Tucked inside the National Science and Media Museum on Bradford‘s city centre plateau, the Cubby Broccoli Cinema is one of three cinema screens within a museum that has been drawing visitors to West Yorkshire since 1983. The building itself sits prominently above the city, and admission to the museum’s galleries is free, though cinema screenings carry a separate charge. The museum opens daily from 10 am until 6 pm.
A Cinema Inside a Landmark Museum
The National Science and Media Museum houses a collection of 3.5 million pieces across seven floors, with permanent exhibitions covering photography, television, animation, videogaming, and the scientific principles behind light and colour. The Cubby Broccoli Cinema sits alongside two other screens in the building, the most historically significant of which is the IMAX screen – the first permanent IMAX installation in the UK, opened in April 1983 as part of the Bradford Film Festival. The museum went through a £16 million refurbishment in 1998, which added a glass-fronted atrium housing a café and shop, and a further £7.5 million five-year investment plan was announced in March 2016 by the Science Museum Group.
Film, Festivals, and the Bradford Connection
The museum built a reputation as a film destination through events including the Bradford International Film Festival, which it hosted until 2014. Since then, the museum has shifted its programming focus toward the science and culture of light and sound. The building has hosted festivals covering widescreen film, video games, and science, and was voted the best indoor attraction in Yorkshire by the public in September 2011. It remains one of the most visited museums in the north of England. Following a temporary closure in July 2023 for the construction of two new galleries, the museum reopened to visitors on 16 January 2025, with a new Sound and Vision gallery among the additions.