Cannon Havant

The Empire Cinema replaced an earlier Empire Cinema which was on North Street in the town of Havant, Hampshire. It was opened in August 1936 by independent Empire Cinema (Havant) Ltd. The proscenium was 24 feet wide.

In February 1949, it was taken over by the Shipman & King circuit, and in the mid-1950’s, the proscenium was altered to accommodate CinemaScope. In the late-1960’s the S & K circuit were taken over by EMI, and part-time bingo began, and the Empire Cinema was re-named Studio Cinema. In 1976, it was renamed Empire Cinema again, and the part-time bingo was dropped.

In 1986, it was taken over by the Cannon Cinemas chain and re-named Cannon. It was closed on 26th March 1987. There were many protests about this, and other uses such as church or nightclub were hoped for, but nothing happened and the building became derelict. It was demolished in August/September 1994 and a block of flats named Empire Court was built on the site.

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