Correction: side surrounds are not embedded in the walls but it does highlight that lighting levels during trailers are low enough that they can’t be seen.
Screen 1 is now looking very smart and the new layout works well. Black carpet as seen elsewhere in this cinema and brass handrails but the rest of it follows Cineworld’s current fit-out with Black wall coverings and a red strip of LEDs around the wall above handrail height, and red Lino Sonego seating. The auditorium has been re-stepped more steeply so that heads don’t get in the way however this does mean that the two middle seats in the back row are missing because of the projector overhead. Seats don’t recline but are very comfortable and the legroom is vastly improved. Rows have a hard floor rather than carpet which will be easier to clean.
Screen does not appear to have adjustable masking and no longer has the red LED surround. Surround speakers are hidden in the walls.
Lighting levels in the screen are suitable low, with the honeycomb filters as seen in the upper screens at the O2. Photos to be uploaded shortly!
As far as I’m aware the current seats and carpets are from Virgin Cinemas' refurbishment which took place around 1997 – when Cineworld handed it over to Empire there were plenty of threadbare armrest and lots of duct tape covering sharp edges on the plastic shells covering the backs of the seats.
Screen 1 (formerly 5) has 44 seats across 4 rows Screen 2 has (formerly 4) has 78 seats across 5 rows
Going by the numbers on Empire Cinemas' orphaned webpages this is a reduction of 4 and 16 seats respectively. It looks as though screen 1’s layout has changed. Previously it had a single centre aisle but now has aisles on either end of the rows. Strangely the middle two seats of the back row are missing – shame to lose these as they had limitless legroom, but a smart move I think as viewing from the ends of the rows (particularly house right due to the screen not being centred) wasn’t great.
Nothing programmed for screens 5-7 tomorrow onwards.
I realise this is in the realms of extreme minutiae, but given all internal signage installed by Empire Cinemas has been replaced (even in non-refurbished areas such as access to screens 6-9) regardless of whether it was branded, I was rather surprised to notice that the sign to the toilets as you exit the Superscreen appears to have been missed!
Yes, Superscreen is Cineworld’s name for what Vue called Screen 11. Huge screen as you say however the cavernous auditorium has acoustic issues.
My favourite non-IMAX large format screen is the Superscreen at Cineworld Leicester Square – it’s 0.5m narrower than the O2 one but is taller (1.9 ratio) and has an absolutely superb Dolby Atmos set up.
Sadly the Cineworld Leicester Square IMAX suffers from poor legroom thanks to installing chunky modern seats on the old 1960s stepping. Regarding screen sizes, due to the aspect ratio the picture for most digitally projected films will be larger in Leicester Square. The main reason to come to the BFI IMAX is to see IMAX 70mm presentations.
Since the refurb at the O2, including the balcony the Superscreen there now seats a total of 850. Prior to this it had a capacity of 785 and the seats on the balcony were in a VIP-style setup with small tables between each pair of seats.
I may be mixing up my screen numbers. However it seems that a few days after my post all performances in screen 2 were cancelled so either someone programmed that screen by mistake (meaning we could still see a revised seating plan) or things are taking longer than planned.
At long last the Empire Cinemas logo has been removed from the seats in the Superscreen. Still no sign of when screens 1 and 2 (formerly 4 and 5) will reopen but I look forward to seeing what they’ve done with them.
Just visiting for the first time since the completion of the foyer refurb and it looks great! They’ve taken Empire’s padded door theme and run with it, with all doors covered in black suede padding and the entire back wall under the sloped ceiling! There’s lots of sofa seating, so it does still feel like a place to linger.
Refurb stops abruptly at the screen 5 and 6 landing although new signage is in place.
I’ll upload some video later tonight, and a couple of photos in just a moment.
I guess what I meant was “had been allowed to become stale” :) The final iteration was a bit of a mush-mash of parts and finishes from various decades.
Next to the screed and adhesive are boxes of Polyflex vinyl floor tiles, presumably for a booth or back of house area. On the other side of the foyer was a rather large shrink wrapped box with a Barco label on it, which might be connected to what’s been going on for 4DX?
Work on the foyer is coming on apace! I look forward to seeing the finished result but it seems to be taking what was once a rather stale, dated space into something more befitting of its location. Take a look at the photos I’ve uploaded.
