09/08/2025
See post below from our friends at Keighley Picture House Cinema
Hi everyone,
In light of Robbie Moore MP’s recent posts and the auction site links we have been tagged in, we feel the need to clarify a few things regarding the “selling off” of The Picture House Cinema. The cinema is NOT being outright sold and shut down, we intend to continue business as usual and this is not us closing our doors, not now and hopefully not ever. This is an auction of the site we sit on and would likely mean a new landlord but with Charles Morris and Northern Morris Cinemas still here keeping the fire of independent cinema alive and burning bright.
Now, naturally there can be a worst-case scenario, nothing is a sure thing in this life, but a far greater likelihood is that our cinema will be largely unaffected, but this degree of uncertainty is why we do rely now more than ever on public support. So please, do come on down if you are able, because we always rely on and appreciate your attendance and patronage. This cinema has survived two world wars, two pandemics, the threat of corporate greed trying to turf us out with a multiplex and a few recessions, and there is a lot of people – believe me – fighting tooth and nail to ensure we survive this. And I truly believe we WILL.
This is a scary and unfortunate predicament that the council has seen fit to put us in but this is far from a cut and dry scenario, and don’t be surprised if something positive occurs soon. But, for the time being we want to assure people not to panic, the situation is not ideal but neither is it damning, we do not intend to go quietly into that goodnight, in fact we intend to still be here standing for generations to come. This is but another struggle we will face and overcome together. We have built our history and legacy on fighting to stay alive in an ever-changing world and being a historical fixed point in the town, and that will not change if we have anything to say about it.
Thank you for all your overwhelming support and we hope to see you here, as the films keep being projected and the story of The Picture House continues. Please don’t count us out, we are survivors, and as the last surviving cinema of the town, we intend to have some positive news to share with you all sometime in the future. In the meantime, we’d love to see you here and urge you once again not to worry, there are a lot of things going on and a lot of people looking out for us, and with that in mind, the cinema is not closing.
The show must, and indeed will, go on. Thank You.
