UPDATE: Cinema chains including Vue, Curzon, Reel Cinemas, Savoy, Arc and Picturedrome will screen the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II for free on Monday, September 19.
Around 150 cinemas will be showing the funeral for free, according to trade body the UK Cinema Association.
Vue will screen the funeral in selected UK venues, which will provide free bottled water; food and drink sales points will be closed, and all other screenings for that day have been cancelled.
Curzon has confirmed it will resume regular programming in the evening on Monday; all the other chains listed will remain closed for the rest of the day following the funeral.
Several other chains, including the UK’s two largest exhibitors Odeon and Cineworld (and Cineworld-owned Picturehouse) will close all day.
Original story below:
Many cinemas in the UK and Northern Ireland will close on Monday, September 19 for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.
Cinema chains to confirm closures to Screen so far include Odeon and Cineworld, the two biggest operators in the territory, which run over 220 cinemas between them.
Other chains to confirm closures include Showcase, which has 19 venues across the country; and The Light cinemas, which has 12 locations.
Curzon Cinemas will show the funeral in its 16 venues during the day; and will resume programming of films in the evening.
The BFI will be closing all its venues on Monday, including cinemas at its flagship Southbank venue and the nearby Imax at Waterloo.
Further closures are expected to be announced in the coming days, ahead of the funeral which will take place at Westminster Abbey at 11.00 BST on Monday.
Cinemas are not mandated by law to close during the official ‘mourning period’, which is underway and runs until the end of Monday 19.
Guidance from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport remains the same, that ‘there is no expectation for businesses to close during the mourning period unless they wish to’ and it is ‘a decision for individual organisations’.
However, with supermarkets, shopping centres and other establishments announcing closures for either the time of the funeral or the full day, cinemas are becoming the latest to follow suit.
A statement from Odeon read, “As a mark of respect for Queen Elizabeth II all Odeon cinemas in the UK & Northern Ireland will be closed on Monday 19th September. We will re-open again on Tuesday 20th September.”
The Cineworld statement read, “Out of respect to HM Queen Elizabeth II and the Royal Family, all of our UK cinemas will be closed on Monday September 19, the day of the state funeral. Those who have made bookings for this day will be contacted shortly.”
Screen has contacted other major UK chains including Vue for their plans, and will update this story as further information comes in.
Yesterday Universal delayed the UK-Ireland release of Ol Parker’s comedy Ticket To Paradise starring George Clooney and Julia Roberts, ”out of respect to the Royal Family and the people of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.” The film was originally scheduled for release this Friday, September 16; but will now open on Tuesday, September 20, the day after the funeral.
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