One month on from the reopening of Sidcup’s cinema the Council is delighted to see the venue thriving once again as a vibrant cultural hub for the community. Audience numbers have grown week on week since reopening with good attendance across a wide range of films and events.

Castle Cinema, who currently operate a similar successful independent community-driven cinema in Hackney, are the new team running the cinema and café that will be known as the Castle Sidcup.  The building that the cinema, café and library are housed in will continue to be known as the Storyteller building.

The cinema is now operating at full opening hours 9.30am until 11pm daily, screening films throughout the day, 7 days a week and continuing to expand its programme. Over the coming weeks this will include the introduction of regular specialist and inclusive screenings such as parent and baby showings, silver screen performances for older audiences and accessible screenings including hard-of-hearing and subtitled sessions.

Craig Wood, returning as General Manager said:

It’s been fantastic to welcome people back through the doors and to see the cinema settling back into its role at the heart of the community. There’s a real appetite locally for a broad mix of films and events and we’re excited to keep building a programme that reflects the community and offers something for everyone".

London Borough of Bexley’s Cabinet Member for Place Shaping, Cllr Munur said:

It’s great to see this much-loved community asset back in use. There is an exciting future ahead for the Cinema and the Council would like to thank residents for their continued support.  We look forward to seeing the cinema go from strength to strength as a much-loved cultural venue at the heart of Sidcup".

As part of the reopening period the Council and Castle Cinema were pleased to support former Sidcup Storyteller members by recognising legacy memberships. This recognition will remain available until 31 January 2026. Just pop in and speak to the friendly Castle Sidcup team.

Further information about screenings, accessibility, opening times and to book tickets is available at Castle Sidcup