The BFI IMAX is an

IMAX IMAX is a proprietary system of High-definition video, high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and movie theater, theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (image), aspect ratio (approximately ei ...

cinema in the Waterloo district of

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, just north of Waterloo station. It is owned and operated by the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

. From 2012 until 2022, it was operated by

Odeon Cinemas Odeon Cinemas Limited, trading as Odeon (stylised in all caps), is a cinema brand name operating in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Norway and Greece, which along with UCI Cinemas and Nordic Cinema Group is part of the Odeon Cinemas Group subsi ...

. The cinema is located in the centre of a roundabout junction with Waterloo Road to the south-east,

Stamford Street Stamford Street is a street in Lambeth and Southwark, London, England, just south of the River Thames. It runs between Waterloo Road, London, Waterloo Road to the west and Blackfriars Road to the east. It forms part of the A3200. The street ha ...

to the north-east, York Road to the south-west and

Waterloo Bridge Waterloo Bridge () is a road and foot traffic bridge crossing the River Thames in London, between Blackfriars Bridge and Hungerford Bridge and Golden Jubilee Bridges. Its name commemorates the victory of the British, Dutch and Prussians at the ...

to the north-west.

History

BFI IMAX was designed by Bryan Avery of Avery Associates Architects and completed in May 1999. The screen is the largest in Britain (20m high and 26m wide). It has a seating capacity of 500 and a 14,000 Watt digital surround sound system. Although the site is surrounded by traffic and has an underground line just four metres below, the architects and engineers accounted for this in their design and the entire upper structure sits on anti vibration bearings to prevent noise propagation. The cinema won several awards at the time of opening, including a

Design Council The Design Council, formerly the Council of Industrial Design, is a United Kingdom Charitable trust, charity incorporated by royal charter. Its stated mission is "to champion great design that improves lives and makes things better". It was instr ...

Millennium Product Award in 1999 and a

Civic Trust Award The Civic Trust Awards scheme is a British awards scheme to recognise outstanding architecture, planning and design in the built environment. It was established in 1959, and is the longest-standing built environment awards scheme in Europe. The ...

in 2000. In 2012, the screen was replaced and a digital IMAX projector was installed alongside the existing 70mm projector. In July 2012, the BFI announced that

had been selected to operate it for the next five years, with the option of termination after three years. Odeon maintained the film programmes, and booking of tickets online and by telephone. This gave customers the opportunity to watch operas on the giant screen. The BFI retained power over the cinema's operation however, including parts of the film schedule, the name and the technical operation. To start this move to mainstream cinema, the BFI London IMAX theatre celebrated by having sold 66,000 pre-booked tickets for ''

The Dark Knight Rises ''The Dark Knight Rises'' is a 2012 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan, who co-wrote the screenplay with his brother Jonathan Nolan, and the story with David S. Goyer. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, it is the final instal ...

'' in just 5 weeks, giving a total sale in tickets of £1,000,000 even before the premiere of the movie. In June 2022, the BFI announced that its ten year concessions deal with Odeon would end on 19 July 2022, with the BFI regaining control of operations. The cinema closed on this date, with a planned re-opening on 22 July.

Other IMAX cinemas in London

London has another traditional IMAX cinema at the

Science Museum A science museum is a museum devoted primarily to science. Older science museums tended to concentrate on static displays of objects related to natural history, paleontology, geology, Industry (manufacturing), industry and Outline of industrial ...

South Kensington South Kensington is a district at the West End of Central London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically it settled on part of the scattered Middlesex village of Brompton. Its name was supplanted with the advent of the ra ...

and in December 2008 gained IMAX digital cinemas at

Odeon cinemas Odeon Cinemas Limited, trading as Odeon (stylised in all caps), is a cinema brand name operating in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Norway and Greece, which along with UCI Cinemas and Nordic Cinema Group is part of the Odeon Cinemas Group subsi ...

Greenwich Greenwich ( , , ) is an List of areas of London, area in south-east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime hi ...

and

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...

. In 2011, a digital IMAX screen was also opened at the Odeon in

Swiss Cottage Swiss Cottage is an area in the London Borough of Camden, England. It is centred on the junction of Avenue Road and Finchley Road and includes Swiss Cottage tube station. Swiss Cottage lies north-northwest of Charing Cross. The area was ...

Screen size comparative to other London large screens

The BFI IMAX is the largest cinema screen in the United Kingdom. It measures 25.9m (85 feet) wide by 19.8m (65 feet) high with a total screen size of 512.8m² (289m² for a 2.39:1 film, 363m² for a 1.85:1 film, 469m² for an IMAX 1.43:1 film). Before its October 2022 refurbishment it measured 26.5m wide by 20m high, which meant that if showing a film with an aspect ratio of 2.39:1, only 293m² of the screen will be in use, or 379m² for a 1.85:1 film, or 491m² for an IMAX 1.43:1 film. The auditorium seats 493, including 4 wheelchair spaces.

References

External links

*
Avery Associates Architects

IMAX Corporation
{{coord, 51, 30, 18, N, 0, 6, 49, W, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Cinemas in London IMAX venues Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Lambeth Domes Tourist attractions in the London Borough of Lambeth Recipients of Civic Trust Awards The Twentieth Century Society Risk List

History

Other IMAX cinemas in London

Screen size comparative to other London large screens

See also

References

External links