World Cup: good for beer sales, but bad for cinemas

Some businesses relish the football World Cup every four years because of the increased business from patrons who enjoy watching the game at bars and outdoors establishments.

But one business that does not find the highly-anticipated sporting event great is cinemas. The 2018 financial analysis summary issued by the Eden Finance plc, the finance company owned by Eden Leisure Group, says the World Cup currently underway in Russia is expected to result in a 20% reduction in revenue for the Eden Cinemas.

While a significant drop is hardly surprising when the World Cup is on, it’s hard not to get taken in, and people turn out in droves to watch countries battle it out on the football field –  whether it’s for the love of the game, or just for socialising.

A spokesperson for Simonds Farsons Cisk, the brewery and beverage giant, on the other hand said big sporting events and the World Cup in particular, increased consumption of beverages, but would not quantify the increase, which is not only limited to beer and alcohol but across the board.

The spokesperson said this was in part driven by the fact that events such as public match screenings and related activities are organised for the competition, driving consumption further.

As with cinema sales, it is the involvement of footballing nations supported by the Maltese that “does, to a certain extent, depend on the participating teams and their level of success”, the Farson spokesperson said – meaning it all depends on whether Italy and England are playing, and playing well.

NSO cinema statistics for the period between 2013 and 2016 show revenue increasing every year, accompanied by a drop in screenings that likely reflects the trend where people turn out to watch highly-anticipated movies – and fewer on the spur of the moment. In fact, Eden Cinemas says it expects revenue to progressively increase with top box office screenings such as ‘Avengers: Infinity War’, ‘Deadpool 2’ and ‘Black Panther’.