Film enthusiasts have the chance to enjoy a season of cinema at Millennium Point this summer, as it launches a brand-new partnership with Mockingbird Cinema.
Millennium Point’s Auditorium (formerly the first IMAX cinema in Birmingham), is screening a collection of much-loved classics alongside some of the summer’s latest releases as part of a brand-new ‘Big Screen Film Season’ in partnership with Mockingbird Cinema.
The season opened on Thursday 29 July with a screening of Marvel Studios’ action-packed spy thriller Black Widow, one of 2021’s biggest cinema releases. Starring Scarlett Johansson and Florence Pugh, fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe will have the chance to enjoy the latest superhero epic on the giant screen. Also movie lovers can revisit the 1980s classic The Lost Boys, a teen comedy horror film starring Corey Haim and Keifer Sutherland.
The Big Screen season continues throughout the summer, including a screening of new release In The Heights on Friday August 6. Based on the Tony Award winning musical by Quiara Alegria Hudes and Hamilton’s Lin-Manuel Miranda, the film features an ensemble cast, jaw-dropping musical set pieces and an unforgettable soundtrack.
Future screenings include a Lord of the Rings special (Saturday August 14), offering fans the opportunity to re-live the Oscar-winning trilogy on the giant screen as they watch all three fantasy epics back-to-back. Tickets are also on sale for award-winning musical The Greatest Showman (Friday August 27), 1970s horror Jaws (Friday August 27) and the original Jurassic Park (Saturday August 28).
The owners James Brown, Alper Dervish and Lee Nabbs at Mockingbird Cinema explained: “It has been a long-time ambition to screen films at Millennium Point as we all have fond memories of the original IMAX cinema. It has been a challenging year for the industry and as we reopen we are very excited to bring cinema back to this venue and with our diverse programming, we look forward to sharing the big screen with both new and existing customers”.
Since 2015, the fully-independent Mockingbird Cinema has been entertaining cinema fans with its mix of new and classic film screenings at its nearby Digbeth venue, which has recently announced its intention to expand with a second screen opening later in the year.
Rebecca Delmore, commercial director at Millennium Point, said: “We’re delighted to announce this brand-new film season in partnership with Mockingbird Cinema. It’s a brilliant opportunity for movie-lovers to experience some of this year’s biggest new releases on our giant screen, as well as some much-loved classics. We look forward to working with the Mockingbird team to bring their signature style to our newly-launched auditorium space and create an unforgettable cinema experience this summer.”
Millennium Point is a landmark public building and conference and events venue in the Eastside of Birmingham City Centre, opposite the future site of HS2’s Curzon Railway. Profits from its commercial activity are invested back into the region through the Millennium Point Charitable Trust to support the growth of STEM education. In January, some of its spaces were taken over as the first mass vaccination centre in the West Midlands for coronavirus.
Millennium Point’s Auditorium has recently undergone a £350,000 refurbishment. This includes a 10m x 3m participant stage area beneath the 16m x 10m giant screen and new lighting, audio, and visual equipment to enhance its appeal as a signature event space for conferences and events in the city. The award-winning events team at Millennium Point has introduced several hygiene and safety measures to ensure that the cinema screenings are safe for all film enthusiasts to enjoy.
These include hand sanitising stations throughout the venue, a cashless and contactless experience, and an enhanced deep clean regime. Staff test twice a week and will still be wearing facemasks when serving customers. Millennium Point is covid secure, accredited “Safe, Clean & Legal” by Quality in Tourism, “Contagion Secure” by Meetings Industry Association and “Good to Go” by Visit Britain.
