UK Cinema Association members across came together earlier this month to raise much-needed funds for the charity MediCinema through a series of special previews of Dora and the Lost City of Gold.
Across almost 300 cinema sites, the previews on 11 August – generously supported by colleagues at Paramount Pictures – raised well over £50,000 for the charity, which builds, installs and runs state-of-the-art cinemas in hospitals and places of care, giving patients and their families the chance to enjoy the magic of the big screen experience together.
Involving cinema operators ranging from the biggest circuit companies (including Odeon, Vue, Cineworld, Picturehouse, Showcase, Empire and Everyman) to a large number of smaller operators, the previews provided another opportunity for the industry to show its support for MediCinema, whose work is widely-admired across the sector.
This round of screenings followed on from earlier fund-raising previews of Disney’s Christopher Robin and Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse, with A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon planned for October. The distributor of each film has generously agreed to forego their own share of the box office revenue generated.
Welcoming the news, UK Cinema Association Chief Executive Phil Clapp said:
‘I can think of few other causes which would bring the whole industry together in such a whole-hearted way. But so many of us feel very lucky to be working in the cinema business, and welcome the opportunity to ‘give something back’ to those enduring challenging circumstances.’
Sylvia Hallahan, Senior Fund-Raising Officer at MediCinema, added:
‘This is another fantastic outcome for the charity. We remain hugely grateful for all of the support and partnership provided by colleagues in cinema exhibition and of course at Paramount for their generosity in allowing Dora to be used in this way.’
More on MediCinema here.