
Cineworld Cinema - Leicester Square
5 Leicester Square,
London,
WC2H 7NA
5 Leicester Square,
London,
WC2H 7NA
42 people
favorited this theater
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Having now obtained measurements (courtesy of LARGE_screen_format) for the Superscreen’s, er, screen… and it turns out my previous estimate was widely off the mark.
The filled width is ~14.75m (~48.4ft.) The gap between the filled width and the masking is ~15-20cm.
The auditorium width is ~70ft. (measured off licensing plans) and Empire Cinemas originally gave the screen width (floating screen on frame) as 20.5m (~67.25ft.) Hence almost 20ft. of the screen has been covered by the side masking.
The reduction in screen width over the previous Barco DP4K-32BLP projection appears to be about 1.2m either side, for a total of 2.4m (~7.9ft.,) yielding a screen width of ~17.2m (~56.3ft.)
The width of ~48.4ft. is somewhat less than the maximum 60ft. width that the HDR by Barco (LS-4K) projection may be capable of, per my previous post.
So, other than the possible problem of the short throw resulting in a restricted picture size, what other reasons might there be for the reduction in screen size?
One might be ensuring that no direct view of the high power laser light source is possible from any standing position (even with the removal of some seats.) Another could be sightlines. The reduced area of screen fill also presumably moved up the bottom edge up of the filled area, which renders sightlines from the front row of the balcony narrowly viable for “flat” ratio content. (Can’t remember what the sightlines were like previously.)
Having seen “Sinners” presented in HDR by Barco, I am pleased to say that, whilst this title was hardly a “wham bam” demonstration of what HDR can do, the projection quality was very “cinematic”–smooth, only a bit of grain in some scenes, consistent grading, and good detail.
Checking on the end title crawl, I still think the sharpness isn’t as good as IMAX with Laser GT or COLA, and the black levels are clearly elevated, perhaps again pointing to the superior prism-free optical path in those ultra high-end IMAX digital projectors.
Sound was also very good, not reference level, but with excellent clarity, imaging and extended sub-bass–the best I’ve heard in this auditorium to date, demonstrating the high specification of the system and outstanding engineering of the JBL ScreenArray stage speakers (Academy Award for Technical Excellence relating to some of the technologies used.)
I also note that, I suspect both the IMAX and Superscreen seats have had some work done to them, possibly reupholstered. The armrests certainly look like they have been. Overall, not as comfortable as they were when new, but they’re in good condition.
The Accountant 2 listing on Cineworld’s site gives the presentation type as “SUPERSCREEN HDR 2D,” thereby denoting the HDR by Barco format.
Additions to previous post..
Reduced screen width/fill:
In totality, the above seems to “hang together” (pun not intended,) and so I think it’s reasonable to quote the screen width as ~18m. This is about the same as the old Empire 1 on closure.
For anyone wishing to know more about HDR by Barco, there is some further discussion on the film-tech site, albeit quite technical.
However, there is a good overview on Forbes:
Barco Light Steering Uses AI Tech To Brings True HDR To The Big Screen.
Barco’s executive vice president worked on Dolby Cinema/Vision, and claims “HDR by Barco” to be superior. As for the headline, it seems to be another case of AI-as-buzzword, for what’s (very basically) happening is using algorithms running on nVidia GPUs to calculate the interference/reinforcement patterns needed to steer the laser light sources.
“The Accountant 2” was indeed shot digitally, as I suspected. However, softer/more diffuse lens types were used, so I await other content to subjectively review whether the “HDR by Barco” system is competitive with “IMAX with Laser” GT/COLA’s ability to resolve areas of high contrast/fine detail without diffusion. IMAX claims that the prism-free design of the optical path of these projectors results in superior performance compared to conventional multi-chip digital cinema designs.
A “HDR by Barco” DCP has finally been supplied for the new Barco projection in the Superscreen, namely for “The Accountant 2”–and I therefore took the opportunity to attend a performance.
