The Empire, Leicester Square is a cinema currently operated by Cineworld on the north side of Leicester Square, London, United Kingdom.
The Empire was originally built in 1884 as a variety theatre and was rebuilt for films in the 1920s. It is one of several cinemas in and adjoining Leicester Square which are regularly used for film premieres and first runs.
Today, it has nine auditoria, including an IMAX (IMAX with Laser projection), a Superscreen (Premium Large Format (PLF), 4K projection and Dolby Atmos sound), and a 4DX screen.
History
1884: The Empire Theatre opens
The Empire Theatre opened on 17 April 1884 under the ownership of Daniel Nicols as a West End variety theatre on Leicester Square, as well as a ballet venue, with a capacity of about 2,000 seats.
The first performance was Chilpéric, with music by Hervé, adapted by H. Hersee and H. B. Farnie and described as a Grand Musical Spectacular, in three acts and seven tableaux. The corps de ballet for the performance was 50 strong. Edward Solomon and Sydney Grundy premièred their comic opera, Pocahontas or The Great White Pearl, another Solomon opera, Polly or The Pet of the Regiment transferred here, and his Billee Taylor was revived here, all in 1884. Kate Vaughan starred in Around the World in 80 Days at the theatre in 1886. Hervé premièred his Diana (1888) and Cleopatra (1889) at the theatre.
In 1887, the theatre reopened as a popular music hall named the Empire Theatre of Varieties. From 1887 to 1915, the designer C. Wilhelm created both scenery and costumes for (and sometimes produced) numerous ballets at the theatre, which established a fashion for stage design and were much imitated. George Edwardes managed the theatre around the start of the 20th century. The dancer Adeline Genée and the theatre's ballet company, working under composer-director Leopold Wenzel, did much to revive the moribund art of ballet in Britain, which had declined in the 19th century.
An extension providing secondary access from Leicester Street via a new foyer was added in 1893, with Frank Verity as the architect.
In March 1896, the Empire Theatre played host to the first commercial theatrical performances of a projected film to a UK audience by Auguste and Louis Lumière. The film programme ran for 18 months. Over the next few years, the theatre began to offer a programme of live performances with short film shows.
1927: Rebuilt as a cinema
As moving pictures grew in popularity in the 1920s, the freehold of the Empire was acquired for redevelopment in 1925 for over $1 million by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in partnership with Solly Joel, with its last live theatre performance being Lady Be Good, starring Fred Astaire.
Most of the theatre was demolished in 1927, with the Empire rebuilt as a film theatre on an expanded site with the auditorium block now extending East to Leicester Place; the architect was Thomas W. Lamb with assistance from F. W. Boettcher and Frederick G. M. Chancellor of Frank Matcham and Company as the local architect, and the Anglo-Scottish Construction Company Ltd was the contractor. Parts of the Frank Verity designed exterior remain visible on the West side.
It opened on 8 November 1928 with the silent film Trelawny of the Wells, based on the play by Arthur Wing Pinero.
Built as an American-style movie palace in the form of North American theatres designed by Thomas Lamb for Loew's/MGM, it had a capacity of about 3,300 seats, and was one of the first cinemas in the UK to be fully air conditioned. It also boasted a 4/21 Wurlitzer organ, and a large stage which often hosted ballet and dance performances.
Soon after opening, MGM bought out Joel's interest in the theatre.
Post-war cine-variety
After the war, the stage accommodated programmes of cine-variety–elaborate live shows, similar to those presented at the Radio City Music Hall. For these, the American producer Nat Carlson, who had been responsible for shows at that venue, was hired, and its slogan, "The Showplace of the Nation," was adopted.
In 1952 the Empire featured in Charlie Chaplin's film Limelight, and its 1927 incarnation can also be seen in archived newsreel footage of special events.
New screen for Ben-Hur 70mm presentation
In 1959, the Empire installed new 70mm projectors and a new screen in front of the proscenium to show Ben-Hur, which ran for 76 weeks.