Curzon Cinemas
Curzon Cinemas Limited is a chain of cinemas based in the United Kingdom, mostly in London, specialising in art house films. They also have a video on demand service, Curzon Home Cinema.
History
Curzon Cinemas were established in 1934 when Harold Wingate, who imported unknown films during the post World War I period, opened the first cinema in Mayfair. The second location, Curzon Bloomsbury, opened in 1972.In 2006, Philip Knatchbull acquired Curzon Cinemas and Curzon acquired film distributor, Artificial Eye. On 23 December 2019, American-based Cohen Media Group acquired Curzon from Knatchbull, including Curzon Artificial Eye, but Knatchbull remained as chief executive officer until 2023.
In February 2024, American investment firm Fortress Investment Group sued Cohen Realty Enterprises for defaulting on loans amounting to $534 million. Fortress then requested the New York Supreme Court to grant a motion for a foreclosure sale, which was later set for November 8 that year. Fortress was reportedly the only bidder for Curzon and related entities, initially offering $5 million to acquire the company. A few days later, it was announced that Fortress had acquired Curzon for $5million. Following the change, Knatchbull returned as interim executive chairman.
Locations
Curzon Cinemas currently have 16 cinema complexes throughout the United Kingdom.Current
Former
Franchised locations
Curzon Cinemas have also franchised their name and operate in partnership with a number of other locations.| Location | Partner's name | Number of screens | Notes |
| South Bank | Curzon Sea Containers | 1 | Previously Curzon Mondrian, renamed in January 2019 in line with rebrand of Sea Containers Hotel |
Future locations
Curzon intends to reopen its Chelsea cinema after the site is redeveloped by Cadogan Estates. They are also planning to open a new cinema in Hammersmith.Related companies
is a sister company of Curzon Cinemas, originally formed as Artificial Eye in 1976 and acquired by the group in 2006. They cover acquisition, production and distribution rights to films across the UK and Ireland. Artificial Eye was relaunched as a separate label of the group in 2024.Curzon Home Cinema is a video on demand service launched in 2010.