It was hard to assess the picture quality during adverts/movie trailers, not least due to the leakage from the sidewall “Superscreen” signage.
However, all lights were out for the main feature. The “HDR by Barco” trailer played between the BBFC rating card and the studio title, ending on the “Superscreen” and “HDR by Barco” logos. This was a good demonstration of the system’s capabilities in terms of colour gamut (saturation) and bright highlights, with the projection featuring Barco’s light steering technology.
“The Accountant 2” is not the most aesthetically pleasing movie, with backdrops often being gritty and muddy. However, it does feature night scenes which showed off the good black levels achieved (albeit IMAX with Laser GT or COLA, I think, are superior) and “shafts” of light from the projector for bright highlights could be seen. Colour rendition appeared to be very accurate.
Overall, the picture had good centre-to-edge brightness uniformity, and a very smooth look with little or no signs of digital oddities. Despite the film’s aesthetic, the picture was virtually grain free with well resolved details. However, the image appeared slightly more diffuse than IMAX with Laser GT or COLA, with detail such as stubble or other facial textures not as sharply resolved.
Some quibbles–the slight curvature of the screen is uncorrected and so as mentioned there is some barrel distortion to the top and bottom of the picture. This was obvious due to the unmasked areas of a flat ratio screen on a scope title. However, the lack of masking in this areas was not overly bothersome due to the above average black level achieved.
There is a slightly “speckled” look to the picture, which I suspect was caused by the screen’s coating, which was replaced with a Harkness “Hugo” screen:
Harkness Screens Elevates Cinema Experience with Hugo Screen Installation at Cineworld Leicester Square.
It did not seem to have the movement of laser light source speckle, and it would be hoped by now this is well controlled through various engineering techniques.
Sound quality was first rate, likely not reference level but with good dynamic range and impact during peaks, and very good surround imaging. The signal to noise ratio seems to be slightly compromised, as “hiss” was occasionally just audible in quiet sections. Perhaps the sound system gain structure needs optimising, or I didn’t notice this previously.
HVAC was good with the temperature well regulated and comfortable, albeit there were only a few in, who incidentally were very quiet and well-behaved.
The projection model can be seen by looking through the porthole glass into the booth, namely Barco LS4K.
It’s hard to be sure, but the newly positioned side masking appears to cover over about 2ft. on each side of the screen, with the picture size reduced over the previous. I’m not sure why this is, although apparently HDR by Barco is restricted in screen size due to the peak brightness level requirements for highlights, and I wonder if the short throw of the projection means no lens is available that would achieve a larger screen fill.
However, this actually proportions the screen more suitably for the front rows of the auditorium, which were closer than IMAX specifications relative to screen width, and also should place the last row of the balcony about one screen width away from the screen, within IMAX specifications (i.e., much closer than industry standard auditoria, including many other “PLF” screens.)
Talking to a member of staff, it was confirmed that:
I must thank this member of staff for their exceptional willingness to answer questions. Their enthusiasm shone through, and their knowledge was very good, especially considering their non-technical role.
I also had the opportunity to see behind the screen, and it turns out that the JBL 4645B subwoofers are placed on the floor spaced out along the entire auditorium width. This was surprising, as the recommended configuration is clustering them together, which results in mutual coupling. This may explain why the low frequency impact has never matched that achieved when they were installed in Empire 1, clustered 4 wide, 4 high in the centre of the baffle wall that was behind the screen. (The IMAX has 8xlow frequency cabinets, each with 4 drivers, stacked four high, with their drivers/ports 90° to the screen, facing each other.)
I could not make out the main screen speakers, positioned higher up, but they looked to still be the JBL ScreenArray series that were originally installed. The bafflettes that theatreofvarieties mentioned in a previous post on Cinema Treasures also could not be seen.
Finally, suitable classic non-sync music was played before the performance started. Quibbles aside, though the overall experience is still not a match for overwhelming scale and special qualities of the IMAX, finally this auditorium has reached its potential with the expected high standard of presentation and is certainly one of the better places to see a film.
