Directory of cinemas in Brighton & Hove

These are all the cinemas (and their name changes) that have ever operated in Brighton and Hove, Southwick and Shoreham. Details are given under the earliest name of the theatre at each site, with cross-references from subsequent names. Most cinema sites have their own pages; click on the picture or name to open in its own window.
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ABC Cinema 75 East Street Brighton	1963-1986, 1997-1999 see Savoy Cinema-Theatre
ABC Cinema Portland Road Hove	1965-1973 see Granada
Academy Theatre 59 West Street Brighton  10	1911-1973 1911-1931 Academy 1931-1932 Tatler 1932-1973 Academy
Ace Cinema 107-108 Lewes Road Brighton	1965-1968, 1969-1971 see Gaiety Cinema
Aquarium Kinema Madeira Drive Brighton F	Film shows were given at the Aquarium before the turn of the century. George Albert Smith first included films as the finale of his optical lantern lectures on 29 March 1897. The Winter Garden at the Aquarium was known as the Aquarium Kinema for a short time during the First World War. After remodelling in 1927-1929, it reopened on 12 June 1929. During the 1930s it was called the Princes Hall (Cinema); occasional film performances, as well as concerts and live theatre, were held here until 1939. During the Second World War it was requisitioned by the RAF. It was used for various purposes thereafter, including the Florida Nights dance hall and Montagu Motor Museum, none of them including film. It is now the Sealife Centre.
Arcadia Cinema 16 Lewes Road, Brighton	see People's Picture Palace
Astoria 15 Gloucester Place Brighton 19	1933-1977
Bijou Electric Empire 64 North Street Brighton 11	1911-1913 [site 1911-1983] The site had previously been a photographic business in the 1870s 1913 Bijou Select Palace 1915 Prince's Electric Theatre 1919 Prince's Cinema 1947 Prince's News Theatre 1967 Jacey Cinema 1969 Brighton Film Theatre 1978 closed 1979 Cinescene 1983 June closed
Bijou Electric Empire Shoreham	1911-1931 1911 Opened Renamed Duke of York's Cinema 1931 Closed
Bijou Select Palace 64 North Street Brighton	1913-1915 see Bijou Electric Empire, Brighton
Brighton Film Theatre 64 North Street Brighton	1969-1978 see Bijou Electric Empire, Brighton
Cannon Cinema 75 East Street Brighton	see Savoy Cinema-Theatre
Cannon Cinemas Brighton Marina	1991-date 1991 10-screen multiplex opened; Cannon Cinemas is soon acquired by MGM/Pathé (owned by French company Crédit Lyonnaise), part of (by 1993) the largest UK cinema chain with 426 screens 1995 summer Acquired by Virgin Cinemas 1999 October Acquired by French exhibitor UGC 2005 May 26 One screen included in the UK Film Council's Digital Screen Network project.
Cinema-de-Luxe 150 North Street Brighton 05	1911-1942 1910 spring Opened 1942 Destroyed by fire.