The flooring in the box office area has been revealed and it’s a matt, grippy finish tile rather than Cineworld’s signature glossy black sparkly number. A wise decision given how slippery this area could get in the rain! Opposite the box office are two 85 inch UHD displays (a few more of these waiting to be unpacked in the foyer).
The balustrades on the stairs have made a return albeit with their tops missing – I suspect we’ll see this lit underneath.
On the ceiling in certain areas are large backlit panels mimicking the gold squares. Due to their size they seem to be sagging in the middle but I’d imagine this will be rectified at some point. Interestingly the coloured LED lights hidden inside the gold inset squares were not on tonight.
Gradually new signage for screens, toilets etc is going up, and the doors to the IMAX screen have lost their padding – perhaps one of the contractors now has a new headboard! The area under the sloped portion of ceiling looks deeper than before but it’s probably just my eyes playing tricks. It would be nice to see a bar added in here to compete with Vue and Odeon but I wouldn’t be surprised to just see some sofas.
Corridor to the Superscreen has new carpet and signage, with the white ceiling painted dark grey. Wall coverings remain the same. The area in front of the stairs to screens 5-7 retains the same ceiling as before with the lower part painted dark grey and the raised section painted red.
Tonight I saw A Quiet Place, which is an excellent demonstration of what can be done with Dolby Atmos. It also demonstrated the incredible sub bass that screen is capable of, with roars, crashes and fireworks shaking the seats. Also the film was shot in Super 35mm and mastered in 4K so really let the projector shine, although black levels could have been better (the image was reflecting off the port glass onto the back wall of the booth, then casting a glow on the screen which is something I’ve never really noticed before).
Correction: side surrounds are not embedded in the walls but it does highlight that lighting levels during trailers are low enough that they can’t be seen.
Oddly there are no letters to indicate the rows.
Screen 1 is now looking very smart and the new layout works well. Black carpet as seen elsewhere in this cinema and brass handrails but the rest of it follows Cineworld’s current fit-out with Black wall coverings and a red strip of LEDs around the wall above handrail height, and red Lino Sonego seating. The auditorium has been re-stepped more steeply so that heads don’t get in the way however this does mean that the two middle seats in the back row are missing because of the projector overhead. Seats don’t recline but are very comfortable and the legroom is vastly improved. Rows have a hard floor rather than carpet which will be easier to clean.
Screen does not appear to have adjustable masking and no longer has the red LED surround. Surround speakers are hidden in the walls.
Lighting levels in the screen are suitable low, with the honeycomb filters as seen in the upper screens at the O2. Photos to be uploaded shortly!
As far as I’m aware the current seats and carpets are from Virgin Cinemas' refurbishment which took place around 1997 – when Cineworld handed it over to Empire there were plenty of threadbare armrest and lots of duct tape covering sharp edges on the plastic shells covering the backs of the seats.
Screen 1 and 2 now bookable.
Screen 1 (formerly 5) has 44 seats across 4 rows Screen 2 has (formerly 4) has 78 seats across 5 rows
Going by the numbers on Empire Cinemas' orphaned webpages this is a reduction of 4 and 16 seats respectively. It looks as though screen 1’s layout has changed. Previously it had a single centre aisle but now has aisles on either end of the rows. Strangely the middle two seats of the back row are missing – shame to lose these as they had limitless legroom, but a smart move I think as viewing from the ends of the rows (particularly house right due to the screen not being centred) wasn’t great.
Nothing programmed for screens 5-7 tomorrow onwards.
Yes, and at the same price as the two smaller screens.
I realise this is in the realms of extreme minutiae, but given all internal signage installed by Empire Cinemas has been replaced (even in non-refurbished areas such as access to screens 6-9) regardless of whether it was branded, I was rather surprised to notice that the sign to the toilets as you exit the Superscreen appears to have been missed!
Yes, Superscreen is Cineworld’s name for what Vue called Screen 11. Huge screen as you say however the cavernous auditorium has acoustic issues.
My favourite non-IMAX large format screen is the Superscreen at Cineworld Leicester Square – it’s 0.5m narrower than the O2 one but is taller (1.9 ratio) and has an absolutely superb Dolby Atmos set up.
Screen 1 is currently being used as a live theatre, for a production of Brief Encounter.
A lot of building projects in London seem to be taking a long time lately, most likely due to the shortage of labour in the construction industry.
