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It’s a time of mixed fortunes for UK cinemas. Last month, the industry breathed a collective sigh of relief when Paramount Skydance outbid Netflix for the purchase of Warner Bros Discovery. Many commentators eyed Netflix with suspicion because the streaming giant has a big incentive for at-home releases, with its movies only released in cinemas for a short period – which is obviously not particularly great for the box office.
On the other hand, a 2025 Ofcom report found that only 11 percent of respondents visited the cinema every month, compared with 85 per cent who watched Video On Demand in the same period. More than 10 cinemas are reported to have closed last year.
So, we’re in the midst of a changing landscape, which is perhaps nowhere better illustrated than in the planned demolition of Milton Keynes’ The Point, the first-ever multiplex built in the UK.
Built in 1985, The Point has been closed for more than a decade, having screened its last movie in 2015. Now, Galliard Holdings Ltd (GHL) has been granted permission to turn the site into 487 flats. This is because the Twentieth Century Society and the Cinema Theatre Association’s bid to have the building declared historically important was rejected. Historic England noted that the world’s first multiplexes opened in America, meaning the UK’s version is ‘not of national significance’.
The new accommodation may span four buildings that are up to 21 storeys high. In its heyday, the Point featured 10 screens, a bingo hall and restaurants.
In 2014, Milton Keynes Council unanimously rejected GHL’s bid to turn the former cinema into a retail unit and the aforementioned flats. After a planning appeal, the developer won the right to replace the building’s glass pyramid structure. According to Historic England’s guidance, the latest development means the Point cannot become a listed building (which would make it difficult for a developer to impose changes upon it) for another five years.
Labour council leader Pete Marland said: ‘It is widely acknowledged that The Point saved cinema in this country and changed how people view going to watch a film.
‘I find it bizarre [that] because a trend started in another country, then it is less important. If this were the case you can de-list all the Gothic cathedrals because they were ideas imported from the Norman-French or all our neo-classical buildings because they emerged from Greece. I do believe there is an inherent anti-post-war bias in many of these decisions.’
The 100 greatest cinemas in the world, according to Time Out.
Did you see that one of the UK’s oldest cinemas is at risk of shutting down?
Plus: Milton Keynes has been named the ‘calmest’ in the UK.
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