Cinematheque 9-12 Middle Street Brighton	1996-2005 1996 Established by a group of independent film-makers for regular but intermittent screenings as part of the Brighton Media Centre [right]. 60 seats. 2005 February Building is sold and Cinematheque closes 2005 November Begins operating at other venues The Cinematheque has its own website
Cinescene 64 North Street Brighton	1979-1983 see Bijou Electric Empire, Brighton
Classic Cinema Lewes Road Brighton	1979-1980 see Gaiety Cinema
Classic Cinema 130 Western Road Brighton	1975-1979 see Electric Bioscope
Coliseum 78 West Street Brighton	1918-1919 see Grand Picture Palace
Coliseum 342 Brighton Road Shoreham	1920-1941? 1920 Opened 1923 October Frederick George Ellis, proprietor of the New Kinema at Southwick, takes over the lease at £200 a year. 1924 January Ellis sells on the lease to a Mr Mullinger. [First Mullinger and then Ellis are declared bankrupt at Brighton Bankruptcy Court within the next two years.] 1941 Closed 1948 Entry in Kine Year Book: Owned by United British Cinemas (London) Ltd; 808 seats, continuous performances evenings, matinées Saturdays, Sundays and holidays; prices 9d to 1s 9d
Continentale Cinema Sudeley Place Kemp Town Brighton	1951-1986 see King's Cliff Cinema
Coronation Cinema 104 North Road Brighton 09	1911-1928 [site 1911-1939] 1928 New Coronation 1934 Troxy Cinema 1938 Rex News Theatre 1939 Closed
Cosy Nook 1 East Street Brighton	1945-1950 1945 Opened by John King, photographic and film retailer; 50 seats 1946 Renamed Kings Minicine News Cinema 1950 Closed
Court Cinema 16-17 New Road Brighton 02	1909-1945 and 1955-1957 [site 1909-1957, intermittently] 1909 Opens in former Coliseum Theatre 1940 Closed 1947 Dolphin Theatre 1952 Reverts to theatre use 1955 Paris [Continental] Cinema 1957 Reverts to repertory theatre use 1962/63 Closed. Demolished in 1967, replaced by offices
Curzon Cinema 130 Western Road Brighton	1936-1975 see Electric Bioscope
Devonshire Cinema Eastern Road Brighton	1920-1922 see Tierney's Royal Picture Theatre
Dolphin Theatre 16-17 New Road Brighton	1947-1952 see Court Cinema
The Dome Church Street Brighton F	The Prince Regent's riding stable, converted to a concert hall in 1867 (and remodelled in 1935), has been used for occasional film shows, such as the one during the week beginning 1 February 1926 when the Sussex Picturedromes Company, owners of the Duke of York's Cinema, ran 'a special and exclusive presentation of the remarkable British film Livingstone, two exhibitions daily at 3 and 8 o'clock', tickets costing 1/-, 1/6, 2/- and 2/6 (5p-12½p), which was expensive at a time when the average admission charge was 9d (4p). The 1974 Eurovision Song Contest, won by Abba, was staged here. It has been used recently to host occasional performances of classic silent films with orchestral accompaniment. [Photo of Dome concert hall 1934, courtesy of Brighton History Centre]
Duke of York's Cinema Preston Circus Brighton  04	1910 to date
Electric Bioscope 130 Western Road Brighton 01	1909-1910 [site 1909-1979] 1910 Queen's Electric Theatre, complete with dimmable auditorium lights, curtains revealing the screen and an orchestra 1915 Queen's Picture Theatre 1919 Picturedrome 1922 Scala Cinema 1932 Regal Cinema 1936 Curzon Kinema 1975 Classic Cinema and operating an art-house programming policy 1979 Closed.
Embassy 1 Western Road Hove	1948-1981 see Hove Cinematograph Theatre
Empire Picture Theatre Haddington Street Hove	1910-1933 1910 Opened. 1930 New Empire 1933 Closed.
Essoldo Cinema 134 North Street Brighton	1950-1964 see Imperial Cinema
Gaiety Cinema 107-108 Lewes Road Brighton	1937-1965 [site 1937-1980] 1937 April 24 Opened 1965 November Ace Cinema 1971 Vogue Cinema 1979 Classic Cinema 1980 October closed.
Gem Electric Cinema 36a London Road Brighton 03	1910-1914 1910 July Opened in a former furnishing store by Mr J W Thompson, 60 seats on wooden benches. Admission 2d, 3d, children 1d, 2d. 1914 Closed. Later a Freeman Hardy & Willis shoe shop, then a branch of the Woolwich Building Society
Granada Portland Road Hove	1933-1974 1933 July 17 Opened 1965 May ABC 1974 June 4 Closed
Grand Cinema (46) North Road Brighton	1931-1940 1931 January 22 Opened in the converted Grand Theatre, which was designed by Frank Matcham and originally opened in 1888, being known at various times as the Hippodrome Circus (1891-1894) and the Eden Theatre (1894-1904); 1,140 seats. Westrex sound system. 1940 September 27 (or October 13) Closed. Last films: Safari and Desire. Re-opened as a theatre from July 1941 to 31 January 1955, offering twice-nightly variety.     The building became a furniture factory and was destroyed by fire in 1961 (or 1965). The site was occupied by the ugly Gresham House (possibly in memory of Sir Thomas Gresham, after whom is named the law that bad money drives out good—which all too often has applied to Brighton's architecture), no more attractive for being renamed Tower Point early in 2000.
