BFI IMAX facts for kids
Oppenheimer poster at the BFI IMAX in 2023
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 BFI IMAX
Location in Greater London
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| Address | 1 Charlie Chaplin Walk South Bank London SE1 8XR United Kingdom |
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| Coordinates | 51°30′18″N 0°06′49″W / 51.505°N 0.113611°W |
| Public transit |  Waterloo Waterloo; Waterloo East |
| Owner | British Film Institute |
| Operator | British Film Institute (1999–2012, 2022–) Odeon Cinemas (2012–2022) |
| Type | Cinema |
| Capacity | 498 (plus 2 wheelchair spaces) |
| Construction | |
| Opened | May 1999 |
| Architect | Bryan Avery |
The BFI IMAX is a super-large cinema screen located in the South Bank area of London. It's very close to Waterloo station. This special cinema is owned and run by the British Film Institute. For a while, from 2012 to 2022, it was operated by Odeon Cinemas.
The cinema sits right in the middle of a big roundabout. This makes it a unique building that stands out. It's surrounded by busy roads, but its design helps keep the noise out.
History of BFI IMAX
The BFI IMAX was designed by an architect named Bryan Avery. It was finished in May 1999. This cinema has the biggest screen in Britain! It's about 20 meters (65 feet) high and 26 meters (85 feet) wide.
The cinema can seat about 500 people. It also has a super powerful sound system. This system uses 14,000 watts to create amazing surround sound. Even though there's a lot of traffic and an underground train line very close, the building is designed to block out all the noise. It sits on special anti-vibration parts.
When it first opened, the BFI IMAX won several awards. These included a Design Council Millennium Product Award in 1999. It also received a Civic Trust Award in 2000.
In 2012, the cinema got a new screen. A modern digital IMAX projector was added. It worked alongside the older 70mm film projector. For ten years, from 2012 to 2022, Odeon Cinemas helped run the BFI IMAX. They managed things like ticket sales. This allowed people to watch things like operas on the giant screen. The BFI still had a say in how the cinema was run.
When Odeon took over, the BFI London IMAX became very popular. For example, it sold 66,000 tickets for the movie The Dark Knight Rises before it even premiered. This earned over £1,000,000 in ticket sales!
In June 2022, the BFI announced they would take back control. The cinema closed briefly on July 19, 2022. It then reopened on July 22, 2022, with the BFI running it again.
Other IMAX Cinemas in London
London has other IMAX cinemas too. There's one at the Science Museum in South Kensington. Other digital IMAX screens opened in 2008. These were at Odeon cinemas in Greenwich and Wimbledon. In 2011, another digital IMAX screen opened at the Odeon in Swiss Cottage.
Britain's Biggest Screen
The BFI IMAX has the largest cinema screen in the United Kingdom. It measures about 25.9 meters (85 feet) wide. It is also 19.8 meters (65 feet) high. The total screen area is huge, over 500 square meters! This means movies can look incredibly big and detailed. The cinema can seat 493 people, including spaces for wheelchairs.
See also
- Cardboard City (what the site was called before)
