The Substance18

Directed by Coralie Fargeat | UK/France | 2024 | 2h 21m | Starring Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, Dennis Quaid, Hugo Diego Garcia, Oscar Lesage

Television star and fitness icon Elisabeth Sparkle was once a beloved Hollywood pin-up. But when network executives try to replace her with a younger star, she turns to a black-market drug that temporarily transforms her into a younger version of herself. Demi Moore delivers a career-defining performance in Coralie Fargeat’s award-winning satirical body horror, which confronts harsh realities about ageism and misogyny, while exposing the dark side of toxic beauty culture.

🏆 Nominated for 5 Academy Awards (including Best Picture and Best Lead Actress) and 5 BAFTA Film Awards (including Best Director and Best Original Screenplay).

Reviews

‘Some will run screaming, but if it’s your jam, this could just be your new favourite horror movie.’
★★★★★
Philip De Semlyen, Time Out

‘It’s the casting of Moore, though, and her willingness to denude herself at 61 –emotionally, as well as physically– that gives The Substance a startling connection with its themes. Not for 30 years has she owned a film with anything like this certitude.’
★★★★★
Tim Robey, The Telegraph

Sorry - you missed it!

We showed The Substance between October 12, 2024 and March 10, 2025.

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What else is on?

Today (Thursday 26th June)

12:30

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15:00

The Salt Path 12A
Deaf/HOH Subtitles
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17:30

Disco Afrika: A Malagasy Story 18
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Tomorrow (Friday 27th June)

15:30

Along Came Love 15
2h 3m | French w/ English subtitles
In postwar France, a single mother falls for a younger student, but secrets soon threaten their fragile romance. Inspired by her own family history, Katell Quillévéré’s richly emotional film explores identity across generations.

Book here

18:15

Lollipop 15
1h 40m
Newly released from prison, Molly faces bureaucracy and judgment as she fights to reunite with her children. Written by Daisy-May Hudson, this deeply compassionate, all-female drama explores motherhood on society’s margins.

Book here

20:30

The Ballad of Wallis Island 12A
1h 40m
A reclusive lottery winner reunites his favourite band (and old flames) for one last gig. But as memories resurface, so do old wounds. A melancholic British comedy starring Carey Mulligan and Tim Key about lost love and music.

Book here


Plan your visit

Our beautiful art deco inspired auditorium can be found just off East Oxford's Cowley Road. We are open 7 days a week. We open the cinema and box office 30 minutes before the scheduled start time of each film, and the Box Office then closes 10 minutes after the film starts. We don’t show adverts, just a couple of trailers, so don't be late as the film itself starts very close to the advertised time!