AI Summary

Cinema attendance in the United Kingdom and Ireland is up 21 percent compared with 2025, a growth rate not seen since the pandemic, according to Charles Gant, the box‑office editor for Screen International. Gant hosted a BFI London Film Festival Industry Forum session on Thursday morning, bringing together cinema programmers to discuss the trend. The panel included Ben Lyndon, head of cinema programme at Curzon; Carol McKay, director of programming at Picturehouse; and Madeleine Mullett, programme manager at BFI IMAX. Participants examined audience behaviours and considered how lessons from recent releases might shape future line‑ups of both mainstream and independent titles.

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