Support from Hollywood to save the Ultimate Picture Palace

Press Release: Friday 13th March 2026

Support from Hollywood to save Oxford’s small and well-loved Ultimate Picture Palace

Recreation of early photo outside the Grade II listed building launches Save the UPP Campaign

An Oscar-nominee in Hollywood for the Academy Awards has today joined a campaign to save Oxford’s iconic Ultimate Picture Palace cinema.

Dame Pippa Harris DBE, a producer of the Oscar-nominated British film Hamnet for Best Picture, is the first to sign a petition to save the independent cinema.

The Oscar and BAFTA award winner has been a life-long supporter of the UPP since regularly frequenting it as an Oxford teenager.

The Ultimate Picture Palace is the fourth oldest independent cinema in England and the only one which is community-owned, with more than 1,200 shareholders. It has an unusually diverse programme for a single screen cinema and is the only cinema in Oxford with a 35mm projector - keeping heritage skills alive.

It also has a broader social mission involving a wide range of partner organisations, including a local refugee charity, a young women’s music project, arts centres and schools.

Ticket sales were up 29% last year on pre-pandemic levels, compared to the national average for cinema admissions, which is 22% below where it was in 2019.

But landlords Oriel College, part of the University of Oxford, are not willing to extend the lease. Instead, they want to include the Grade II listed building in their ‘Fifth Quad’ development plans when the current lease expires in 2037.

Pippa Harris said: “The Ultimate Picture Palace has always had a special place in my heart since I went to school in Oxford and it was the first cinema I visited regularly. I would go there with friends and was mesmerised by so many different films and genres from all over the world that I hadn’t heard of before. It opened my eyes to an amazing world which I knew I wanted to be part of.

“Big dreams started in that little cinema and I’m lucky my dream came true. It’s loved and respected by so many of us and has the potential to inspire generations to come.”

To mark the start of the campaign, supporters have recreated a version of a photograph taken outside of the building in the early days of the UPP to show the timeless relevance and appeal of the cinema.

Campaigners say the UPP has played a central role in the community since it opened in 1911 and is a cultural hub for people across the city and beyond. It has contributed to UK culture as a trusted partner to regional and national arts organisations, and has played a formative role in the careers of actors, writers, producers and directors in the UK film industry.

Last year, UPP was awarded Asset of the Community Value status by Oxford City Council in recognition of the vital social, cultural and historical role the cinema plays in the city’s life.

But the building badly needs investment to improve access, views, sound quality and greener energy use. Without these changes the cinema will struggle to remain commercially viable. Planning permission has been secured, and funders are keen to help so long as the UPP has a long-term lease, which Oriel College is not willing to provide.

Micaela Tuckwell, CEO of the UPP said: “The Ultimate Picture Palace has been part of the story of film from the beginning, and we want to continue being in that story.

“We think there’s enormous potential for a creative partnership with Oriel College, which would benefit their students as well as the cinema. Together, we could continue to make the arts more accessible, inspire creativity, invigorate the film industry and open minds both in Oxford and beyond.”

People can sign the petition here.