# Curzon Cinemas

Curzon Cinemas Limited (/ˈkɜːrzən/) 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

| Location | Screens | Notes |
| Aldgate | 4 | Opened January 2017 |
| Bloomsbury | 6 | "The Renoir" Acquired March 2015 |
| Camden | 5 | Opened 29 October 2021 |
| Canterbury Riverside | 5 | Opened 26 August 2022 |
| Canterbury Westgate | 3 | Clevedon, Somerset |
| Colchester | 3 | Opened 6 July 2018 |
| Hoxton | 3 | Opened 4 June 2021 |
| Kingston | 4 | Opened 11 November 2022 |
| Knutsford | 3 | |
| Mayfair | 2 | First Curzon from 1934 |
| Oxford | 5 | Opened Autumn 2017 |
| Richmond | 1 | |
| Sheffield | 3 | Opened 9 January 2015 |
| Soho | 3 | |
| Victoria | 5 | Opened May 2014 |
| Wimbledon | 3 | Previously "HMVcurzon" |

### Former

| Location | Screens | Notes |
| Chelsea | 1 | Taken over in 1983 and closed 31 March 2018 but due to reopen following redevelopment of the site. |
| Ripon | 2 | Opened 31 October 2013 and closed 1 July 2023. |

### 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 (which was closed in May 2018) after the site is redeveloped by Cadogan Estates. They are also planning to open a new cinema in Hammersmith.

## Related companies

Curzon Film 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. Artifical Eye was relaunched as a separate label of the group in 2024.
Curzon Home Cinema is a video on demand service launched in 2010.