Upmarket cinema chain Everyman has revealed a boost in sales as average ticket prices neared ยฃ13 amid the success of box office hits such as The Devil Wears Prada 2 and Project Hail Mary.

The London-listed company still said it was cautious about the outlook for the full year because of a โ€œchallengingโ€ economic environment.

Admissions across Everyman, which runs 49 cinemas in the UK, totalled 2.6 million over the six months to July 2 โ€“ up 20.5% compared with the same period last year.

The average ticket price was ยฃ12.97, up 4.1% from ยฃ12.46 this time last year.

People also spent an average of ยฃ11.41 on food and drink during their cinema visits, up 3% on the year before.

More ticket sales and increased prices paid helped push revenues up by 23.5% year-on-year to nearly ยฃ70 million, the company said.

Everyman said it captured a bigger share of the cinema market in the first half of the financial year, helped by a strong performance by films such as The Devil Wears Prada 2, Wuthering Heights, Project Hail Mary, Hamnet and Michael.

Recent box office hits The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day are also expected to deliver a boost, as well as upcoming films such as Sense And Sensibility in September, The Hunger Games: Sunrise On The Reaping in November, and Dune: Part Three in December.

Everyman offers a premium cinema experience with smaller theatres, sofas and an extensive food and drink menu that can be delivered to peopleโ€™s seats.

It has also been cashing in on things like private hire, brand partnerships and events like its โ€œbaby clubโ€, offering morning screenings with a lower volume and softer lighting, and โ€œsilver screenโ€ matinees for people aged 55 and over.

Everyman revealed to investors in the latest update that it returned to a pre-tax profit of ยฃ1.9 million for the half-year, from a ยฃ3.4 million loss the previous year.

The company warned that it was retaining โ€œa degree of caution for the full-year outlook due to the challenging economic environment and the significance of the fourth quarter trading to the overall annual performanceโ€.

The chain had previously pointed to concerns across the industry about pressures on consumer spending impacting demand.