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Picturehouse Cinemas

Cinema chain in the United Kingdom

Summary

Cinema chain in the United Kingdom

FieldValue
namePicturehouse Cinemas
logoPicturehouse Cinemas logo.svg
parentCineworld
foundation
founderLyn Goleby/Tony Jones
key_peopleClare Binns (Managing Director)
locationLondon, England
locations28
area_servedUnited Kingdom
industryLeisure, Entertainment & Refreshments
homepage

Picturehouse Cinemas is a network of cinemas in the United Kingdom, operated by Picturehouse Cinemas Ltd. and owned by Cineworld. The company runs its own film distribution arm, Picturehouse Entertainment, which has released acclaimed films such as Hirokazu Kore-eda's Broker and Monster, Scrapper, Corsage, Sally Potter's The Party, Francis Lee's God's Own Country and The Wife. A previous iteration of this distribution arm, which focused largely on alternative content, was sold in 2017 to Howard Panter and Rosemary Squire and rebranded as Trafalgar Releasing.

The first cinema in the chain, Phoenix Picturehouse, opened in Oxford in 1989, but many of the others operated independently before then: the Duke of York's Picture House in Brighton, for example, opened in 1910 and is Britain's longest continually operating cinema.

On 17 March 2020, Picturehouse and all other movie cinema companies in the UK temporarily closed their UK cinemas, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, reopening them on 31 July. A second closure took place from 9 October 2020 until 17 May 2021, due to an insufficient amount of new film releases and a second wave of the pandemic closing indoor venues.

In 2022, their parent company Cineworld filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States, On 31 July 2023, Cineworld entered administration in the UK. That same day, Cineworld emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy after slashing billions of dollars in debt and the much-needed boost from the Barbenheimer box office success.

