Aberdeen city centre will lose its Vue cinema next month, ending a 21-year presence in the Granite City and leaving approximately 30 employees facing redundancy shortly after the festive period. The Shiprow multiplex will cease operations in January, marking another blow to Scotland’s cinema exhibition sector.
The closure will leave Aberdeen with only two cinemas currently open, both run by Cineworld at Union Square and at Aberdeen Beach.
A Vue spokesman said: ““We can confirm that we will not be extending our lease at our Aberdeen venue beyond January.
“All colleagues in Aberdeen, who are our priority, have been made aware and we are consulting with them accordingly.
“We will continue to provide cinemagoers in Aberdeen with the big screen experience, until further notice.”
The closure announcement comes as Vue International reports deepening financial losses across its estate, with the Jersey-based chain posting a pre-tax deficit of £91.8 million for the 12 months to 30 November 2024, widening from £73.7 million the previous year. Revenue declined to £737.9 million from £759 million, driven by a drop in admissions from 72.3 million to 70.1 million across the group’s 224 cinemas.
Industry-wide pressures mount
The Aberdeen closure reflects broader structural challenges battering the UK cinema industry. Vue’s latest financial results reveal box office revenue fell to £401 million from £418.9 million, while concession sales and screen advertising income also declined. The chain attributed the performance to a “decrease in market size across all territories,” though noted revenue remained ahead of internal expectations.
The fallout from Hollywood’s SAG-AFTRA actors’ strike has also had an effect. The six-month industrial action, which halted production from July to December 2023, created a content vacuum that Vue executives say “has been at its most material in 2024 and into 2025 due to a lower number of completed films being available for theatrical release”.
Aberdeen losing venues
The Shiprow closure eliminates one of Aberdeen’s mainstream cinema options, exacerbating a broader contraction in the city’s film exhibition landscape. The Belmont Cinema, the city’s last remaining independent arthouse venue, has been shuttered since October 2022, with a new charity having recently gained funding to renovate the building with the aim to reopen the venue.
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The Vue site opened in 2004, having previously been home to the Lighthouse cinema. Prior to this it was the ABC cinema, operating from a building built to house the Regal cinema in 1954. The site originally opened as the Gaeity in 1908.
The timing of the Vue closure, just after Christmas, means staff will face redundancy during what is traditionally a slower period for recruitment.
Vue has yet to comment on the specific circumstances surrounding the Aberdeen closure or potential redeployment opportunities for affected staff.
