The boss of two beloved cinemas in South Cumbria has taken his campaign to keep it alive to a national scale.

Charles Morris appeared on BBC Breakfast on Saturday morning to discuss the difficulties the cinema industry is facing in the current climate.

The segment was prompted by the announcement that the Electric cinema in Birmingham, one of the UK’s oldest cinemas, is to close imminently. 

Mr Morris owns Northern Morris Cinemas which has The Roxy in Ulverston and The Royalty in Bowness, as well as venues in Skipton, Leeds, Keighley and Elland, near Huddersfield.

The Mail: Owner Charles Morris in the projection room at the Roxy cinema in 2012Owner Charles Morris in the projection room at the Roxy cinema in 2012 (Image: Newsquest)

Mr Morris said: "It is a fact that we are still a long, long way short of pre-pandemic attendances and I have to say that if things don’t improve significantly, soon, it could be too late for some of my cinemas. 

"I think there are several more in the country that are in the same state - in my case, we’re talking weeks rather than months because, soon, we won’t have any money left."

At the moment work is being carried out to improve the appearance of the Roxy though residents were warned that this needs to be joined by larger attendances.

Read more: Ulverston's Roxy building first phase renovations 'well underway' | The Mail (nwemail.co.uk)

Mr Morris added: "People always say 'there’s nothing like seeing a film on the big screen' and we certainly have a following for our type of traditional cinema but if that’s what they want we really do need them coming through the doors in greater numbers and soon.   

"If they think it would be nice to go back to the cinema sometime by the time they get round to it it may be too late."

The cinema's survival now comes down to 'bums on seats', with the business still feeling the aftershocks of the pandemic, he said.

"The lack of film production during the pandemic affected us significantly in the immediate aftermath, and the recent actors and scriptwriters strike in America will have its repercussions too," said Mr Morris.

"But another problem is that older people particularly were scared to come out after the pandemic and subsequently have got out of the habit - even now we get the occasional people saying 'this is the first time I’ve been to the cinema since the pandemic', and it’s been effectively over for three years."