Locations

Current

ImageLocationNameScreensNotes
[[File:The Little Theatre, Bath - geograph.org.uk - 6330189.jpg120px]]BathLittle Theatre Cinema2
[[File:Duke of York's Cinema, Preston Circus, Brighton (NHLE Code 1380741) (December 2011).JPG120px]]BrightonDuke of York's1url=https://www.picturehouses.com/cinema/duke-of-york-s-picturehouse/informationaccess-date=14 June 2020title=Duke of York's Picturehouse | Brighton Cinema | Picturehouse}}
[[File:Komedia Brighton.jpg120px]]BrightonDuke's at Komedia2
[[File:Cambridge The Regal.jpg120px]]CambridgeArts Picturehousetitle=Vive Le Cinéma!url=http://www.mail.picturehouses.co.uk/ov/9828ff50-9abf-11ea-b264-2accb2d6508burl-status=deadarchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200627220630/http://www.mail.picturehouses.co.uk/ov/9828ff50-9abf-11ea-b264-2accb2d6508barchive-date=27 June 2020website=Picturehouse (newsletter)access-date=24 June 2020}}The Regal Cinema opened in the city's Regent Street in 1937, was redeveloped in 1972 as a two-screen ABC cinema, and closed in 1997. Two years later, Wetherspoons installed a pub on the ground level of the building, with the Arts Picturehouse establishing a three-screen cinema above it.
[[File:Chester Market and Picturehouse - geograph.org.uk - 8070261.jpg120px]]ChesterChester Picturehouse6Opened on Friday 10 November 2023
[[File:The Cameo cinema, Home Street, Edinburgh from across the street 02 (cropped).jpg120px]]EdinburghCameo3title=Cinema Foreverurl=http://www.mail.picturehouses.co.uk/ov/2a91a1e0-953f-11ea-b264-2accb2d6508burl-status=deadarchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200613093650/http://www.mail.picturehouses.co.uk/ov/2a91a1e0-953f-11ea-b264-2accb2d6508barchive-date=13 June 2020website=Picturehouse (newsletter)access-date=13 June 2020}} and was granted B-listed heritage status in 2006.
EpsomEpsom Picturehouse6Opened on Saturday 1 June 2024
[[File:Exeter Picturehouse - geograph.org.uk - 5983091.jpg120px]]ExeterExeter Picturehouseurl=https://www.picturehouses.com/cinema/exeter-picturehouseaccess-date=24 June 2020title=Exeter Picturehouse | Exeter Cinema | Picturehouse}}title=Exeter Picturehouseurl=http://www.mail.picturehouses.co.uk/ov/394d896a-a042-11ea-b264-2accb2d6508burl-status=deadarchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200626120935/http://www.mail.picturehouses.co.uk/ov/394d896a-a042-11ea-b264-2accb2d6508barchive-date=26 June 2020website=Picturehouse (newsletter)access-date=24 June 2020}}
[[File:The Regal Cinema - geograph.org.uk - 3150158.jpg120px]]Henley-on-ThamesRegal3
[[File:FACT Liverpool exterior.jpg120px]]LiverpoolPicturehouse at FACTtitle=Inside Picturehouse at FACTurl=http://www.mail.picturehouses.co.uk/ov/91119214-ac0a-11ea-b264-2accb2d6508burl-status=deadarchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200612073919/http://www.mail.picturehouses.co.uk/ov/91119214-ac0a-11ea-b264-2accb2d6508bwebsite=Picturehouse (newsletter)archive-date=12 June 2020access-date=12 June 2020}}url=https://www.picturehouses.com/food-and-drink/picturehouse-at-fact/the-bar-at-factaccess-date=12 June 2020title=MyPicturehouse}}
[[File:At Brixton, London 2025 004.jpg120px]]]London – BrixtonRitzy5
[[File:Picturehouse Clapham.jpg120px]]London – ClaphamClapham Picturehouse4
[[File:Crouch End Picturehouse, Crouch End - 2025-07-28.jpg120px]]]London – Crouch EndCrouch End Picturehouseurl=https://www.picturehouses.com/cinema/crouch-end-picturehousetitle=Crouch End Picturehouse | Crouch End Cinema | Picturehouseaccess-date=18 July 2020}}Has a restaurant and bar.
[[File:Opening_day_at_Ealing’s_long-awaited_new_Picturehouse_cinema.jpg120px]]London – EalingEaling Picturehouse8Opened October 2023.
London – East DulwichEast Dulwich Picturehouse and Café3
London - Finsbury ParkFinsbury Park Picturehouse7Opened September 2021.
[[File:Greenwich Picturehouse 2026-01-24.jpg120px]]London – GreenwichGreenwich Picturehouse5
[[File:Hackney Picturehouse, Hackney, E8 (8026044949).jpg120px]]London – Hackney CentralHackney Picturehouse6
[[File:Gate Cinema, Notting Hill Gate, Sep 2014 01.jpg120px]]London – Notting HillThe Gate Cinema1
[[File:Picturehouse Central, Piccadilly Circus, W1 (18234385723).jpg120px]]London – PiccadillyPicturehouse Central7url=https://www.picturehouses.com/cinema/picturehouse-centralaccess-date=19 June 2020title=Picturehouse Central | London Cinema | Picturehouse}} It has a membership scheme which gives access to a rooftop member's bar.
[[File:PXL 20210715 131007622.jpg120px]]London – West NorwoodWest Norwood Picturehouse4The original Nettlefold Hall was reimagined as a Library and opened by Princess Margaret in 1969.
[[File:St Andrews Street - Cinema City - geograph.org.uk - 5874091.jpg120px]]NorwichCinema City3
[[File:The Phoenix Picture House - geograph.org.uk - 7418933.jpg120px]]OxfordPhoenix2Originally opened as the North Oxford Kinema in 1913, became the Phoenix Cinema in 1989
[[File:Cinema, Ocean Village - geograph.org.uk - 6740275.jpg120px]]SouthamptonHarbour Lightsurl=https://www.picturehouses.com/cinema/harbour-lightstitle=Harbour Lights Picturehouse | Southampton Cinema | Picturehouse}}
[[File:City Screen York 03.jpg120px]]YorkCity Screen3

Former

ImageLocationNameScreensNotes
AshfordAshford Picturehouse6Lease ended in April 2024 and now run by the council as "The Ashford Cinema"
[[File:Belmont Cinema Aberdeen.jpg120px]]AberdeenThe Belmont Picturehouse3Sold in 2014 to the Centre for the Moving Image
Bury St EdmundsThe Abbeygate Picturehouse2Sold June 2014 to Abbeygate Cinemas
[[File:Bromley Picturehouse.jpg120px]]London – BromleyBromley Picturehouse6House in a 1936 art deco building by George Coles, the venue became a Picturehouse cinema in June 2019. It had a bar and kitchen. Closed August 1, 2024
[[File:Fulham Road Picturehouse 2024-03-13.jpg120px]]London – ChelseaFulham Road Picturehouse6Formerly a Cineworld cinema, the venue opened as a Picturehouse on 8 December 2019. Closed July 11, 2024
[[File:Stratford Picture House.JPG120px]]London – StratfordStratford Picturehouse4Host venue for the Sci-Fi London Film Festival and the Fighting Spirit Film Festival. Closed July 28, 2024
[[File:Former cinema, Windsor Street - geograph.org.uk - 2302286.jpg120px]]Stratford Upon AvonStratford Upon Avon Picturehouse2Closed down on 5 January 2020

Industrial action

Main article: Living Staff Living Wage

In 2014, Cineworld was subject to industrial action owing to its refusal to pay the London living wage to its staff. Started by workers at the Ritzy Cinema, Brixton, the resulting Ritzy Living Wage campaign attracted the support of Eric Cantona and Terry Jones.

