Multi award-winning film The King's Speech has taken global Box
Offices by storm; and as fans of Colin Firth's depiction of King
George VI wait to see how many Oscars the film scoops at this
year's Academy Awards, the independent cinema at Phoenix Square is
already celebrating, after the popularity of The King's Speech
contributed to its most successful month on record.
A key part of Blueprint's Phoenix Square development in
Leicester city centre, the independent cinema welcomed a massive
10,000 people in January, with half of all visitors watching The
King's Speech. Around 90,000 people have been to the cinema
since it opened in November 2009; meaning the huge number of
cinema-goers in January accounted for 10 per cent of its total
visitor numbers.
The King's Speech has now become the cinema's most popular film
to-date, breaking records previously set by a raft of other Academy
Award winners and contenders including Alice in Wonderland, Toy
Story 3, Avatar and Black Swan - with Black Swan currently
attracting strong audiences.
The cinema's chief executive, John Rance, said: "January has
been a fantastic month for Phoenix Square, with a record Box Office
in the cinema. The King's Speech has been consistently drawing in
the crowds, and has become our most popular ever film; and
throughout the month there were also sell-outs for several other
films including the French film 'Of God's and Men'. Phoenix Square
was the only cinema in Leicester to show 'Of God's and Men', and
the fact that this film had a sell-out run underlines the
importance of Phoenix Square's role in providing a diverse film and
digital media programme."
The Phoenix Square cinema has something for everyone in 2011.
For cinema-goers, yet more Oscar nominated films will be
featured on the programme in March, including True Grit, Blue
Valentine and Biutiful, which has been nominated for the Best
Foreign Language Film of the Year. For those with more of an
interest in what goes on behind the scenes, film workshops will be
taking place in February half term for children and adults who want
to find out more about the basics of film making.
Let's Celebrate 365, an award-winning photographic collection
from international photographer Jeremy Hunter, will run from Monday
21 February to Tuesday 5 April. The cinema will also host a number
of shows for the Leicester Comedy Festival including BBC Radio 6's
Adam Buxton and German comedian Henning Wehn.
John Long, Development Director at Blueprint, said: "The
independent cinema at Phoenix Square has become well established as
an important part of Leicester's cultural offering, and the fact
that it has just had its best ever month at the Box Office proves
that it has got the formula just right for today's cinema-goers.
From the experience of watching a film here - with the café
bar providing the opportunity to make a night of it - to the varied
film and digital media programme, the Phoenix Cinema continues to
go from strength to strength."
Phoenix Square is a unique cultural building which combines
contemporary living space, with independent cinema, a state of the
art gallery, cafe bar, workspaces and office studios to house
Leicester's growing number of creative businesses. It is the
creation of a partnership project between Blueprint and Leicester
City Council in collaboration with Phoenix and De Montfort
University and is an example of 21st century sustainable building
design, coupled with leading-edge architectural quality.