National Cinema Day, the industry-wide initiative to boost cinema audiences with low cost tickets, is being expanded to cover a whole weekend for its 2026 return.
Co-ordinated by industry body Cinema First, the event debuted in 2022 and proved an immediate success with 1.46 million admissions in a single day, while the 2023 iteration saw audiences grow to 1.56 million admissions.
For 2026 the event is being renamed National Cinema Weekend and will be held on Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th September with more than 530 cinemas already confirmed to be taking part and tickets available from just £4.
Audiences are being promised “a broad and varied” selection of films to choose from.
For this year’s event Cinema First has partnered with marketing technology provider CineOS to develop an intuitive online hub cinemaweekender.com which is designed to help cinema-goers explore the NCW offering and find film showtimes at their local participating cinemas.
Phil Clapp, Chief Executive of the UK Cinema Association and Director of Cinema First looked forward to the weekend event with enthusiasm:
“Following the success of National Cinema Day, we’re excited to be extending the celebration to the entire weekend, giving cinemagoers greater flexibility to plan their visits, and the opportunity to watch the widest possible range of films, suiting all tastes.
“We’re delighted to see so many cinemas getting behind National Cinema Weekend and look forward to welcoming audiences across the country on the 5th and 6th September.”