Industrial action resumed in October 2016 over the issue of the Living Wage, as well as recognition of the theatre union BECTU, parental pay and sick pay, and spread to six Picturehouse cinemas, making it the biggest strike action ever by cinema workers in the UK. Staff at the Ritzy Cinema were represented by BECTU while other cinemas were represented by the Picturehouse Staff Forum, a company union set up by management in 2003 and later run by Picturehouse staff.

Strikes continued into 2018, when workplace reps were found to be unfairly dismissed and were instructed to be reinstated, meanwhile Picturehouse claimed that they were one of the highest paying employers in the UK cinema industry.

In 2019, following a membership vote, the Staff Forum (run by Picturehouse management) was dissolved and later removed by the Certification Officer from the official list of trade unions. BECTU also called off the company boycott, stating "BECTU members have now agreed to suspend our Living Staff Living Wage campaign and call off the public boycott to focus on fighting for equal pay at the Ritzy and continuing to challenge the dismissal of other members. We won't rest until Ritzy and Picturehouse follows suit with other cinema employers we have successfully worked with and treats all its workers fairly." As of 2022, Picturehouse cinemas still do not pay their frontline staff living wage.

References

References

  1. [https://www.picturehouses.com/about-us Picturehouse. About Us] Linked 23 August 2013
  2. (6 December 2012). "Cineworld buys Picturehouse in cinema chain takeover". BBC.
  3. [https://www.picturehouses.com/entertainment Home. Picturehouse Entertainment ] Linked 14 March 2024
  4. "UK distributor Trafalgar Releasing reveals structure and growth plan". Screen.
  5. White, Debbie. (24 January 2013). "Jericho cinema to mark centenary". [[The Oxford Times]].
  6. (17 March 2020). "Coronavirus: Odeon, Vue and Cineworld shut UK cinemas". BBC News.
  7. (4 October 2020). "Cineworld to shut down UK screens after Bond film delay". BBC News.
  8. (September 7, 2022). "Regal Parent Cineworld Files For Bankruptcy". [[Deadline Hollywood]].
  9. (31 July 2023). "Cineworld enters administration".
  10. (31 July 2023). "Cineworld exits bankruptcy".
  11. "Duke of York's Picturehouse | Brighton Cinema | Picturehouse".
  12. "Vive Le Cinéma!".
  13. "Cinema Forever".
  14. (21 September 2006). "B-listing will act to protect Cameo | The Scotsman".
  15. "Epsom Picturehouse will open Saturday 01 June!".
  16. "Exeter Picturehouse | Exeter Cinema | Picturehouse".
  17. "Exeter Picturehouse".
  18. "Inside Picturehouse at FACT".
  19. "MyPicturehouse".
  20. "Crouch End Picturehouse | Crouch End Cinema | Picturehouse".
  21. "Cinema Of The Week: Crouch End Picturehouse".
  22. "Panter Hudspith Architects |".
  23. "Ealing {{!}} Ealing Cinema {{!}} Picturehouse Cinemas".
  24. "Picturehouse Central | London Cinema | Picturehouse".
  25. "MyPicturehouse".
  26. (23 October 2012). "Cine-files: The Phoenix Picturehouse, Oxford". [[The Guardian]].
  27. "Not Long Now".
  28. "Harbour Lights — Burrell Foley Fischer LLP".
  29. (24 April 2024). "Ashford: Six-screen cinema reopens under local council management".
  30. (11 June 2014). "Bury St Edmunds Picturehouse Cinema sold after competition ruling". BBC News.
  31. "Bromley Picturehouse | Bromley Cinema | Picturehouse".
  32. "Inside Bromley Picturehouse".
  33. (2024-07-04). "Bromley Picturehouse closure reason revealed".
  34. (2024-06-26). "Cinema set to shut after closure date announced".
  35. Woodings, Simon. (17 October 2019). "Stratford Picturehouse will close next January". Stratford Herald.
  36. (22 June 2014). "Cinema staff go on strike over London Living Wage". [[BBC News]].
  37. (10 June 2014). "Eric Cantona lends support to Ritzy Living Wage campaign". [[London Evening Standard]].
  38. (20 July 2014). "Nudge, nudge: Python supports ushers striking for the living wage". [[The Independent]].
  39. picturehouseworkers, Author. (2017-09-18). "Picturehouse Strikes 2016-".
  40. Smith, Mark D. "Picturehouse dispute: how far will Nero go?".
  41. picturehouseworkers, Author. (2017-07-16). "2003: Staff Forum or Trade Union?".
  42. (2018-12-06). "Tribunal rules sacked Ritzy reps must be reinstated".
  43. "Pay at Picturehouse".
  44. "Certification Officer: amendments to the lists".
  45. "Bectu response to Picturehouse ruling".
  46. "Indeed - Picturehouse pay grades".
Wikipedia Source

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