The UK Cinema Association (UKCA), formerly known as the Cinema Exhibitors Association, is the national

trade association A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry body, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific Industry (economics), industry. Through collabor ...

for cinema operators in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. The UKCA represents the interests of well over 90 per cent of UK cinema operators by number and market share.

Main activities

The UKCA advocates on behalf of the UK cinema sector at international, national, and regional level. It lobbies the Government along with other sectors of the U.K. film industry, particularly distribution, also working with others within the industry to promote the value of cinema to the public. In addition it provides advice and support to individual members on interpreting and adhering to legislation and regulation, and in dealing with day-to-day operational issues when appropriate.

Industry statistics

Like many

s, it gathers economic data on the industry it represents. The top three films ever in the UK are, in order, ''

Avatar Avatar (, ; ) is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means . It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearance" is sometimes u ...

'', ''

Toy Story 3 ''Toy Story 3'' is a 2010 American animated comedy-drama film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. The third installment in the Toy Story (franchise), ''Toy Story'' series, it was directed by Lee Unkrich, the editor ...

'', and '' Mamma Mia!''. In 2009, UK cinema turnover was around £1.2billion from around 900,000 cinema seats, at around 3,700 cinema screens at around 770 cinema sites. Total attendances are around 170 million. The top three chains have 62% of the number of screens.

Disability and the CEA Card

British cinemas have led the world in providing facilities and services for disabled people, both by making their buildings physically accessible and by installing equipment that enables audio described and sub-titled performances. The UKCA also created the "CEA Card" for those disabled people who need the services of a carer if they want to visit the cinema.

Structure

It is situated in Soho Square on floor four of the BBFC building. It has five regional branches. The UKCA became a limited company on 3 June 2004.

Membership

The Association's membership covers single screen/owner managed sites, small independent circuits and the largest circuit and multiplex operators including

Odeon Cinemas Odeon Cinemas Limited, trading as Odeon (stylised in all caps), is a cinema brand name operating in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Norway and Greece, which along with UCI Cinemas and Nordic Cinema Group is part of the Odeon Cinemas Group subsi ...

Cineworld Regal Cineworld Group (trading as Cineworld) is a British cinema operator headquartered in London, England. It is the world's second-largest cinema chain (after AMC Theatres), with 9,139 screens across 747 sites in 10 countries: Bulgaria, Czec ...

Vue Cinemas Vue International ( , like "view"), is a multinational cinema holding company headquartered in London, England, and registered in St Helier, Jersey. It operates in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Denmark as Vue, with international operations in ...

Showcase Cinemas Showcase Cinemas is a movie theater chain owned and operated by National Amusements. It operates in the United States, Brazil (under the UCI Cinemas brand), the United Kingdom, and Argentina. Operations Showcase operates a total of 16 theate ...

and

Empire Cinemas Empire Cinemas Limited was a multiplex cinema chain in the UK. Prior to the company entering administration in July 2023, there were 13 Empire Cinemas across the country, with 128 screens in total. Ownership and management The ultimate benefic ...

. Members are able to benefit from discounts with key collecting societies such as

Phonographic Performance Limited Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL) is a British music copyright collective. It is a private limited company that is registered in the UK. PPL was founded by Decca Records and EMI and incorporated on 12 May 1934, and undertakes collecti ...

(PPL) and Video Performance Limited (VPL), and participate in marketing initiatives such as the recently secured Meerkat Movies promotion in partnership with Compare the Market.

References

External links

UKCA web site

Trade magazine for UK cinemas and film distribution

CEA Card web site

News items

3D films in September 2010

DVDs in March 2010

Bumper summer in April 2009

Popcorn in August 2008

Cinema boom in June 2003
{{Authority control British cinematographers British film industry Cinemas in the United Kingdom Entertainment industry societies Film organisations in the United Kingdom Organisations based in the City of Westminster Trade associations based in the United Kingdom