Cinema to show Hollywood film before global release

Universal Jodie Comer and Austin Butler starring in The BikeridersUniversal
The Bikeriders, with Jodie Comer and Austin Butler (pictured) is being screened at a cinema in Daventry on Saturday

A local cinema is set to show an exclusive advanced screening of a Hollywood blockbuster two weeks before its global release.

The Arc Cinema in Daventry, Northamptonshire, will screen The Bikeriders on Saturday, to coincide with the town's annual motorcycle festival.

The movie, starring Tom Hardy, Jodie Comer and Austin Butler, will be released in UK cinemas on 21 June.

Wendy Goldie, manager of the cinema, said she contacted Universal Pictures to request an advanced screening and "the decision was made in Hollywood".

"It's so exciting," she said. "It's fantastic for the bike festival and it's fantastic for the town.

"It's also fantastic for the cinema and it's putting Daventry on the map – even if it's for just one night."

Wendy Goldie Entrance to The Arc Cinema in DaventryWendy Goldie
The four-screen cinema, built on the former site of Daventry Library, opened in 2022

The Bikeriders follows the "bare-knuckled, grease-covered subculture" of 1960s motorcycle riders in the US.

It was shown at the London Film Festival last year.

Wendy Goldie Wendy GoldieWendy Goldie
Ms Goldie says hosting an advanced screening is a "real coup"

"To market the bike festival with a film of that calibre, it's the icing on the cake for the whole festival," Ms Goldie added.

"The film is selling at a normal ticket price but it is just one screen so it's first come first served."

The Daventry Motorcycle Festival gets under way at 10:00 BST on Saturday and runs until 16:00.

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