Aug 17 (Reuters) - Belgian cinema operator Kinepolis (KIPO.BR) said on Thursday July was one of its best months in terms of sales as blockbuster films "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer", along with rainy weather in Northern Europe, lured people into cinemas. "Here in... Northern Europe, we essentially had in the month of July good cinema weather, meaning a lot of rain," Duquenne said. Duquenne said that in Spain, where Kinepolis owns 10 cinema complexes, people "often come to the cinemas because we do have air conditioning". On Thursday, Kinepolis posted record half-year sales, as attendance at its cinemas grew 22.8% year-on-year to 16.8 million visitors. That figure still fell short of pre-pandemic levels, standing at 74.8% of the attendance in the first half of 2019, excluding the cinemas Kinepolis took over and inaugurated.

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Persons: Oppenheimer, Eddy Duquenne, Mario, Barbie, Duquenne, Kinepolis, Olivier Sorgho, Devika Organizations: Mario Bros, Thomson Locations: Belgian, Northern Europe, ., Belgium, Netherlands, United States, Spain