Selfridges throws open the doors of its new in-store cinema today in what is believed to be a world-first for a department store.
The landmark Oxford Street branch of the 105 year old retailer has teamed up with Everyman Cinemas to launch the venture on its lower ground floor. It will remain in situ until next spring, showing a variety of new releases, independent titles and classic movies.
The cinema project ties in with this year’s Destination Christmas theme of storytelling, which will also include a dedicated programme of live acts and interactive events celebrating the art of storytelling, which will run throughout the store.
Hannah Bass, director of food and leisure, says; “Of course, shopping malls have been doing this for decades, but this is the first time that a department store is offering this ‘retail cinema’ experience to its customers.”
The 60-seater cinema will open for its first screening at 13.15 this afternoon when it will be showing Blake Edwards’ stylish romantic comedy Breakfast at Tiffany’s starring Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard.
This will be followed by Jean-Luc Godard’s seminal French New Wave film Breathless, in which Jean-Paul Belmondo plays a wanted petty criminal hiding out in the Paris apartment of his American girlfriend, Jean Seberg.
Next up is Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel at 18.00, before the opening day’s screenings conclude with Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street at 20.20.
Coming attractions include Some Like it Hot, Annie Hall, the Beatles’ film A Hard Day’s Night, and Control the biopic of Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis. There will also be Kids Club screenings including Toy Story and 101 Dalmations.
Adult admission ranges from £12.50 to £20 and children’s tickets are priced at £10. Booking is advised.