Grand Cinema-de-Luxe	see Palladium Cinema
Grand Picture Palace 78 West Street Brighton 06	1911-1918 c1905 Occasional film shows in a roller-skating rink, built in 1892 at a cost of £17,000 (replacing the photographic business of Burt Sharp that had been on the site between 1882 and 1891), owned by J B Mellison and designed by local architect Alfred Carden. The rink could seat 3,000 people. 1911 Opened as a cinema with 2,000 seats (!). 1912? Renamed the Coliseum. 1917 Closes after court action brought by Gaumont for non-payment of film rentals. 1919 Fire destroys the building, which is re-built as Sherry's Dance Hall and, with the Regent, becomes the centre of Brighton night life in the inter-war years. The building now houses the Paradox night club and Club Barcelona (formerly the Pink Coconut and Crystal Room); the Middle Street frontage is unchanged.
Hippodrome Middle Street Brighton	1929 [site 1897-date] 1929 February 3-June 23 Owned by General Theatre Corporation but run as a live variety theatre, screening films on Sundays during restoration of the Regent after a fire.     The Hippodrome was established in 1902 by Tom Barrasford, whose northern music hall circuit (or 'tour') had expanded southwards and was now based at the Hippodrome (opened 1897), which Barrasford had converted from an ice rink (cf Academy) into a variety theatre to designs by the eminent theatre architect Frank Matcham. Barrasford died at Hippodrome House on 1 February 1910 and his funeral is said to have been one of the largest ever seen in Brighton.     The Beatles played here on a bill supporting Roy Orbison on 2 June 1963 and then as headliners on 12 July 1964 and 25 October 1964
Hove Cinematograph Theatre 1 Western Road Hove 14	c1912-1922 [site c1912-1981] c1912 Opened 1922 Tivoli Cinema 1948 Embassy Cinema 1981 Closed
Hove Electric Empire 76-77 George Street Hove	1911-1934 1911 April 11 Opened as the first purpose-built cinema in Hove. The cinema is also known as the Electric Theatre. 1934 Closed and converted to two shops.
Imperial Cinema 134 North Street Brighton 23	1943-1950 [site 1940-1964] 1940 Opened as a drama and variety theatre. 1943 Film performances included 1950 Essoldo 1964 Closed
Imperial Picture Palace 5 St James Street Brighton 12	1912-1916 1912 Opened behind a shop entrance, 270 seats. Owned by George Bloch (see also Coronation and Prince's) 1916 Closed The shop front reverted to shop use and the auditorium became a garage. A supermarket now occupies the site of the cinema itself.
Jacey Cinema 64 North Street Brighton	1967-1969 see Bijou Electric Empire, Brighton
King's Cliff Cinema Sudeley Place Kemp Town Brighton 15	1920-1947 and 1948-1986 1920 Opened 1948 Metro Cinema 1949 Picture Playhouse/Playhouse Cinema 1951 Continentale Cinema 1986 December Closed
Kings Minicine News Cinema	1946-1950 see Cosy Nook
Lido Cinema Denmark Villas Hove	1932-1961 1932 May 6 Opened (adjoining Hove Station) 1944 July 30 Renamed Odeon 1961 February 18 Closed.