Sadly the Cineworld Leicester Square IMAX suffers from poor legroom thanks to installing chunky modern seats on the old 1960s stepping. Regarding screen sizes, due to the aspect ratio the picture for most digitally projected films will be larger in Leicester Square. The main reason to come to the BFI IMAX is to see IMAX 70mm presentations.
Since the refurb at the O2, including the balcony the Superscreen there now seats a total of 850. Prior to this it had a capacity of 785 and the seats on the balcony were in a VIP-style setup with small tables between each pair of seats.
I may be mixing up my screen numbers. However it seems that a few days after my post all performances in screen 2 were cancelled so either someone programmed that screen by mistake (meaning we could still see a revised seating plan) or things are taking longer than planned.
It’ll be a huge shame if this cinema is lost and I hope the mainstream media pick up on the threat it’s facing.
Screen 2 (formerly screen 5) is now bookable for performances from next Thursday. Layout and seat count is unchanged.
It appears Swindon Interiors have reused the photos of the Putney refurbishment on that page.
At long last the Empire Cinemas logo has been removed from the seats in the Superscreen. Still no sign of when screens 1 and 2 (formerly 4 and 5) will reopen but I look forward to seeing what they’ve done with them.
Demolition to commence this week.
As promised, here’s a short video of the new foyer: https://youtu.be/er5pqy9F_OY
Apologies for the shaky camera work!
Just visiting for the first time since the completion of the foyer refurb and it looks great! They’ve taken Empire’s padded door theme and run with it, with all doors covered in black suede padding and the entire back wall under the sloped ceiling! There’s lots of sofa seating, so it does still feel like a place to linger.
Refurb stops abruptly at the screen 5 and 6 landing although new signage is in place.
I’ll upload some video later tonight, and a couple of photos in just a moment.
Strangely the IMAX appears to have retained its padded doors albeit with simplified door handles, which looks a bit out of place.
On my visit the other day the wall had lines drawn on it to mark where the strips would be attached.
A few more photos found on Twitter: https://twitter.com/filmfanstevie/status/984472470076915714?s=21
Yes all of the black ceiling in the foyer is a reflective lacquer finish stretch ceiling.
Cineworld’s Twitter team have posted a photo of the finished bar entrance stairs, which incorporate LED displays in the risers.
I guess what I meant was “had been allowed to become stale” :) The final iteration was a bit of a mush-mash of parts and finishes from various decades.
Next to the screed and adhesive are boxes of Polyflex vinyl floor tiles, presumably for a booth or back of house area. On the other side of the foyer was a rather large shrink wrapped box with a Barco label on it, which might be connected to what’s been going on for 4DX?
Work on the foyer is coming on apace! I look forward to seeing the finished result but it seems to be taking what was once a rather stale, dated space into something more befitting of its location. Take a look at the photos I’ve uploaded.
The flooring in the box office area has been revealed and it’s a matt, grippy finish tile rather than Cineworld’s signature glossy black sparkly number. A wise decision given how slippery this area could get in the rain! Opposite the box office are two 85 inch UHD displays (a few more of these waiting to be unpacked in the foyer).
The balustrades on the stairs have made a return albeit with their tops missing – I suspect we’ll see this lit underneath.
On the ceiling in certain areas are large backlit panels mimicking the gold squares. Due to their size they seem to be sagging in the middle but I’d imagine this will be rectified at some point. Interestingly the coloured LED lights hidden inside the gold inset squares were not on tonight.
Gradually new signage for screens, toilets etc is going up, and the doors to the IMAX screen have lost their padding – perhaps one of the contractors now has a new headboard! The area under the sloped portion of ceiling looks deeper than before but it’s probably just my eyes playing tricks. It would be nice to see a bar added in here to compete with Vue and Odeon but I wouldn’t be surprised to just see some sofas.
Corridor to the Superscreen has new carpet and signage, with the white ceiling painted dark grey. Wall coverings remain the same. The area in front of the stairs to screens 5-7 retains the same ceiling as before with the lower part painted dark grey and the raised section painted red.
Tonight I saw A Quiet Place, which is an excellent demonstration of what can be done with Dolby Atmos. It also demonstrated the incredible sub bass that screen is capable of, with roars, crashes and fireworks shaking the seats. Also the film was shot in Super 35mm and mastered in 4K so really let the projector shine, although black levels could have been better (the image was reflecting off the port glass onto the back wall of the booth, then casting a glow on the screen which is something I’ve never really noticed before).