Cinderford's The Palace cinema sells movie posters to stay afloat

BBC News

08-04-2025

An independent cinema in the Forest of Dean is selling off its old movie posters to get some extra cash.Bosses at The Palace in Cinderford said it had experienced a fall of footfall and an increase in costs."People aren't coming out to the cinema anywhere as much as they did," said owner Andrew Lougher. "So in order to keep the cinema, we've got to try to find some sort of alternative income stream."
The Palace sells tickets for £5.40 but its bosses feel streaming has damaged the industry, while running costs such as electricity and insurance have gone up.Despite this, Mr Lougher said he is positive about the future and does not think streaming will last in its current form, as the increase in subscriptions and inclusion of adverts is causing problems.The cinema is selling a range of posters from films released in the past 25 years, including Murder On The Orient Express, Twisters and Darkest Hour."Most posters seem to be priced in the range of about £100," My Lougher said. "But when you start getting into really collectable films, like the Marvel films, prices can go up."
Independent cinemas make up half of all UK cinemas according to The British Film Institute, which has a number of partnerships with independent venues.However, its director of UK audiences Ben Luxford admitted many cinemas, like The Palace, face challenges due to being inside heritage buildings."It's very hard to adapt those buildings to what people expect now, in the sense of recliner seats and that luxury option - it's very hard to retrofit," he said.Mr Luxford said some cinematic experiences are hard to match at home"When it all comes together as it does, quite dramatically a few times a year like we saw earlier this year with the latest Bridget Jones film, it can't really be replicated in any other way," he said.