This year, The UPP has celebrated some important milestones in our long and colourful history. It marks thirty years since brothers Saied and Zaid Marham took over the cinema, giving it the name we know today. It is also fifty years since Bill Heine and Pablo Butcher reopened the building to the public as The Penultimate Picture Palace, bringing cinema back to our corner of East Oxford for the first time since the early 1910s.

Bolstered by our history, encouraged by growing ticket sales, and supported by our #SaveTheUPP campaign, we’ve recently made a significant investment in our future.

On Friday 7 August, following four days of summer maintenance, The UPP reopens with a brand-new, state-of-the-art Christie laser projector. It replaces our previous NEC projector, which served us faithfully for more than a decade and had come to the end of its life.

So, what difference will audiences notice?

Laser projection delivers a sharper, brighter and more detailed image, with richer colours, deeper contrast and exceptional clarity. Every frame is more vivid, ensuring that our audiences enjoy the very best picture quality possible for our specific screen and auditorium.

The benefits don’t stop there. By replacing our xenon lamp projector with laser technology, we’ll reduce the projector’s running costs by around 70%. The new system consumes less energy and eliminates the need to purchase and replace expensive projection lamps, making it a more sustainable and cost-effective investment.

These improvements follow the installation earlier this year of a new Trinnov Ovation 2 sound processor. Trinnov is at the forefront of cinema sound technology, with Ovation processors also installed at the BFI Southbank’s National Film Theatre. Working closely with Trinnov’s expert team, we’ve calibrated the system specifically for our auditorium, delivering a clearer, richer, more immersive sound experience.

Together, these upgrades represent an investment of nearly £40,000 in the UPP’s future. They improve energy efficiency, reduce long-term operating costs and, most importantly, make every visit to the cinema an even better experience for our audiences. 

“I am really excited to share the news of these brilliant upgrades with our audiences, who I know care as much about picture and sound quality as we do,” said Micaela Tuckwell, Executive Director of the Ultimate Picture Palace.

“These upgrades are a significant milestone for the UPP and the result of years of careful planning. They reflect our commitment to continually investing in the cinema experience we offer our audiences. While we’re incredibly proud to be operating out of one of the country’s oldest cinemas, we’ve never believed that history should come at the expense of innovation. Our aim has always been to combine the character and warmth of this much-loved Grade II listed building with the very best modern cinema technology.”

“Our new laser projector and upgraded sound system will make every film look and sound better while significantly reducing our energy consumption and long-term running costs. It’s a win for Oxford film-lovers, a win for the environment, and another important step towards ensuring this remarkable community cinema continues to thrive for many years to come.”

Join us from Friday 7th August for our first screenings of The Odyssey, and on Saturday 8th August for one-off screenings of classics made for the big-screen, including Victor Fleming’s technicolor masterpiece The Wizard Of Oz and Christopher Nolan’s spectacular sci-fi Interstellar. Full listings can be found here: https://uppcinema.com/whats-on/