner Village chain, is keen to boast about as it prepares to rebrand its entire 384-screen circuit next March. Chief exec Tim Richards wants his West End multiplex, due for a "drastic" makeover, to be seen as a rival to its hitherto more glamorous neighbors, the Odeon Leicester Square and the UCI Empire. Upgrading the circuit's image is central to Vue's strategy. The company was created in May when SBC Intl. Cinemas bought Warner Village for $ 400 million. It plans to replace the aggressively juvenile Looney Tunes image with a more sophisticated pitch to a broader and more upscale audience, particularly in London. That means a classier look, but also programming and marketing more sensitively tailored to local tastes. "Objectively, it's the best equipped circuit in the country, but right now, I don't think it's attracting the higher end," says Richards. "The graying baby boomers just aren't aware how fantastic these multiplexes are." The arrival of former UCI topper Steve Knibbs as chief operating officer completes the new management team. "I've always believed that a lot of cinemas are not fulfilling their potential," Knibbs says. "Film exhibitors and distributors have got to get smarter about working together to grow the audience."
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