National Lottery-funded Escapes reaches 250,000 free cinema tickets

Escapes is an audience development initiative, funded by The National Lottery and backed by the BFI, that offers free cinema screenings at more than 120 independent cinemas across the UK each month.

Since launching in 2024, they have been on a mission to make cinema more accessible to everyone. Escapes believe that everyone should have the opportunity to experience independent cinema and enjoy the magic of the big screen without cost being a barrier.

Once a month, they offer free previews of brand-new films, beloved classics and thought-provoking documentaries to audiences across the UK.

These screenings are made possible thanks to National Lottery players, who raise £33 million for good causes every week.

Accessibility is at the heart of Escapes' mission. Films are screened with open captions and audio description as standard, while relaxed screenings are also available at a growing number of cinemas.

It's also important that geography is not a barrier to participation, ensuring audiences outside London and other major cities have the same access to cinema experiences.

To help continue this work, Open Cinemas, which operates Escapes, received a £3 million investment over three years through the BFI National Lottery Funding Plan 2026-2029.  

The figures speak for themselves. Since launching in February 2024, Escapes has distributed more than 250,000 free tickets through screenings at 235 cinemas nationwide, 87% of which are outside London.

Escapes is your invitation to experience the magic of cinema for free.

Coming up next with Escapes

Don't worry if you've missed out on tickets. Join the Escapes mailing list to be among the first to hear about future screenings.

Thank you to National Lottery players for making Escapes possible.