Showcase Cinemas Manchester
Hyde Road,
Manchester,
M12 5AL
Hyde Road,
Manchester,
M12 5AL
2 people
favorited this theater
Built on part of the former famous Belle Vue entertainment complex, the 14-screen Showcase Cinemas opened on 17th October 1989. It was closed on March 17, 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It was confirmed in October 2020 that the closure would be permanent. It was demolished in May 2021.
Contributed by
Ken Roe
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Recent comments (view all 11 comments)
exterior shot from around 1991, standard Showcase exterior and design from the late 80's
http://www.flickr.com/photos/woody1969/2120723527/
and auditorium shot from the opening night
http://www.flickr.com/photos/woody1969/2121499754/
the cinema was built on the site of the former Belle Vue Zoo and is apparently haunted, the car park is built on the site of the boating lake
the Zoo entrance in 1978
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prior to the Zoo, the site was occupied by the notorious Belle Vue prison
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the roller coasters in 1956, this is now where the entrance to the cinema car park is
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the cinema has now been repainted in beige and maroon giving it a very 80’s looks
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Its confirmed, this cinema will never reopen, it last trading day was March 2020
https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/belle-vue-showcase-cinema-demolished-19035850
Drove past the cinema earlier tonight. The Showcase signage has been removed from the front of the building, the lights are now off (they were on when I’ve driven past in the last month whilst waiting for Showcase to make it statement, even though the doors are boarded up. The confirmed last trading day was the 17th March 2020.
Looking on Wayback machine, references to this cinema were removed from Showcase.co.uk between the 7th and 19th September. On the 7th September, the Covid section on the website made reference to all cinema having reopned apart from Manchester, with an statement that More information will follow in due course. The statement is seem is all reference to this cinema being removed from the website, signage removed from the cinema and an statement to the local press.
It an real shame that after 30 years of operations the cinema get no fanfare for it closure.
February 2021 tour
It’s now gone. Google streetview in the photo section.
Urban explorers had a detailed look round shortly before demolition -see YouTube
Grand opening ad