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Elizabeth Debicki, left, and John David Washington in a scene from director Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet.”
Melinda Sue Gordon/Associated Press
Sophisticated algorithms are being used by one of Europe’s biggest movie theater chains to help with social distancing.
Vue International, which has around 230 cinemas in the U.K., Germany, Taiwan, Italy, Poland and other European countries, has been using artificial intelligence to optimize screening times and is making adjustments to control the flow of audiences into auditoriums.
Tim Richards, who founded privately owned Vue cinemas around 20 years ago, said 10 years’ worth of data had been fed in computers pre-COVID to decide on the timing and frequency for screening movies.
This has now been adapted to control the flow of customers into the cinemas by staggering screening times. It is being linked with seating software that cocoons customers within their family bubbles, or on their own, a safe distance away from other customers.
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Richards, speaking at a press briefing on Monday evening, said: “It took me 17 years to build the group up to 230 cinemas. What happened just a few months ago was apocalyptic.
“We have planned for crises such as a cinema being shut and blockbusters tanking, but not all the cinemas being down. Our big [cost] exposures are studios, people, and rent — we were quickly focused on our burn rate and liquidity.”
Last month it was reported that Vue was lining up £100 million ($133 million) in additional debt financing. The firm is owned by Alberta Investment Management Corporation and pension fund Omers. Richards and other managers hold a 27% stake.
Vue has been slowly reopening its cinemas around Europe over the past few weeks.
“We have been using AI to help determine what is played, at what screen, and at which cinemas [to optimize revenues],” he said. “Our operating systems have been tweaked to social distance customers. It recognizes if you are with family and it will cocoon you. At the moment we are probably able to use 50% of cinemas’ capacities.
“We can control the number of people in the foyer at any one time. Crowds would not be conducive to helping customers feel comfortable coming back. Every member of staff went through two days of safety training.”
Richards said when he did reopen his movie theaters there was pent-up demand from customers but no new movies to screen.
“We still managed at 50% run rate with classic movies that were not only already available on streaming services but on terrestrial television as well. People just wanted to get out of their homes and have some kind of normalcy.”
Christopher Nolan’s complex thriller “Tenet” is the first major new film to be released and Richards said: “We are seeing ‘Tenet’ performing at the same levels as ‘Inception’ and ‘Interstellar’ did which has been amazing.
“It will be a bumpy road in some areas but we expect a return to normalcy in six months — it will take a couple of months to get people comfortable again with their positions.”
He said entertainment giant Disney DIS, +1.27% has a strong line up of movie theater releases, despite placing “Mulan” direct to its streaming channel.
Fears that streaming service Netflix NFLX, +5.09% is a threat to the industry, as movie lovers become used to watching films at home, are unfounded, he said.
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“Netflix has been disruptive for everything in the home,” he said. “We are out of the home, so Netflix is complementary to us because most people who like film like film on all formats.
“I’ve seen the demise of the industry predicted definitely five or six times. We have been counter cyclical during downturns — we are reasonably priced so people come out and enjoy what we have to offer.”
