Picturehouse Cinemas

Picturehouse Cinemas is a UK-based cinema chain operated by Picturehouse Cinemas Ltd., owned by Cineworld. The company runs Picturehouse Entertainment, its film distribution arm, which has released notable films such as *Broker*, *Monster*, *Scrapper*, *Corsage*, *The Party*, *God's Own Country*, and *The Wife*. A previous distribution division, focusing on alternative content, was sold in 2017 to Howard Panter and Rosemary Squire and rebranded as Trafalgar Releasing.

The chain’s history dates back to 1910 with the Duke of York's Picture House in Brighton, one of Britain’s longest continuously operating cinemas. Phoenix Picturehouse in Oxford opened in 1989, while many other cinemas operated independently before joining the network.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, all UK cinemas, including Picturehouse, closed temporarily from March to July 2020 and again from October 2020 to May 2021 due to reduced film releases and public health restrictions. In 2022, Cineworld filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S., but successfully emerged after completing financial restructuring by July 31, 2023.

Picturehouse has faced industrial disputes over wages and union recognition. Strikes occurred in 2014 and again from 2016 to 2018, primarily at the Ritzy Cinema in Brixton and several Picturehouse locations. The Staff Forum, a management-run union, was dissolved in 2019 following a membership vote, and as of 2022, Picturehouse cinemas still do not pay their frontline staff the London living wage.