The death of cinema has been predicted for years, but honestly, that couldn’t be farther from the case here. At ActOne Cinema, what we’ve seen instead is a shift in audience and audience demand; filmgoers are looking to get more bang for their buck, which is exactly what we aim to do with our community-led event space and bar.
ActOne was never designed to be a traditional cinema, from the beginning it was a community led project, built for with and for the Acton community. The process of building our space, bringing people together to create something shared, still defines how we operate. It’s not just about screening films, it’s about creating a space where people can come to enjoy themselves, without the burden of extortionate costs and formality.
Our ownership model shapes everything down to what we choose to screen. Few people know this, but it’s expensive to project a new Box Office release. We must also show these releases a certain number of times to make up for the cost, meaning that with only two screens and limited hours in a day, our classics and matinees take a major hit and sit on the backburner for a while. We think it’s important to have that variety, and to introduce our audiences to something they might not have seen before, hence the decision to keep classics rolling.
What’s been particularly interesting recently is the change our audience, as of right now, younger people are taking the lead in terms of our ticket sales. Especially after COVID, it feels as if people want more than just a movie, they want to make a night of it, and we’re still catching up with that since the last of our lockdowns. Streaming platforms like Netflix offered convenience and comfort at that time, but they can’t replicate the feeling of being surrounded by other curious minds, sharing a moment in real time. There’s a collective energy here that you can’t get at home. Though for some of our regulars I think I can say that we’re becoming something of a second home for them, a ‘third space’ so to speak.
Despite this, we’re very aware of the current cost of living challenges that’re affecting how customers are choosing to spend their money. It’s had a huge effect here which is why we offer screenings with a ‘pay what you can’ fee, it works for us right now but who’s to say if we’ll still be able to keep that up in the future, as we, too are being affected by it.
Beyond film, ActOne plays a larger role in the community. It’s a space for events, workshops, Q+As and more. Our event space welcomes new ideas on the regular. We also have volunteers who offer to help across the cinema wherever and wherever needed, which is lovely, especially considering that many of them have full time jobs elsewhere.
Looking ahead, the focus for ActOne is sustainability and growth, without losing our core identity. The next few years will likely bring new challenges but hopefully ones we can conquer as well as we have done before. The appetite for these kinds of spaces feels stronger than ever, people are still seeking out valuable cinema experiences, which I think is uniquely provided by us independents, where we care more for what we do than what we make.
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