First UK Dolby Cinema to open in London by Christmas

Yes we know a home cinema set-up with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos is relatively accessible these days, but it’d be hard to beat the experience of an 800-seat auditorium with a dual laser Vision projection system and epic Atmos speaker rig in a domestic space.

Any passers-by in Leicester Square over the last eleven months may have seen for themselves that Odeon’s European flagship cinema has been undergoing a multi-million pound refurbishment - and now, 81 years after it first opened, the now-named ‘Odeon Luxe Leicester Square’ is almost ready to re-open its doors. Just in time for Christmas.

As we learned in the summer, the ‘Odeon Luxe Leicester Square’ will be the first Dolby Cinema in the UK, with its Premiere screen featuring Dolby Vision laser projection and a Dolby Atmos system.

We aren't sure just how many speakers, but regardless, if our experience of Dolby Cinemas is anything to go by, we say this news is Christmas come early.

The Premiere screen also has 800 ‘luxury’ seats – including over 350 Luxe recliners with extensive legroom and personal tray tables – while screens two, three, four and five have also received full refurbishment, holding 116 customers between them.

Having hosted over 700 film premieres, the cinema is re-establishing itself as a home of Hollywood in London, with a restored interior and new glass-fronted Oscar’s cocktail bar, named after Odeon founder Oscar Deutsch.

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Becky Roberts

Becky is the managing editor of What Hi-Fi? and, since her recent move to Melbourne, also the editor of Australian Hi-Fi magazine. During her 10 years in the hi-fi industry, she has been fortunate enough to travel the world to report on the biggest and most exciting brands in hi-fi and consumer tech (and has had the jetlag and hangovers to remember them by). In her spare time, Becky can often be found running, watching Liverpool FC and horror movies, and hunting for gluten-free cake.