Brechin’s community cinema will no longer show the latest releases – after poor audience figures left the project running at a loss.
A post on the committee’s Facebook page said it would cease to screen new films “until further notice”, due to low ticket sales.
It’s understood the cinema has been making a loss for the past 12 months.
The latest move follows a decline in the number of screenings by the group, falling from three each month to one every other month.
The team has said it will continue to host cinema events, including new to DVD releases and fund-raising events.
There are also plans to introduce a fully-fledged film festival in the future.
The statement said: “After the first year it became apparent to us that there was insufficient demand in Brechin for a monthly cinema showing three of the latest releases.
“We dropped the number of films we showed to two but this did little to improve attendance. After another year we took the difficult decision to reduce our shows to every other month in an attempt to increase numbers and make the screenings financially viable.”
Thanking everyone who had supported the project, the group said it was with “heavy hearts” that it was announcing there would be no more screenings of new releases after this month.
The silver screen returned to the town almost three years following a partnership with FilmMobile Scotland.
The previous cinema was turned into a nightclub, Flicks, in the 1980s.
The decision to stop showing new releases follows the purchase of new equipment, which will allow the team to continue hosting cinema events, including DVD screenings and special interest cinema evenings.
The committee is eyeing opportunities to live stream theatre and other events, as well as the potential for a film festival.
Groups will also be able to host their own cinema evenings for fund raising or special interest events. The latest phase begins next month when the cinema hosts a fully interactive screening of the Rocky Horror Picture Show on February 9.
The organisation did not respond to a request for comment.
