Why Peaky Blinders movie isn't playing at the UK's three biggest cinema chains

Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man brings the story of Tommy Shelby to an end after over a decade, with fans raving over the new film and reviews all praising it.

With Cillian Murphy and Sophie Rundle returning, as well as new stars Barry Keoghan, Rebecca Ferguson, and Tim Roth, the movie does not however bring back Paul Anderson as Arthur.

In spite of Paul Anderson’s lack of a return, with the actor having spoken out in an exclusive interview with LADbible, the film’s response has been stellar.

The Rotten Tomatoes for the movie sits at 91% with a 89% fan score, with Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian calling it a ‘resoundingly confident drama’.

Despite that reaction though fans across the UK will struggle to watch the film in cinemas before its upcoming Netflix release because none of the three biggest cinema chains are screening it.

Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man can only be seen at smaller independent chains and cinemas, and will not play at Vue, Cineworld, or Odeon.

This is actually due to a rule the three cinemas all have clashing with that of Netflix.

Netflix’s cinema releases became a hot talking point during their mooted takeover of Warner Brothers, with many worried about how long films would stay in cinemas for before being dropped on Netflix.

Though Netflix’s purchase of Warner Brothers fell through the debate still rages on, and in this case has cost fans of Peaky Blinders wanting to see the film in cinemas.

The Immortal Man won't be available to watch in the three biggest cinema chains in the UK (BBC)

Vue, Cineworld (not including Ireland), and Odeon all have rules that films must have a minimum 30-day release window in order to be shown at their cinemas.

Netflix decided on a limited release for the film of just two weeks, with the movie releasing on Netflix 20 March.

Speaking to The Playlist about why he wanted a cinema release for the film, Steven Knight said: “I really want them to be watching this all together in one building because the communication has all been virtual, which is fine.

“But I do want this to be in cinemas so that people can sit there together and watch this thing happen.”

Peaky Blinders fans living in small towns that only have one of the big three will have to travel to see the film in cinemas (Netflix)

Unfortunately though this will require a fair bit of travel for anyone in small towns that only have the major chains, and many of the independent cinemas in bigger towns will be selling out far earlier than they normally would.

Netflix’s approach to cinema releases have been a long-debated topic, with CEO Ted Sarandos calling the cinema experience ‘outmoded’.

Speaking about the global box office being down in recent years Sarandos said: “What does that say? What is the consumer trying to tell us?

“That they’d like to watch movies at home, thank you.

“The studios and the theatres are duking it out over trying to preserve this 45-day window that is completely out of step with the consumer experience of just loving a movie.”

LADbible have contacted Netflix, Cineworld, Vue, and Odeon for comment.