Majestic Cinema Eastern Road Brighton	1919-1920 see Tierney's Royal Picture Theatre
New Coronation 104 North Road Brighton	1928-1934 see Coronation Cinema
New Empire Haddington Street Hove	1931-1933 see Empire Picture Theatre
New Kinema Albion Street Southwick	c1915-1946 c1915 Frederick George Ellis buys land and builds a picture house and two shops on a mortgage at a total cost of £5,000. 1921 October Ellis sells to George Sheffield but re-possesses the cinema when Sheffield fails to fulfil the agreement. [Sheffield is declared bankrupt at Brighton.] 1924 April Cinema is leased to a Mr Barnett, who assigns the property to a Mr Stadelmann, against whom a receiving order is eventually made. 1924 December Ellis surrenders the property to the mortagees for relief of the outstanding debt of £3,200. Another tenant is found. [Ellis is declared bankrupt at Brighton in January 1926.] 1946 Closed? 1948 Still listed in Kine Year Book as owned by J E Greaves, booked at Pavilion, Portslade; 461 seats; prices 10d-2s
Norfolk Cinema High Street Shoreham	1933-1964 1933 Opened Renamed Ritz Cinema. Owned by Ritz (Shoreham) Ltd 1948 RCA sound system; 700 seats, continuous performances, prices 1s-2s 3d; booked by M Overmass at Savoy, Andover, Hampshire 1957 prices 1s-3s 1964 Closed. Used for bingo, then became a warehouse. Demolished 1970
Novelty Electric Theatre 27 West Street Brighton 21	1911-1913 1911 Opened by W Harold Speer, owner of the Queen's Electric Theatre. The premises were formerly used for a bazaar. 1912 Acquired by Mrs A Wheatcroft. Renamed Empire Electric Theatre. 1913 late Closed. The building was demolished in 1934. National House now occupies the site on the corner of Regency Road.)
Odeon Denmark Villas Hove	1938-1967 see Lido Cinema
Odeon 85 King's Road Brighton	1936-1937 see Palladium Cinema
Odeon Kingswest King's Road/West Street Brighton 25	1973 to date
Odeon Kemp Town 40 St George's Road Kemp Town Brighton 20	1934-1960
Odeon West Street/Little Russell Street Brighton 24	1937-1973
Palladium Cinema 85 King's Road Brighton 13	1912-1956 (also called Grand Cinema-de-Luxe)
Paris Continental Cinema 16-17 New Road Brighton	1955-1957 see Court Cinema
Pavilion Cinema North Street Portslade	1932-1958 see Prince's Imperial Picture Palace and Theatre
People's Picture Palace Park Crescent Place/16 Lewes Road Brighton 22	1910-1940 and 1944-1957 1910 Opened by F R Griffiths as a permanent 478-seat cinema in the former Arcadia Theatre of Varieties, where Harry Houdini had appeared and film shows had been included from around 1907, the year in which the theatre was converted from Tilley's horse bus stables—a victim of the changes in transport after the introduction of trams in 1901. Building works by A & W Thorpe of Lewes Road. The name was soon changed to the Arcadia Cinema and the entrance in Lewes Road was created. 1911 December 25 Re-opens under management of Mr & Mrs Edward Hardiman. 1913 Remodelled at Park Crescent end by Denman & Matthews of Brighton. 1922 Proprietor is now J J Holloway and the resident manager J Bolton. Three changes weeekly, prices 5d-1s 3d. 1940 Closed 1944 Re-opened under new management. Becomes known locally as 'The Scratch'. Taken over by O&P Cinemas (Brighton) Ltd [Rigden Lodge, Rigden Road, Hove] 1948 Still 478 seats, continuous performances, three programmes weekly, booked at hall Soundcraft sound system 1953 Listed in the Kinematograph Yearbook as owned by Robert Gordon Cinemas, Rothbury Cinema, Franklin Road, Portslade, where programmes were booked. 1957 Closed. Last films: The Duchess of Idaho and The Big Hangover. Sold to Brighton Cooperative Society. The Brighton Trades and Labour Club occupies the site.
Picturedrome Eastern Road Brighton	1916-1919 see Tierney's Royal Picture Theatre
Picturedrome 130 Western Road Brighton	1919-1922 see Electric Bioscope
Picturedrome North Street Portslade	1918-1932 see Prince's Imperial Picture Palace and Theatre
Playhouse Cinema Sudeley Place Kemp Town Brighton	see King's Cliff Cinema
Plaza Cinema Southwick	1948 Owned by P V Reynolds (see Picturedrome, Portslade); 340 seats, prices 4d-1s; stage depth 10ft, two dressing rooms, occasional variety
Prince's Imperial Picture Palace and Theatre North Street Portslade	1911-1958 1911 March 15 Opens. Owned by H Gutteridge. 450 seats. c1918 Acquired by Sussex Picturedromes, renamed Picturedrome. 350 seats. c1930 Equipped for sound; 298 seats. 1932 June Re-opens as the Pavilion Cinema after extensive re-building; 650 seats. Proscenium width 30ft, stage depth 10ft. Westrex sound system 1941 Proprietor and resident manager: P V Reynolds. Continuous shows, two changes weekly, occasional variety shows. Prices 6d-1s 2d. 1948 Owned by J E Greaves, Prices 10d-2s. 1953 Prices 1s-2s 6d. Three changes weekly. Occasional variety 1958 February 15 Closed. Most of the building still stands.