At least until cinema moves to direct view LED displays…
Photos of the auditorium and projector to follow. (Hopefully!)
Zappomatic: The screen is indeed of the “floating” type with masking wrapped over the sides post-opening.
Going back over some of The Empire’s history, following the IMAX conversion, the 2x4K (DP4K-32B) Barco projection and the sound system was then moved over to the (then named) “IMPACT” auditorium, albeit with the Dolby 3D system replaced by the Masterimage system (polarised type like RealD) and the Atmos processor/rears/overheads replaced.
On my first trip, the image was not satisfactory with barrel distortion to the horizontal edges. And, indeed, the screen was not filled, with–if I remember correctly–slight gaps to the sides, and the screen on frame is taller than the maximum 1.9:1 (or rather 1.85:1 on non-IMAX DCP’s) ratio.
According to Cinema Technology Magazine, the lenses used in the old Empire 1, with a ~120ft. throw to the screen, had not been replaced to suit the much shorter throw.
Changes over time included the addition of masking (as you note), dropping 3D with one projector in use only, and installing Barco’s laser-phosphor light source retrofit to the remaining projector. The projection quality did improve over opening.
I have yet to see a “Barco HDR” release, but on a recent visit, the picture quality did seem to have improved. Centre-to-edge brightness uniformity was excellent, with limited hot-spotting visible, and good colour saturation was achieved. However, the black levels were not comparable to IMAX with Laser GT, and there seemed to be some barrel distortion (like an old CRT display) to the top/bottom edges of the projected picture. It’s slightly hard to say as it could be perceptual and possibly a consequence of the slight screen curvature. I’d prefer it to be slightly pin-cushioned vertically.
If I’m not mistaken, the picture may have been moved up slightly. The masking has been tidied up with the very shabby sections near the front audience left entrance no longer half falling off (staples were visible,) and the slight gap that was on the left of the top edge masking also eliminated.
The JBL ScreenArray stage speakers still have the edge over any other, IMO, for top-end clarity and uncoloured response. Unfortunately, for being equipped with the best available everything, the experience still seems to fall short of the finest venues. It could be said it’s a bland “black box multiplex”-style auditorium, but that doesn’t account for picture/sound not quite being “wow!” It should exceed the high standards of the old Empire 1, e.g., given the far more controlled acoustics. Or, possibly, my “wow” factor expectations have been raised by the IMAX…
Finally (in the unlikely event that anyone has read this far!) the left/right stage speakers are actually beyond the edges of the projected screen area; this can be heard when entering or existing the auditorium from the front.
I’ve added a photo illustrating the reduced width of the Superscreen - compare to older photos. Note black levels are much better than appear in the photo. This photo shows the credits to Wicked which is a 2.39:1 ratio.
Interestingly looking at photos of the original Impact screen (as Empire called it) when new it appears to be a floating screen that the projector was incapable of filling, subsequently masked.
Visited the Superscreen today and a few seats in row H (two rows in front of the booth) have been removed and the space blocked off.
Screen width is now reduced with what appears to be additional masking but height remains the same, making Scope content look a bit strange with a significant amount of unmasked screen space above and below. Presumably the new projector is unable to cope with the relatively short throw versus screen size - a retrograde step and hopefully something they can rectify in time.
Seats immediately in front of and adjacent to the projection booth are showing as unavailable when booking a screening; I intend to visit on Tuesday so will be interesting to see if the booth has been expanded.
The Superscreen is getting a new HDR capable Barco projector, and a new Harkness Hugo screen to coincide with the release of Gladiator II. https://variety.com/2024/film/global/gladiator-2-cineworld-first-hdr-by-barco-theater-international-1236206252/
An article on p24 of the Kinematograph Weekly, Thursday 7th January 1960 titled “Preparing The Empire for ‘Ben-Hur’–Special problems required drastic alterations” contains quite a bit of information on the 1959 alterations made for “Ben Hur.”
