No longer ‘De Lux’, cinema now has a ‘whiff of decline’

Derby's Showcase cinema insists all is well, but with cut-price tickets, bars closed and no staff on the tills, GEORGE ALLEN wonders what happened

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WHEN the first big cinemas opened in the United States, they were palaces. Huge crowds flocked to these grand, luxurious places to experience the glamour of Hollywood.

It was with something like this in mind that Showcase Cinemas launched the “De Lux” brand.

In Derby, it opened a shiny new multiplex at the Derbion shopping centre, then Westfield, in 2008, and soon left behind the ageing and old fashioned Sinfin branch - now closed.

There was a bar to enjoy a drink before or after the film, plenty of staff on hand and lots of customers.

A special touch was the Director's Lounge, where a premium ticket gave you access to a private bar and the ability to have food and drink brought to your cinema seat.

But now, it seems, the heyday is over. Both bars are closed, staff no longer man the box office tills and the full Director's Lounge service is not available.

When I visited on two occasions earlier this month, to see The Roses and The Long Walk, there was more than a whiff of decline.