Vue, the largest privately owned cinema operator in Europe, is making a major push into the premium large format (PLF) space with the launch of a new experience it has branded “Epic.”
The Epic format features the new HDR by Barco laser projection combined with the Dolby Atmos sound system. The rollout will see a minimum of of 11 Epic screens opened in the U.K., Italy and the Netherlands this year, with an additional minimum of 50 Epic screens opened across Vue’s European markets — which also include Germany, Denmark, Poland, Lithuania and Latvia — by the end of 2027. The first will open at Vue’s newly launched site in the U.K. city of Nottingham at the end of July.
“Our goal is to have, across Europe in our markets, the same or more Epic screens than any other PLF provider,” Vue founder and CEO Tim Richards explained to Variety. Imax is currently the largest PLF provider in Europe, with more than 200 screens across the continent (including in several Vue sites).
Richards said that Vue had been a “little bit behind” on PLF, with Epic coming after a year testing and trialling all the various offerings, and decided to go it alone using technology partners rather than a third party.
“We wanted to make sure, from a qualitative standpoint and from a technological standpoint, that we were getting the very latest and best possible sight and sound technology available today and that was part of our thinking going into this,” he said, adding that with the HDR by Barco laser projection — which uses its so-called “lightsteering” technology — being so new (it was first unveiled at CinemaCon 2024), he didn’t believe there was anything like it currently available in cinemas.
But in addition to technological issues, Richards says there was another reason for not choosing to partner with Imax, the best-known PLF player in the market.
“I’ve just been a little bit concerned about what has happened recently when Imax in January threatened to use a ‘nuclear option’ against exhibitors to force them to play a Netflix movie that did not respect normal theatrical release windows, particularly internationally,” he explained.
The incident in question refers to the controversial deal signed between Netflix and Imax to release Greta Gerwig’s “Narnia” on Imax screens for an exclusive two-week run before it landed on the screener. A number of major cinema chains were reported to be deeply unhappy with the arrangement, with some apparently implying that they were considering boycotting the film from their Imax screens. In response, Imax CEO Richard Gelfond raised the prospect of a “nuclear option” to ensure the deal remained in place, which is understood to be a way of legally enforcing theaters to show “Narnia.”
Given Imax’s tight-relationship with several big-name directors, Richards said he wanted to “get filmmakers into our of our Epic screens as soon as we can, to show them that there is an alternative and there is something available that audiences are going to get very, very excited about.”
Following a bumper summer box office with “Lilo & Stitch” defying expectations, “Jurassic World Rebirth” soaring and impressive tracking for “Superman,” the hope is that enough new Epic screens will be operating in Vue cinemas by the time the “Wicked” and “Avatar” sequels release at the end of 2025.
“I think we’re looking at this year as a really good year, but a foundational year before what I think will be the turning point,” Richards says. “The watershed moment will be ‘Wicked’ and then ‘Avatar,’ and then 2026 is going to be an extraordinary year. Everything we do right now is getting ready for the future.”