Hugh Grant laments “unbearable” closure of local cinema after 94 years

Hugh Grant has lamented the “unbearable” closure of a London Picturehouse cinema on Fulham Road after 94 years in operation.

Picturehouse, the UK boutique cinema arm of ailing Cineworld, announced the closure on July 11 of its Fulham Road cinema last month.

Grant, who lives close to the cinema, described it as “strangely unbearable” on Twitter/X and went on to decry streaming platforms, which many argue are behind a drop in people attending the cinema.

Grant wrote: “Fulham Rd cinema closing after 94 years. Strangely unbearable. Let’s all sit at home and watch <content> on <streaming>. While scrolling. Miserable face emoji.”

You can see the post here:

Fulham Rd cinema closing after 94 years. Strangely unbearable. Let’s all sit at home and watch « content » on « streaming ». While scrolling. Miserable face emoji. pic.twitter.com/NY2jo9R7TO

— Hugh Grant (@HackedOffHugh) July 9, 2024

In the comments section of the post, people from the world of film and TV agreed with Grant, including House Of The Dragon’s James Dreyfus and The Stray’s actor Michael Warburton. Broadcaster Terry Christian also commented on Grant’s post.

“Lived around the corner from a cinema as a kid – like something magic,” wrote Christian. “We used to walk around and look at the stills of what was showing and imagine. Should protect them like the French do.”

The Fulham Road cinema is one of three Picturehouse cinemas due to close in coming weeks alongside Stratford East, which closes on July 28, and Bromley Picturehouse cinema, which shuts on August 1.

According to Sky News last week, Cineworld is looking to close up to a quarter of its 100 UK cinemas, and renegotiate rental agreements on around 50 sites.

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