We are very lucky up here in Newcastle to have two cinemas with an excellent selection of beloved festive films to watch across the month of December.
The first one is Cineworld, located at the top of The Gate entertainment complex, which is hosting screenings of ten Christmas classics. These include Elf, The Grinch Stole Christmas, It’s a Wonderful Life, Love Actually, The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Muppet Christmas Carol and Die Hard.
They’re also showing anniversary screenings of The Polar Express and Gremlins, as well as a double-feature of Home Alone & Home Alone 2. There’s plenty on offer if you want to spend an evening with a Christmas staple.
If you’re looking for some alternative choices, look no further than the Tyneside Cinema. They have a huge selection of Christmas films, which keeps growing year-on-year. As well as the classics mentioned above, they are showing some more recent entries into the Christmas canon, such as Arthur Christmas, The Holdovers, Last Christmas and Greta Gerwig’s Little Women.
The Tyneside Cinema is the master of screening films that make you say, ‘Well, technically, it is a Christmas film.’ These offerings include Planes, Trains and Automobiles, In Bruges, Batman Returns, Eyes Wide Shut and Brazil. If you’ve seen Home Alone a billion times, why not try something a bit different?
My favourite part of the festive season at the Tyneside Cinema is their special events. It has become a tradition for me and my mam to attend the ‘popcorn-and-prosecco’ screening of The Holiday. This is exactly what it says on the tin, where you pay extra for complimentary snacks and booze, as you watch the greatest Christmas rom-com of all-time (fight me!).
Their other special events include afternoon tea screenings, where you can enjoy a selection of the Tyneside’s culinary delights, before snuggling in on one of their sofa seats to watch a festive favourite on the big screen. Films with this event attached to it include Little Women, It’s a Wonderful Life, Love Actually, The Muppet Christmas Carol and Home Alone.
This is just a sample of the films they have on offer, with the whole programme available to view and book on their website.
So, whether you want to grab a bite to eat at The Gate then head to the Cineworld to watch a Christmas classic, or want to broaden your horizons with an alternative showing at the Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle is the city to be in for your festive film fix!