Two UK cinemas chains confirm they’re boycotting Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman in protest at its limited cinema run

The Irishman
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Vue and Picturehouse quickly confirm that they won’t be screening Netflix production The Irishman this winter.

Just as Netflix confirms its plans for a cinema outing for its big budget Martin Scorsese picture The Irishman, two UK cinema chains have already come out and said they won’t be showing the movie.

As per our article here, Netflix is intending to give Scorsese’s eagerly-awaited movie a limited release on November 1st (November 8th in the UK), before releasing the movie to its streaming service at the end of the same month. Netflix has an eye on an Oscar run for the film, but many exhibitors were unhappy at the short shrift the streaming giant gave to the cinema release of Roma in the UK.

One of those exhibitors was the Vue chain, and it’s now announced that it won’t be screening The Irishman across its sites (which cover around 2,000 screens in the UK and across Europe). Vue was one of the loudest protesters over the almost non-existent cinema release of Roma.

In a statement, Vue says that “despite The Irishman being directed by one of the true giants of cinema, Netflix has chosen not to give this film the full theatrical big screen release it deserves. Our policy is to only show titles launching with a full theatrical release, which is a well-known industry practice that creates and profiles cultural blockbusters, provides a more engaged and immersive experience for audiences and showcases exceptional content the way it was intended to be shown and enjoyed”.

Picturehouse too has also confirmed it won’t be screening the film.

In the US, many major movie chains – AMC, Cineplex, Regal and Cinemark – are also refusing to show it. The intentions of the likes of Odeon and Cineworld here in the UK aren’t yet known.

Expect this story to develop more over the coming days.

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