The UGC Cinema on Parnell Street which is undergoing a €13 million expansion and refurbishment programme is due to open to the public on November 28th. With 17 new screens, UGC will officially become the biggest cinema in the country.
This great new facility will be a testament to UGC’s radical screening strategy that gives equal billing to blockbusters, indigenous, independent and foreign language productions covering the full spectrum of films on the market. In addition, the new 17-screen cinema will offer the ultimate in sound, vision, architecture, comfort and style.
UGC has a dedicated policy of supporting Irish and non-mainstream titles and has proven that such titles, can often compete favourably when supported. UGC’s record with Irish titles is impressive. They took 20% of the total box-office on Robert Quinn’s Dead Bodies and Liz Gill’s Goldfish Memory was the second highest gross at UGC on its opening weekend in September.
Notably, UGC will be opening up the market for the smaller ‘arthouse’ films. Traditionally these films are only released on one or two prints and therefore have limited availability to the public. Such films are not normally certificated and show only at cinema clubs and thus will need to get a certificate to play to a wider audience at UGC.
“Our €13million investment is a mark of UGC's commitment to the Irish market and our passion and determination to broaden audiences for film in Dublin in the best possible environment. That’s what having 17 screens is all about – Irish audiences will have a chance to see a bigger variety of films some of which wouldn’t normally get an open ended run on screen.” says Mike Thomson, Commercial Director, UGC Cinemas Ireland & UK.
UGC has engaged leading cinema designers to ensure the highest levels of comfort and optimum sightlines in each screen. Seats have guaranteed 1.1 metre legroom for the longest limbed viewer. Projection and sound equipment are state of the art. Screens cover the entire wall-to-wall area. The cinema will also be equipped with the latest caption subtitling and audio description system for the hard of hearing.
"As an Irish independent distributor, I am thrilled to see further investment in cinema in Ireland. UGC Cinemas continued commitment to building an audience for all types of films, particularly local productions, is to be congratuled and we have had tremendous success with recent releases Goldfish Memory and Good Bye Lenin! in UGC Dublin. We wish them well." Niamh McCaul, MD Eclipse Pictures
Other facilities include 10 box office points on the ground floor, a contemporary Café Bar on the first floor and a kids party room on the second.
www.ugccinemas.ie
