Curzon cinema in Eastbourne to close today after 100 years

The Curzon in Langney Road will show its last films tomorrow then close for good.

This comes as cinema bosses said it has struggled to keep up after the new Cineworld opened in The Beacon shopping centre.

Eastbourne Curzon cinema announces it will close next year

Manager Salam Niwa said, “We want to thank everyone for supporting us over the years. It’s very sad.

“We have been struggling, we have had no people coming in on an evening, it’s been really hard to survive.”

The manager, who has worked there for 20 years, said he believes they lost a lot of regulars when the new cinema opened.

The Curzon’s eight members of staff will be left without jobs.

This includes Stephen Milsom, who has worked at the Curzon for more than a decade.

He said, “We have done our best. Tomorrow will be our last day. It hasn’t sunk in yet.

“It’s been very quiet for a long time. We’ve run out of reasons we could think of as to why it’s so quiet.”

He said recent screenings of blockbuster Cats had been to four or five people.

“We are no longer part of the town centre”, he said, “We have lost KFC, the jewellers, TJ Hughes, and soon Debenhams. We have become the outskirts.”

The Curzon will be showing Last Christmas, Cats, and The Kingmaker tomorrow before it makes its final curtain call.

It was due to reach its 100th birthday in December 2020.

The freehold is currently up for sale on rightbiz.com for £2,250,000.

This week also sees the end of an era for the nearby department store Debenhams, which closes its Eastbourne store in Terminus Road on Sunday (January 19).

Eastbourne Curzon cinema’s rallying call for help to reach its 100th birthday