I first read about the news that the Empire Leicester Square #1 was going to screen its last ever film yesterday in an article on the Bleedingcool.com before work started today converting it in to either two or four screens depending on the rumours.

52 years after the Empire reopened as a 1330 seat cinema its shocking news that Empire Cinemas have been allowed to convert #1 into several screens similar to how Odeon were allowed to do it to the Marble Arch which used to be a fantastic cinema.

I know Odeon have been wanting to turn their Odeon Leicester Square into a multi-screen cinema for a long time and planning permission has been given to re-develop the Odeon West End site into restaurants, hotel, flats and two cinemas less than half the size of the current two in the basement.

Last Tuesday’s world premiere of One Directions This Is Us will go down in history books as the last ever film to have its premiere at the Empire Leicester Square as after the conversion the cinema won’t have the capacity to hold premieres.

Leicester Square has been the home of cinema and the home of film premieres in London for a long time with the Empire #1 turned into several screens it will just leave the Odeon as the only cinema in the Square that has the capacity to hold premieres.

I know Empire Cinemas will say that the reason why they are doing it is because films are playing to half empty screening in #1 the reason for that is you had to pay up to £20 to see films in that cinema. I never understand that cinemas make most of their profits on concessionary sales so if ticket prices were lowered more people would likely go to see films at the Empire and that would increase the concessionary sales?

With digital projection and 4K available throughout the UK Leicester Square has to offer something different to tempt people to come into town and one of those was being able to see films on one of the biggest screens in the UK. Seeing films in a packed out #1 of the Empire was a real cinema experience but cinemas are becoming nothing more than boxes without any character. Ticket prices increase year on year, which hides the fact that attendances are declining, the public are also waking up to the con that is 3D that exhibitors have gotten away with in the last few years of charging a third more to see films in 3D apart from the 3D glasses that cost pennies there is no extra costs involved for a exhibitor to screen a film in 3D or 2D.

I used to go weekly to see films in the cinemas in Leicester Square as I knew that the quality of the presentation of the films would be the best possible sound and picture. Before digital cinema was installed the Leicester Square cinemas were always given show prints for their screenings often made directly from the films original negative or 70mm prints were screened.

The studios would hold rehearsal screenings of the films in the cinemas to make sure that the film was screened was the best possible picture and sound. Over 10 years ago I worked for 20th Century Fox and would do rehearsal screenings in the Leicester Square cinemas ahead of premieres, press screenings and the release to quality check the prints.

With the installation of digital projection in cinemas exhibitors have gotten rid of most of the projectionists as they didn’t think that they were necessary but issues and problems still occur and when problems happen its not as simple to fix as a film projector which you can see straight away what normally was the problem.