Urgent call to save rural Scottish cinema with fans including Dame Judi Dench

Oban Phoenix Cinema has ceased trading with immediate effect, with the provisional liquidation attributed to a marked decline in audience numbers and revenue stemming from the Covid pandemic, coupled with rising operating costs due to inflationary pressures.

The venue is credited with a long history dating back to the opening of the Cinema House in the 1930s with a seating capacity of 600. The Oban Phoenix Cinema can trace its roots on the site back to the 1950s via different operators through to the Highland Cinema, which closed in 2010.

In 2012, and following extensive fund-raising and widespread celebrity and community support, it reopened as the Oban Phoenix Cinema, an independent community-owned facility and registered charity offering a wide range of films, events, and venue hire. The cinema has two screens – the larger seating 148 and including 3D projection facilities, while the compact screen accommodates 22.

Blair Milne and David Meldrum of Azets, who have been appointed joint provisional liquidators, are asking interested parties to contact the accountancy firm promptly to maximise the chances of finding a buyer keen to reopen the venue.

Milne, restructuring and insolvency partner with Azets, said: “Despite the extensive efforts of the board of trustees, many volunteers and supporters, the financial issues affecting Oban Phoenix Cinema caused unsustainable cash flow problems, and as such provisional liquidation was the only option.

“We will market the property and assets for sale, and try to find a buyer keen to continue operating a cinema on the site. We are hopeful that our urgent call for a buyer will appeal to a variety of interested parties including existing cinema operators, an entrepreneur keen to enter the sector, or a larger business willing to invest in an important and valued community asset. We will also provide every possible support to the staff that have been made redundant.”

A spokesperson for the Oban Phoenix Cinema added: “It is with the deepest regret that we have had to close the doors of Oban Phoenix Cinema. We have tried to maintain the cinema for the benefit of the community, however we have been struggling with a massive decline in footfall alongside a rise in costs over the last few years.

"Unfortunately, numbers have declined even further during the last few months, and it is with great sadness that we have had to close the cinema as it had become insolvent. We would like to thank our current dedicated staff and all the community that have supported us with their patronage since 2012.”

The folding of the cinema comes after Edinburgh’s Filmhouse, which had shut suddenly in 2022 after going into administration in a move angering movie-goers in the city, was this year saved and expected to reopen by the end of 2024 after a revival bid secured £1.5 million from the UK Government.