Showcase Cinema de Lux in Cabot Circus closed forever on November 30, 2023.
Showcase Cinema De Lux at Cabot Circus(Image: Nigel Talby)
It’s been almost two years since Bristol’s biggest cinema closed its doors for good. In what was dubbed a huge blow to the city centre, the Showcase Cinema de Lux in Cabot Circus closed forever on November 30, 2023.
Since then there has been a gaping hole in the top floor of Bristol’s main central shopping centre. And with the closure of House of Fraser just nine months later, Cabot Circus had lost two of its big ticket draws for visitors.
The 14-screen Showcase Cinema de Lux was the biggest in Bristol, with the same number of screens as the Showcase at Avonmeads. It was one of the key ‘anchor attractions’ of Cabot Circus when the shopping centre opened in 2008.
At the time a spokesperson for Cabot Circus promised it would provide “a best in class, renewed cinema” and said they would provide more updates soon.
In August, Odeon cinema chain announced it would be taking on the vacant space on the top floor of Cabot Circus. Then last weekend the shopping centre revealed that the Odeon Luxe cinema would open in early 2026.
In a clip announcing the opening, Cabot Circus shared comments from people asking for a cinema, or suggesting the centre needs one.
Odeon has confirmed when it is set to open in Bristol’s Cabot Circus(Image: Peter Harbour – Yorkshire Live)
The shopping centre announced: “Bristol we hear you. ODEON Luxe is coming to Cabot Circus early 2026. Keep your eyes peeled for more updates.
Odeon Luxe markets itself as a premium cinema experience, with reclining seats and three times the amount of legroom as a standard cinema. The cinema will feature IMAX with Laser and an iSense screen with the ‘clearest sound’ and ‘brightest picture’.
The new Odeon will occupy a smaller site than the previous cinema, sharing the space formerly occupied by Showcase with a restaurant and another “leisure operator”, according to planning documents. The identities of the brands behind the new restaurant and leisure space are yet to be revealed.
The Odeon had originally been expected to open its doors this year but was delayed following Cabot Circus owner Hammerson’s plans to build a 500-bed student accommodation tower in front of the centre’s car park.
The cinema announcement comes off the back of a huge new Marks & Spencer store finally opening at Cabot Circus – almost 18 months after it was announced the high-street brand would be returning to Broadmead.
The new Odeon is part of a massive regeneration of Cabot Circus and surrounding areas. As well as the planned student accommodation complex, Hammerson is revamping the Quakers Friars area, with a large new health centre one potential usage for the space currently occupied by the Apple Store on Philadelphia Street.
