ILKLEY Cinema has been named Cinema of the Year at The Big Screen Awards 2022.
The awards recognise the UK’s big screen industry and Ilkley Cinema scooped the award in the category of Cinema of the Year (24 screens or under).
Judges said: "Supported by a video that gave a real sense of the warm welcome offered by Ilkley Cinema, as well as the pride in the venue taken by its staff, the entry for this two screen West Yorkshire gem earned approval across the board from our jury.
"Opened in 2015 as a single-screen cinema by partners John Tate and John Hewitt, and expanded in 2018 to accommodate a second screen, Ilkley punches far above its weight for a venue with only 98 seats in total - performing powerfully in the past year with titles including Spencer, Mothering Sunday, Benediction and Downton Abbey: A New Era.
"While many cinemas still have a way to go to bounce back to pre-Covid levels of admissions and income, Ilkley in 2022 has achieved a revenue increase on the same period of 2019, and has a high 68 per cent occupancy rate including daytime shows. That translated into an impressive £9,500-per-seat annual box office for the 12 months beginning August 2021.
"Improvements to the outside space and a new menu have resulted in a 60 per cent increase in concession spend. Membership is likewise flourishing, with the top 500 customers averaging 20 visit to the cinema per year.
"An impressively diverse film programme this past year has seen smaller independent and foreign-language titles play at Ilkley, while the local Ukrainian community was served with a dubbed version of Top Gun: Maverick. An expansion of captioned screenings has yielded strong local engagement."
One of the judges said: "A well-presented submission that demonstrates a passionate and professional approach to cinema."
They added: "(Ilkley Cinema) engaged the local community while also making smart commercial decisions."
The awards were unveiled at a ceremony in The Brewery, London, on November 24 with comedian Phil Wang on hosting duties.
Speaking after the awards John Tate, of Ilkley Cinema said: “We are delighted that our little indie won cinema of the year. We are thankful to our amazing team and all our customers for their ongoing support. We wouldn’t be here without them.”
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