Prince's Cinema 64 North Street Brighton	1919-1947 see Bijou Electric Empire, Brighton
Prince's Electric Theatre 64 North Street Brighton	1915-1919 see Bijou Electric Empire, Brighton
Princes News Theatre 64 North Street Brighton	1947-1967 see Bijou Electric Empire, Brighton
Queen's Picture Theatre 130 Western Road Brighton	1915-1919 see Electric Bioscope
Regal Cinema 130 Western Road Brighton	1932-1936 see Electric Bioscope
Regent Cinema 133 Queen's Road/133 North Street Brighton 16	1921-1973
Rex News Theatre 104 North Road Brighton	1938-1939 see Coronation Cinema
Ritz Cinema High Street Shoreham	see Norfolk Cinema
Rothbury Cinema Franklin Road Portslade-by-Sea	1934 March 27 Opened by Oscar Deutsch, F Stanley Bates and A L Middleton, the latter being the cinema's builder. The architect is George Coles, who becomes chief architect for the Odeon chain that Deutsch then sets up. The building was originally intended to be an assembly hall. Middleton retains ownership when Deutsch and Bates withdraw. It is named after Middleton's birthplace. Opening film: The Private Life of Henry VIII. Dance hall and cafe. 1938 Leased for 21 years to Mrs I Merriman Langdon (who also runs the Ritz, Seaford). 1941 548 seats on one floor. Continuous performances with occasional variety shows. 1948 Owned by O&P Cinemas (Brighton) Ltd. 548 seats, prices 10d-2s 3d, continuous performances. Café and dance hall, proscenium 34ft, British Thomson-Houston sound system. 1953 Owned by Robert Gordon Cinemas Ltd; 612 seats, prices 1s 6d-2s 6d; three changes weekly 1957 Prices 1s-2s 9d. Cinemascope 1958 The cinema was used as a location for the film Battle of the V1 1961 Prices 1s-3s 1964 January 19 Closed. Final films: Where Danger Lies and The Champion. The building has been occupied by Southern FM radio station since 1983.
Savoy Cinema-Theatre 75 East Street Brighton 17	1930-1963 [site 1930-1999] 1963 ABC Cinema 1975 Closed for conversion 1976 Re-opened as a four-screen complex 1986 Cannon Cinema 1995 Virgin Cinemas 1997 ABC Cinema 1999 Closed.
Scala Cinema 130 Western Road Brighton	1922-1932 see Electric Bioscope
Star Cinema Shoreham	1910-1926 1910 Opened in a former Congregational Chapel 1921 March Frederick George Ellis, proprietor of the New Kinema at Southwick, takes over the lease. 1921 September Ellis sells on the lease for £176. 1926 Closed.
Tatler 59 West Street Brighton	1931 see Academy Theatre
Tierney Royal Picture Theatre 64 Edward Street Brighton 08	1911-1916 [site 1911-1922] 1911 Opens in a converted shop on the site of the Tierney Arms pub by Houghton Rockett. 1916 Renamed Picturedrome. 1919 Renamed the Majestic Cinema. 1920 Renamed the Devonshire Cinema. 1922 Closed. Converted for use as Brighton Boys' Club, opened by the Prince of Wales on 23 March 1927. Rebuilt as the Brighton Youth Centre in 1958.
Tivoli Cinema 1 Western Road Hove	1922-1948 see Hove Cinematograph Theatre
Troxy Cinema 104 North Road Brighton	1934-1938 see Coronation Cinema
UGC Cinemas Brighton Marina	1999-date see Cannon Cinemas
Virgin Cinemas Brighton Marina	1995-1999 see Cannon Cinemas
Vogue Cinema Lewes Road Brighton	1971-1979 see Gaiety Cinema