Cinema in Chichester

Film screenings and the big screen experience

Cinema in Chichester is provided primarily by the multiplex at Chichester Gate, the leisure and retail development near the railway station. The cinema screens the latest mainstream releases across multiple screens, covering the usual mix of blockbusters, family films, action movies, comedies and dramas that make up the commercial cinema diet.

The Chichester Gate cinema has comfortable seating, digital projection and surround sound, providing the standard modern multiplex experience. Screenings run from late morning through to the evening, with the busiest times being Friday and Saturday evenings, school holiday matinees and the opening weekends of major releases. Ticket prices follow the national pattern, with discounts for children, students and seniors, and cheaper rates for off-peak screenings.

For those with broader tastes in film, the picture is more nuanced. Art house, foreign language, documentary and independent films are less consistently available at the multiplex, though some do appear. The New Park Cinema, a community cinema housed in New Park Centre, screens a more diverse programme including independent, foreign and classic films. Community cinema screenings provide a valuable complement to the mainstream offer, and the atmosphere tends to be more intimate and sociable.

Chichester Festival Theatre also screens films and live event cinema broadcasts, including National Theatre Live, Royal Opera House and other cultural broadcasts. These bring high-quality performances to a local screen, and they are popular with an audience that values cultural content without the journey to London.

The nearest alternative cinemas are in Bognor Regis, Portsmouth and Brighton, each of which has multiplexes and, in the case of Brighton, a strong independent cinema scene. For dedicated film enthusiasts, the Duke of York's cinema in Brighton, one of the oldest continuously operating cinemas in the country, is worth the journey.

Home streaming has, of course, transformed the way people watch films, and Chichester residents have the same access to Netflix, Amazon, Disney Plus and other platforms as everyone else. But the communal experience of watching a film on a big screen, with an audience, retains its appeal, and the cinema at Chichester Gate continues to draw a steady clientele for the films that benefit from the scale and sound of a proper auditorium.

For families, the cinema is a reliable wet-weather option, and the surrounding restaurants and cafes at Chichester Gate make it easy to combine a film with a meal.

For those with broader tastes in film, the picture is more nuanced. Art house, foreign language, documentary and independent films are less consistently available at the multiplex, though some do appear in the programming. The New Park Cinema, a community cinema housed in New Park Centre, screens a more diverse programme including independent, foreign and classic films on a regular basis. Community cinema screenings provide a valuable complement to the mainstream offer, and the atmosphere tends to be more intimate and sociable than a large multiplex auditorium.

Chichester Festival Theatre also screens live event cinema broadcasts, including National Theatre Live, Royal Opera House performances and other cultural broadcasts that bring the best of London stage and opera to a local screen. These are popular with an audience that values cultural content without the journey to London, and the quality of the broadcasts is now so high that the experience is genuinely compelling.

Home streaming has transformed the way people watch films, and Chichester residents have the same access to Netflix, Amazon, Disney Plus and other platforms as everyone else in the country. But the communal experience of watching a film on a big screen, in the dark, with an audience that laughs and gasps together, retains its appeal. For families, the cinema is a reliable wet-weather option during the school holidays, and the surrounding restaurants and cafes make it easy to combine a film with a meal out.