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Cinema First, the industry body that promotes UK cinemagoing, has launched a national campaign hailing the return of the big-screen experience, following a during the pandemic.

Created by Empire Design and set to This Little Light of Mine, “#LoveCinema” features a montage of more than 50 popular films including The Wizard of Oz, multi-Oscar-winning Ben-Hur and IMDb’s number-one greatest film The Shawshank Redemption.

“At last, the light can shine again,” the ad declares.

It also teases some of the blockbusters expected to hit the big screen in the coming months, including Christopher Nolan’s Tenet, James Bond’s latest epic No Time to Die, Wonder Woman 1984 and Timothée Chalamet-led sci-fi flick Dune.

The campaign launches today (Thursday). Media planning and buying was handled by MediaCom and Wavemaker.

“The '#LoveCinema' campaign has been launched to encourage audiences to return to the cinema to fall in love all over again with the unparalleled experience that only the big screen can deliver,” Iain Jacob, chair of Cinema First, said.

“The global pandemic has had a colossal impact on the film industry, presenting cinemas across the UK with unprecedented challenges.”

He explained that 20,000 people are employed by the cinema industry, 40% of whom are under 30.

In July, the government created a £1.57bn arts fund to support venues such as museums, galleries, theatres, independent cinemas, heritage sites and music venues.

Netflix added more than double the volume of subscribers it was expecting in the first quarter of the year, while Disney launched Disney+ in the UK on 24 March.

Jacob continued: “Cinemas are ready to welcome audiences back and we are calling on the great British film-loving public to escape back to the cinema and enjoy a safer big-screen experience.”