The Backlot Becomes The Arc Cinema as a New Era Begins at Houndshill

On 28 November 2025, Blackpool’s town-centre cinema at the Houndshill Shopping Centre officially became The Arc Cinema Blackpool, bringing an end to The Backlot name less than two years after the venue first opened. The change was not an overnight takeover. The Backlot Cinema & Diner had opened on 22 March 2024 as one of the centrepieces of the Houndshill extension, bringing a modern multiplex and Lancashire’s first IMAX screen into the heart of Blackpool. However, by the summer of 2025, arrangements were being made for the cinema to pass to a new operator.

The Backlot team announced that the venue had been a six-year project from its original design and development through to opening. Despite disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and difficulties affecting the wider cinema industry, including the Hollywood writers’ strike, the cinema had established itself and built a regular audience.

On 15 August 2025, Arc Cinemas took over the operation of the cinema. Blackpool Council, which owns the building, had sought a new tenant to operate the venue, with Arc already running cinemas elsewhere in Britain and Ireland. Initially, cinema-goers saw relatively little change. The venue continued operating and the existing cinema staff were retained. General Manager Ben Jones also remained in charge, providing continuity between The Backlot and its new operato.r

One significant part of the original Backlot concept did not continue. The ground-floor American-style diner closed ahead of the changeover and was not included as part of Arc’s cinema operation. The diner had been an important element of the original vision, combining a 100-seat restaurant with the multiplex above, but Blackpool Council was left to seek a separate operator for the restaurant space.

The cinema itself remained open under Arc, including its most distinctive feature – Lancashire’s only IMAX screen. Measuring approximately 10.85 metres high and 19.87 metres wide, the screen had been one of the major attractions of The Backlot and continued as part of the new cinema operation.

For several months after the August takeover, the cinema retained much of its existing identity. The more visible change came on 28 November 2025, when the venue officially joined The Arc Cinema brand and was relaunched as The Arc Cinema Blackpool. New branding was introduced and ticket prices were restructured, with standard admission starting from £5.95. The change therefore represented more than simply replacing the sign outside. The building, screens and much of the team remained, but the independently developed Backlot identity gave way to an established cinema operator.

Further investment followed in 2026. Arc began a substantial refurbishment of the Blackpool cinema, installing more than 300 electric recliner seats and completing two auditoriums which had previously remained unfinished. This expanded the cinema from seven operational screens to the full nine-screen complex originally envisaged for the development.

The IMAX auditorium was also upgraded, while improvements were made to the foyer and other public areas. New premium seating included electric recliners and Prestige Duo double reclining booths. By the summer of 2026, the refurbishment had been substantially completed, with the upgraded cinema showcased during a special IMAX screening of The Odyssey in July.

Although The Backlot name had disappeared, much of what had been created for its opening in 2024 survived the transition. The IMAX auditorium, central Blackpool location and purpose-built cinema complex remained, while Arc’s investment completed parts of the original development that had not previously been brought into use.

The story of the cinema therefore became one of two distinct chapters: The Backlot established the new Houndshill cinema in 2024, before Arc took over its operation in August 2025 and formally gave the venue a new identity that November.