Some of the key points:
The article notes that “Ben-Hur” would be the last film to play at the Empire, with its run anticipated to last 12-15 months, upon which “the theatre was to be demolished and replaced with a smaller cinema.” Of course, literally speaking, this turned out to not quite be the case–though it would be no exaggeration to describe the 1962 reconstruction scheme as “drastic!”
The link Zappomatic posted to the video showing the installation of the IMAX screen is no longer working.
However, it’s also been posted by Cineworld on Facebook.
Some comments:
Having attended a few performances since the installation of the replacement screen:
Additional comments:
Finally, the seating in the IMAX auditorium, particularly in the “sweet spot” central area, is getting tired with one or two cases of poor quality attempts at reupholstering them. AFAIK the supplier (Seating Concepts) is no longer in business. On all occasions, the auditorium was also in need of a full clean.
IMAX screen replaced this week https://x.com/marcusryder/status/1757395406235840768?s=20
Another picture of the marquee in the 1990s:
https://www.dreamstime.com/editorial-image-empire-cinema-london-england-image63186885
Royal Film Performance 1997 for TITANIC in 70mm. Nice views of the marquee, foyer and projection booth.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfquSxcN084&t=1s
CF100 - please send me your contact details to n.goulding@virgin.net
theatreofvarieties: Many thanks for offering the original Empire 1 seats. I’d love to have one… how can we go about arranging this?
I’m having a clear out and have some of the original reclining seats from Empire 1 that were removed when it was converted to IMAX. Would anyone be interested in one?
CF 100 - yes there was removal of asbestos on the boiler pipework and some elements of the structural steels. No, the decorative plasterwork did not contain asbestos, it was tested for it before removal.
Cineworld have announced:
“Cineworld and certain of its subsidiaries (collectively, the “Group Chapter 11 Companies”) have commenced Chapter 11 cases in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas (the “Court”).”
Source: Cineworld Group plc - Announcement.
The above link is to a newly launched website pertaining to the proceedings, under the domain cineworldstrong.com, a somewhat odd name.
Meanwhile, IMAX’s CFO states that IMAX sites operate under a master lease agreement that covers all of an operator’s locations. She goes on to suggest:
“[If they’re going to operate they will] clean up the under-performing complexes and either sell them off or do something with them. But that’s not where IMAX screens are — IMAX screens are all in the top-performing complexes.”
Clearly, in a world where “tentpole” releases still drawn in crowds, whilst streaming is snapping on the heels of mid-budget titles, a cinema with 3 premium format screens, one of which is exceptional, and 6 “studio” sized auditoria, is configured in a way that is more suitable than “megaplexes”…
next the skips to throw that cineworld sign and that liemax superscreen into the rubbish skip like, empire cinemas did to the only THX cinema in the uk.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Cineworld are preparing to file for bankruptcy. The writing has been on the wall, given mounting debts. Will be interesting to see the future of this and their other flagship locations.
Exterior footage of The Empire, Leicester Square in 1896 (!) with “Lumiere Cinematographe” signage (and yes, horses and carts to boot…)
Filmed in 1986 and posted today on YouTube:
Demonstrating screen masking for 35mm and 70mm aspect ratios at the Empire
This was the installation from 1962 on to when they slightly enlarged the screen in the early 2000’s.
Couldn’t care less about empire 1 anymore its gone turned into a rubbish Liemax video screen tiny screen.
Bagnall Demolition — The Empire.
According to the above-linked page, when UCI operated the cinema, this company performed an asbestos survey, in which asbestos-containing materials identified included “spray coatings, asbestos insulation board ceilings and cement.” Subsequently, removal work took place (logistically not so easy) and a new survey to update the asbestos register was undertaken.
Hmm. I’d still be surprised if no asbestos removal was needed above the ceiling during the strip-out of the old Empire 1. I’m fairly surprised that the old wall/ceiling tiles apparently didn’t contain any… (otherwise the wall tiles wouldn’t have been removed aggressively ASAP after the auditorium closed for renovation.)