Curzon cinema in talks with Hammersmith & Fulham Council over King Street development

Image: Designs for the new Civic Campus development, Hammersmith & Fulham Council

Curzon confirmed as the cinema chain which is looking to open in the new Hammersmith town hall complex

Curzon has submitted an application to Hammersmith & Fulham Council to open a cinema in its Civic Campus development, the new town hall complex.

If approved, Curzon will be able to sell alcohol and show films until 1.00 am seven days a week. The application is open for public comment until Monday 16 June.

The cinema chain has been operating since 1934. It gained a reputation as an ‘art house’ cinema franchise after it became one of the first companies to introduce international film and foreign language films to UK audiences.

Curzon was acquired by Fortress Investment Group, the American company which also owns Majestic Wine and Poundstretcher, in 2024 after it faced mounting financial difficulties. It currently has ten other premises in London: in Aldgate, Bloomsbury, Camden, Hoxton, Kingston, Mayfair, Richmond, Soho, Victoria and Wimbledon.

At the time of the acquisition, Allison Swayze, managing director at Fortress, said:

“Curzon is an iconic film company, with global recognition for its long legacy of releasing and connecting independent and critically acclaimed films to UK audiences”.

The licensing application affirms Curzon’s interest in the Hammersmith site, which had long been expected but was yet to be officially confirmed.

Hammersmith Civic Campus – Image RSHP

Hammersmith’s Civic Campus

The new King Street development will feature panoramic roof gardens, a public square, cinema, gallery space, performance venues and office space in Hammersmith’s Grade II listed town hall.

It is already being touted as ‘Britain’s most exciting new arts and cultural site’, which must be worrying for Chiswick Cinema and Hammersmith’s Riverside Studios at a time when audiences have still not fully recovered to their pre-Covid levels.

The Ealing Project, a multi-functional community space with a three-screen cinema, a café, a bar, community room, a stage for live music performance and space to exhibit art at Ealing Broadway, closed its doors on Sunday 1 June because it could not make a go of it financially.

READ ALSO: The Ealing Project announces it will close Sunday 1 June

The Hammersmith complex also has 204 new homes, over half of which are described as ‘affordable’. The first homes are now ready to move into.

Hammersmith & Fulham Leader, Cllr Stephen Cowan, said the new development would be “a beautiful, environmentally positive and accessible new quarter where people can live, work, play and relax”.

The initial opening date of the Civic Campus was pushed back due to an accident in 2022 where two builders were seriously injured. According to Cllr Cowan, this delayed things by “about a year”.