Over 630 venues have signed up to participate in the event, offering tickets from £3 to cinema-goers across the day. Following up on a hugely successful first edition in 2022, those participating include all major UK cinema operators and a wide range of smaller cinema operators and venues.
Last year’s National Cinema Day, the first in almost 30 years, saw almost 1.5 million admissions, around three times their normal level as people came together to help celebrate UK cinema-going, the country’s most popular out-of-home leisure activity.
National Cinema Day comes hot on the heels of the phenomenal recent success of Barbie and Oppenheimer, the release of which saw the highest level of weekly UK cinema admissions in over a decade, proving once again that while many still enjoy watching films on streaming and other services at home, nothing compares to the sights, sounds and sheer immersive experience of watching a film in its natural home, the cinema theatre.
National Cinema Day has been developed by the cross-industry body Cinema First and is supported by the Film Distributors’ Association and the UK Cinema Association. The event will be promoted through an ambitious and wide-ranging marketing effort using broadcast, digital and outdoor channels.
Ahead of this weekend’s event, Iain Jacob, Chair of Cinema First, said: ‘‘There seems no better time than now to celebrate UK cinema-going, one of the nation’s favourite out-of-home leisure activities. Coming off of the back of recent successes and the huge profile they have given to the sector, we wanted to give everyone a chance to enjoy the big screen experience.
While all the evidence confirms that cinema-going is amongst the most low-cost, best value-for-money leisure opportunities, we also of course recognise that many households are still experiencing significant impacts on their finances and wanted to do our bit to make a trip to the cinema even more affordable for the whole family.
I am hugely grateful for the level of support shown by colleagues across the industry for National Cinema Day, which we very much hope will exceed last year’s very successful event, confirming the continued relevance of film in the lives of the cinema-going audience.”
Further information on National Cinema Day, and details on those UK cinema sites participating can be found on the National Cinema Day website here.
