Everyman Cinema boss pins hopes on Gen Z and new releases to revive chain after £10m loss

The Everyman cinema chain is pinning its hopes on new releases, including Devil Wears Prada 2 and the Michael Jackson biopic, after reporting a £10million loss.

Interim boss Farah Golant said the business had ‘eaten our own expectations’ in recent weeks, with children’s films including The Super Mario Galaxy Movie and The Magic Faraway Tree doing well.

Golant took on the job after former chief executive Alex Scrimgeour stepped down at the end of last year amid bleak sales forecasts and a dismal share price spiral.

She said the business, which has 49 cinemas, was ‘encouraged by a strong film slate this year,’ with a variety of genres ranging from sequels, such as Spider-Man: Brand New Day, to book adaptations like Wuthering Heights.

Another title expected to do well is the Devil Wears Prada 2, starring Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway (pictured), which is released this Friday. 

In her bid to revive the business, Golant said the leadership are ‘never going to compromise’ on the upmarket chain’s signature features, such as its ‘iconic’ sofas.

The Devil Wears Prada 2 movie, starring Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway, is among the titles Everyman hope will do well this year.

Golant’s background is in advertising and previously led All3Media, the television production group behind The Traitors, Midsomer Murders and Fleabag.

Her optimism for a turnaround came as sales rose 8.8 per cent to £116million over the year to 1 January. Admissions rose 2.3 per cent from 4.3million to 4.4million.

But the group clocked a £10.2million loss in 2025, the same as the previous year, after warning of ‘weaker than anticipated’ trading at the end of last year.

Despite ‘intensifying’ worries over a fresh cost of living crisis for households triggered by the war in the Middle East, Golant said that consumers ‘won’t compromise’ on their social lives.

But they may hold off on buying cars, moving homes or booking expensive holidays, she said.

There has been a rebound in demand for what she calls ‘in real life culture’ after people were stuck at home during the Covid lockdowns and got used to their free time being ‘atomised’ in their house, Golant said.

The business is seeing its Gen Z audience ‘leading a rebound to the box office,’ she said. The cohort visits the cinema more than any other age group, with an average of around seven trips a year, according to a recent survey by American ticket company Fandango.

It is offering drinks including mocktails and zero per cent Guinness to target a ‘zebra striping’ trend among young people, where they swap between alcoholic and soft drinks.

She said she was applying a ‘test and learn ethos’ to appeal to growing segments, including students and families. This includes trialling ‘student bundles’ on Mondays and Tuesdays at its Leeds cinema as well as introducing a children’s menu across its chains.

But despite her bullishness, Everyman Cinema’s shares were down 3 per cent on Tuesday afternoon. They have fallen by more than a quarter over the past year.

Everyman axed plans to open new venues this year after announcing last summer that it would open two new cinemas and had a ‘strong pipeline of future developments’ in place.

But it said it was cancelling new openings in order to reduce its debt pile – which increased from £18.1million to £22million over the past year.

Everyman has lost its appeal in recent years as cinema heavyweights Vue and Odeon installed reclining seats, while others have introduced fancier food offerings.

The wider industry is struggling with languishing cinema trips as figures show box office revenue was down 33 per cent year-on-year in November despite the release of Wicked: For Good.