18 Facts About Odeon Cinemas

Ten years later Odeon Cinemas was part of the Rank Organisation who continued their ownership of the circuit for a further sixty years.

On 17 March 2020, Odeon temporarily closed its cinemas across the UK and Ireland due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Each Odeon cinema had a character different from most other cinemas in the UK, often having a unique and spectacular interior.

In July 1942, Odeon Cinemas acquired a second tranche of the Paramount chain, including the Paramount Theatre in Tottenham Court Road, later renamed the Odeon Cinemas Tottenham Court Road.

In 1953, Odeon brought 3D films, widescreen and CinemaScope to the UK.

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Later in the year, Odeon showed Tonight We Sing in widescreen at the Odeon Leicester Square and demonstrated CinemaScope at the Odeon Tottenham Court Road to the trade and to the public with The Robe at the Odeon Leicester Square.

Smaller number of Odeon cinemas opened in the post-war years, but many single-screen cinemas either closed, sub-divided into smaller screens or were converted into other uses, such as bingo.

In 1965, Odeon Cinemas opened their first multiplex converting their site in Nottingham into a twin-screened cinema.

Odeon Cinemas eventually operated a wholly owned Canadian subsidiary, Odeon Cinemas Theatres Ltd.

Since the turn of the century, Odeon has undergone a series of sales after the Rank Group needed cash injections to reduce their debt, firstly to Cinven which merged Odeon with Cinven's ABC Cinemas.

On 31 May 2011, Odeon announced that it had bought back the UCI chain in Ireland from Entertainment Enterprises.

On 17 March 2020, Odeon Cinemas closed all of its theatres due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

On 11 December 2020, Odeon Cinemas reveals they are losing $125 million a month and emergency funds are slowly running out.

On 29 April 2020 Odeon Cinemas announced a ban of all films distributed by Universal Pictures after the latter announced that it would skip releasing some films in cinemas and distribute them directly on streaming and on demand services.

Odeon Cinemas has a support office in Manchester, and a smaller office in London.

Odeon Cinemas offers premium services for customers who are 18 years or older.

In 2008, Odeon Cinemas made a controversial move by refusing to screen Rambo on any of its UK screens, blaming it on "commercial differences".

In 2010 Odeon proposed a boycott of Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland at its cinemas in the UK, Ireland and Italy, over a plan by Disney to show the film for a shorter period to allow it to release the film on DVD earlier.