Curzon Cinemas

This article is about cinema chain. For the independent cinema with the same name in North Somerset, see Curzon Community Cinema, Clevedon. For the Australian cinema formerly known as the Curzon, see Capri Theatre.

Curzon Cinemas Limited

Industry	Leisure, Entertainment & refreshments
Founded	1934
Number of locations	17 cinemas
Products	Tickets, popcorn, alcohol, drinks & confectionery
Parent	Curzon (Fortress Investment Group)[1]
Website	www.curzon.com

Curzon Cinemas Limited (/ˈkɜːrzən/)[2][3] is a chain of cinemas based in the United Kingdom, mostly in London, specialising in art house films. They also have a video on demand service, Curzon Home Cinema.

History

Curzon Cinemas were established in 1934 when Harold Wingate, who imported unknown films during the post World War I period, opened the first cinema in Mayfair. The second location, Curzon Bloomsbury, opened in 1972. In 1976 Curzon Artificial Eye, the film distribution company was launched.

On 23 December 2019, American-based Cohen Media Group acquired Curzon Cinemas, including Curzon Artificial Eye.[4]

In March 2020, Curzon Cinemas and all other public cinemas in the UK closed until summer 2020 due to a national lockdown in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.[5]

In 2023, Edward Fletcher replaced Philip Knatchbull as Curzon's new CEO.[6]

In February 2024, American investment firm Fortress Investment Group sued Cohen Realty Enterprises for defaulting on loans amounting to $534 million. Fortress then requested the New York Supreme Court to grant a motion for a foreclosure sale, which was later set for November 8 that year. Fortress was reportedly the only bidder for Curzon and related entities, initially offering $5 million to acquire the company. A few days later, it was announced that Fortress had acquired Curzon for $5million.[7][1][8]

Locations

The Renoir, Bloomsbury

Curzon Cinemas currently have 17 cinema complexes throughout the United Kingdom.[9]

Current

Location	Screens	Notes
Aldgate	4	Opened January 2017
Bloomsbury	6	"The Renoir" Acquired March 2015[10]
Camden	5	Opened 29 October 2021
Canterbury Riverside	5	Opened 26 August 2022
Canterbury Westgate	3	Clevedon, Somerset
Colchester	3	Opened 6 July 2018
Hoxton	3	Opened 4 June 2021
Kingston	4	Opened 11 November 2022
Knutsford	3
Mayfair	2	First Curzon from 1934
Oxford	5	Opened Autumn 2017
Richmond	1
Sheffield	3	Opened 9 January 2015
Soho	3
Victoria	5	Opened May 2014
Wimbledon	3	Previously "HMVcurzon"

Former

Location	Screens	Notes
Chelsea	1	Closed 31 March 2018.[11]
Ripon	2	Opened 31 October 2013[12] and closed 1 July 2023.[13][14]

Franchised locations

Curzon Cinemas have also franchised their name and operate in partnership with a number of other locations.[15]

Location	Partner's name	Number of screens	Notes
South Bank	Curzon Sea Containers	1	Previously Curzon Mondrian, renamed in January 2019 in line with rebrand of Sea Containers Hotel[16][17]

Future locations

Curzon intends to reopen its Chelsea cinema (which was closed in May 2018) in 2023 after the site is redeveloped by Cadogan Estates.[18]

Related companies

Curzon Film is a sister company of Curzon Cinemas.[19] They cover acquisition, production and distribution rights to films across the UK and Ireland.

Curzon Home Cinema,[20] a video on demand service.

References

1. Ramachandran, Naman (11 November 2024). "Curzon Cinema Chain Acquired by Fortress in U.K. Arthouse Deal". Variety. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
2. Jones, Daniel (2011). Roach, Peter; Setter, Jane; Esling, John (eds.). Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary (18th ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-15255-6.
3. Wells, John C. (2008). Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (3rd ed.). Longman. ISBN 978-1-4058-8118-0.
4. Andreas Wiseman (23 December 2019). "Curzon Cinemas & Artificial Eye, UK's Flagship Arthouse Film Group, Acquired By Cohen Media Group". Deadline. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
5. Knatchbull, Philip (13 May 2020). "Our Cinemas Are Currently Closed". Curzon. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
6. https://www.screendaily.com/news/curzon-names-edward-fletcher-as-ceo-overseeing-exhibition-and-distribution/5187703.article ^[bare URL]
7. Goldsmith, Jill (10 November 2024). "Landmark Theatres Gets No Offers At Charles Cohen Foreclosure Auction But Lender Fortress Bid $5 Million For Curzon". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
8. Sugiura, Eri (12 November 2024). "Fortress seizes control of art house cinema chain Curzon". Financial Times. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
9. "Curzon Cinemas". Curzon World. Archived from the original on 16 February 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
10. "Renoir to Curzon Bloomsbury: a rebranding too far". TheGuardian.com. 19 November 2008.
11. "Curzon Chelsea Cinema in London, GB - Cinema Treasures".
12. "Curzon Ripon in Ripon, GB - Cinema Treasures".
13. "Curzon - Curzon Ripon cinema closed permanently on 1 July 2023".
14. "Curzon to close Ripon cinema". 14 June 2023.
15. "Home".
16. Sea Containers London https://www.seacontainerslondon.com. Retrieved 26 July 2019. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
17. "Home". curzonseacontainers.com.
18. "Curzon Chelsea cinema information". www.curzoncinemas.com. Archived from the original on 24 November 2018.
19. "Curzon Artificial Eye".
20. "Home".

External links

• Curzon Cinemas – official site
• Curzon – corporate site
• Curzon Sea Containers (Southbank)