Royal Cinema, Sutton Coldfield
History
The Odeon
The cinema is situated on Maney Corner, at the junction of Holland Road with the A5127 Birmingham Road.
It was built as one of the Odeon Cinemas of Oscar Deutsch. The architect was Cecil Clavering of the Harry Weedon partnership. The style, by the same firm, was first produced for the Odeon, Kingstanding, and further Odeon Cinemas in similar style were built in York, Harrogate and Scarborough. The listing text describes that the foyer, staircase and auditorium are "each defined as a separate block in a complex, carefully massed and expressionistic composition" inspired by the Titania-Palast in Berlin, built in 1928.
The cinema opened on 18 April 1936; the first film shown was First a Girl. It seated 1028 in the stalls and 572 in the balcony. From April 1972 there were three screens: one was viewed from the balcony, and two, each seating 132, were created in the rear stalls below. A fourth screen was created in 1987 in the former front stalls.
The Empire
In 2006, Empire Cinemas took over this and several other Odeon Cinemas, and it was renamed the Empire Cinema. It closed in March 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic; after briefly re-opening later in the year, it closed in November 2020.
The Royal
The cinema was bought by PDJ Cinemas in 2023, and after refurbishment, including new screens, sound systems, seating and Art Deco features, it opened in July 2024 as the Royal Cinema. There are four screens, seating 456 in total; the largest, Screen 1, in the former circle, seats about 200.
References
- ^ Historic England. "Odeon Cinema (1271848)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 7 February 2025.
- ^ "Royal Cinemas" Cinema Treasures. Retrieved 7 February 2025.
- ^ "About" Royal Cinemas. Retrieved 7 February 2025.
- ^ "First look inside new Royal Cinemas Sutton Coldfield - 35 photos of big changes" Birmingham Live, 25 July 2024. Retrieved 7 February 2025.
- ^ "I visited revamped Royal Cinema in Sutton Coldfield and one thing made me smile broadly" Birmingham Live, 17 August 2024. Retrieved 7 February 2025.
External links
Media related to Empire Cinema, Sutton Coldfield at Wikimedia Commons