Cinemas in London with the largest screens?

[Sony Walkman Prophecies]

I know about the IMAX at Waterloo, and I've tried out the Impact screen at Cineworld Leicester Sq., but I just wondered if anyone knew of any other cinemas in the capital with larger than average screens? Frustratingly, without sifting through dozens of Google reviews, it seems surprisingly difficult to establish what size you're going to get before booking. Probably not a massive deal for most people, but I have found myself more than a bit disappointed in the past to turn up for a film to find a screen not much wider than my living room wall.

[Replies From View]

It must to be an absolute shitter to be a tall person.

I'm only about 5'6" so don't need to be fussing about with these expensive super-sized cinema screens.

[steveh]

BFI IMAX is the biggest. The Cineworld Empire IMAX is bigger than the Impact, which is being converted into that Korean 4DX immersive format where they do weather effects and wobble your seat. In traditional cinemas the Odeon Leicester Square is the biggest in London now that the Odeon Marble Arch has been demolished and the Empire split.

[Sony Walkman Prophecies]

Thanks. Will keep Odeon Leicester Square in mind for future reference.

Scraping the bottom of the barrel a bit, what about cinemas with 'decent-sized' screens? It would be nice to know where these are too.

[steveh]

Vue West End screens 5 and 7 are decent sizes, as are the Empire Haymarket screen 1 (used to be Cineworld), Curzon Mayfair screen 1 and BFI screen 1. Outside the West End most multiplexes do have at least one larger screen but I haven't come across a list. There's generally more profit to be made these days with smaller rooms.

[Brundle-Fly]

I always think it's about having top quality sound rather than how big a cinema screen is. Just sit nearer down the front if you want to look up Daniel Radcliffe's nose.

[Dr Rock]

I think the Marble Arch one was the largest I ever went to in London (since late 80s). Anyone know if there was a bigger one?

[Small Man Big Horse]

I think the Marble Arch one was the largest I ever went to in London (since late 80s). Anyone know if there was a bigger one?

Not to my knowledge. I used to love the Lumiere on St Martins Lane but that was only 700 odd seats, so a fair bit smaller.

[steveh]

The London Coliseum when it was showing three projector Cinerama in the mid sixties had an 80ft x 30ft screen, bigger than the Odeon Marble Arch's 75ft x 30ft, which was itself designed for 70mm projection. The older super cinemas, like the Tottenham Court Road Dominion, Brixton Astoria (Academy), Finsbury Park Astoria (Rainbow) or Hammersmith Odeon (Apollo) had huge audience capacity and big stages but usually 45-50ft wide screens, having been designed before wide formats became common.

Bigger auditorium sizes in the older venues aren't great for sound. The Odeon Leicester Square is a bit echoey and outside of IMAX most films are now mixed for smaller room sizes anyway.

[olliebean]

I always think it's about having top quality sound rather than how big a cinema screen is. Just sit nearer down the front if you want to look up Daniel Radcliffe's nose.

You need to sit 2/3 of the way back to get the best sound, though, so screen size plays a role in that too.

[Sony Walkman Prophecies]

Cheers everyone. keeps the recs coming!

[chocky909]

What's the point of a big screen? Just sit closer to a small one.

[chocky909]

I recommend finding a theatre with Dolby Atmos. It's fantastic.

[Dex Sawash]

[tag] RIP Wider into movies forum [/tag]

[Replies From View]

Has anyone realised yet that sitting too close or having a really massive screen are really fucking stupid?

It's not virtual reality.  You shouldn't need to crane your head back and forth to watch two people talking.

[notjosh]

VueXtreme screens in Islington and Westfield Stratford are pretty good, but pricey as fuck. There's a Cineworld "Superscreen" in the Millennium Dome but I've never tried it.

[steveh]

Odeon Leicester Square is about to close until Autumn 2018 for a major refurbishment that apparently includes a bigger 65ft screen, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos and a reduction in capacity to put in AMC's new wider reclining seats.

[Small Man Big Horse]

Odeon Leicester Square is about to close until Autumn 2018 for a major refurbishment that apparently includes a bigger 65ft screen, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos and a reduction in capacity to put in AMC's new wider reclining seats.

Good, quite frankly. I went to see The Last Jedi there and the seats were bloody uncomfortable, and way too close to the ground so that if someone's sat infront of you their head blocks out about 1/10 of the screen. Which might not seem much but it was enough to irritate, and once the film began I relocated so that I wasn't near anyone.

[maett]

Was uptown this lunch time doing some Christmas shopping, passed the Odeon in Leicester Square and thought 'yeah, might as well go and see the new Star Wars' went up to the box office, next showing in 15 minutes, chose a seat  "twenty one pounds please" "21? I'm going to have to leave that, thanks"

21 quid!

[Small Man Big Horse]

Was uptown this lunch time doing some Christmas shopping, passed the Odeon in Leicester Square and thought 'yeah, might as well go and see the new Star Wars' went up to the box office, next showing in 15 minutes, chose a seat  "twenty one pounds please" "21? I'm going to have to leave that, thanks"

21 quid!

I've an Odeon Limitless card, otherwise I would never have gone there as like you say £21's a ridiculous amount for such a shitty cinema.

[notjosh]

There's a Cineworld "Superscreen" in the Millennium Dome but I've never tried it.

Just went there to see The Last Jedi. It's pretty decent. Second row of the balcony's best I reckon.

17 quid though, only worth it for event films.

[Blue Jam]

The Cineworld Empire IMAX is bigger than the Impact, which is being converted into that Korean 4DX immersive format where they do weather effects and wobble your seat.

Why did the Good Koreans call it 4DX? What is the X for? Why not 5D? Kim Jong-un wouldn't have been so modest.

(impressive knowledge, btw)

[gabrielconroy]

I'm going to the Peckham Multiplex again tonight. Five of our queen's good pounds for a fairly decent screen. The Soho Curzon is also pretty decent, for a bit more. The row at the back has sofas, and the one in front of that has enough room to stretch your legs out twice over.

The only screen worth paying loads for is the IMAX in Waterloo, and even then only for the big audio-visual spectacle affairs. Not much point having a vast screen and booming sound for a kitchen sink drama about the travails of a downtrodden housewife in 1950s Hull.

[olliebean]

I'm going to the Peckham Multiplex again tonight. Five of our queen's good pounds for a fairly decent screen.

I used to go there about a decade ago, and it was £5 then. Amazed it hasn't succumbed to inflation in the intervening years. Mind you, I can get into my local Vue multiplex for £4.99 on Mondays these days, so it's all good.

[AdamHarris]

I don't suggest Super Screen, expensive and not really super screen, there were black sides and it really effects the experience in watching.