Warner Village Cinemas
Warner Village Cinemas was a chain of multiplex cinemas operated by Warner Bros in the United Kingdom. Created in November 1996, it was a joint venture between Warner Bros. International Theatres and Village Roadshow Australia. The chain expanded by building more sites from 1997 to November 2002, with 40 sites open.
In the UK, the chain had 36 cinemas with 354 screens including the flagship in Leicester Square when it was purchased by SBC International Cinemas in May 2003. SBC re-branded all the cinemas as Vue Cinemas starting in March 2004, including the refurbishment of the foyers, the lighting and replacing screen numbers in some cinemas.
In October 2009, the Italian branch was bought by the Benetton Group and merged with Mediaset's Medusa Cinema to create The Space Cinema. It was originally a joint venture between Warner Bros. International Theatres, Village Roadshow Australia and Focus Srl., the local Italian partner.
The most notable Warner Village Cinema was in Leicester Square, London, a multiplex that used to host Warner film premieres. This theatre features two bas-relief sculptures, Sight and Sound, sculpted by Edward Bainbridge Copnall. It is now called Vue West End.
The cinema chain also operated in Taiwan, opening a cinema in a shopping mall named Warner Village Centre in Taipei. In 2005 it was renamed Vieshow Cinemas.
At one time, Warner Village Cinemas was the sponsor of LWT's weather forecasts, as well as being advertised on some British Warner Home Videos. On the 2002 video game The Getaway, Warner Village Cinemas were promoted through a taxi advertisement.