87 m. ago ‘I don’t touch my phone. At home, I’d be scrolling’: why young people are flocking to independent cinemas

Young people are drawn in by the promise of a ‘no-distractions’ zone, rereleases of old classics and music documentaries by global artistsA new generation of film lovers is helping to drive an increase in cinema attendance across the UK. As the industry slowly recovers from the decline of audiences during the pandemic – there were 126.5m admissions in 2024 compared with 176.1m in 2019, the rise in younger people returning to cinema may be due to a newfound love for film developed during the lockdown years. Although figures are yet to be restored to pre-pandemic levels, admission rates are continuing to increase, and it is younger audiences in particular who are showing significant enthusiasm, with figures from the Cinema Advertising Association suggesting that under-35s make up 50% of cinemagoers across the board.This is a proportion, which includes all cinemas including mainstream multiplexes, has held steady over the last few years but the effect appears particularly marked on the...

Politics

3 h. ago We know that cosy games have big audiences – so where’s my epic Call the Midwife sim?

In a world overwhelmed by noise and with more players looking for solace, it’s time the triple-A developers pay attentionI am 85 hours into Death Stranding 2, an apocalyptic nightmare about Earth becoming infected with death monsters, and I’ve realised that I’m playing it as a cosy game. For hours at a time, I trundle along the photorealistic landscapes in my pick-up truck, delivering parcels to isolated communities and building new roads. The only reason I complete the main story missions is to open new areas of the map so that I can meet new people and build more roads. I find it blissfully enjoyable.Of course, I am far from alone in playing video games this way. “Cosy games” have become a thriving cottage industry over the past five years, led by crossover successes such as Minecraft, Stardew Valley and Untitled Goose Game, but also housing hundreds of smaller titles that appeal to highly engaged communities. On Steam this month you’ll discover Catto’s Post Office, a delightful g...

Events

11 h. ago Oslo Stories Trilogy: Love review – gracefully grownup and breezy relationships drama

Doctor Marianne wonders if her gay colleague Tor’s approach to dating would work for her, in the second film of Dag Johan Haugerud’s absorbing trilogyHere is the second of Norwegian film-maker and novelist Dag Johan Haugerud’s seductive trilogy about affairs of the heart and mind, set in Oslo. (It comes between Sex and Dreams.) It is a thoroughly grownup and absorbing drama, acted with such sympathy and warmth, a ruminative and exploratory movie of ideas, and one that pays its audience the compliment of treating them as intelligent beings. Love is about a familiar question: can straight people learn from or even absorb the open and polygamous approach to sex that appears to come easier to gay people (and perhaps younger people of all sexualities), perhaps specifically gay men? Or is that idea stereotypical and naive?Andrea Braein Hovig plays Marianne, a urology consultant whose job it is to give bad news to a succession of men about their prostate cancer. She is single (though her p...

Events

26 h. ago ‘I get to be the plus one’: Travis Kelce dishes on being in love with Taylor Swift and how they are just regular people

NFL star and pop superstar have been dating since summer 2023

Politics

27 h. ago Punchdrunk's new live action video game is searching for early access players

Everything to know about how to become a part of this IRL multiplayer stealth survival game set in space

Sport

30 h. ago Dear Britain, it’s now clear: 20mph zones save lives and don’t slow traffic. Implement them | Sadiq Khan

There is too much bluff and bluster on this subject. Ordinary people just want safe streets for themselves and those they love, and we can achieve thatEvery 17 minutes. That’s how often someone is killed or seriously injured in a collision on the UK’s roads. Each and every one of these accidents brings an unbearable loss: for family and friends left mourning the loved ones who have been cruelly stolen from them, and survivors whose injuries can change their lives for ever. When we talk about how we make our roads safer, it’s easy to get distracted by bluff and bluster. But, every time we do, we lose sight of the most important fact: traffic accidents took over 1,600 lives last year, and we have the power to reduce and prevent them.Take speed limits. Rigorous new research published by Transport for London shows the number of people killed or seriously injured on London borough roads reduced by 34% following the implementation of 20mph speed limits, with the number of children killed ...

Politics

33 h. ago ‘It’s high stakes, high adrenaline’ – Punchdrunk head into space with video game influenced new show

‘It’s high stakes, high adrenaline’ – Punchdrunk head into space with video game influenced new show  Time Out Worldwide

Culture

3 d. ago Ludocene is the ‘Tinder for Games’ app that just might help solve the issue of game discoverability

With thousands of new games releasing on Steam and digital console storefronts each year, Ludocene aims to make finding your next favourite video game a lot less intimidating.

Politics

3 d. ago Jamie Lee Curtis hits back at Freakier Friday review: ‘Some people love me’

The Oscar-winning star took to social media to defend the new sequel

Events

4 d. ago Superdrug shoppers race to buy 'dreamy' £70 designer perfume reduced to just £38 this weekend

"Absolutely love this fragrance, light yet dreamy, people always compliment the sweet smell."

Economics

5 d. ago Man goes surfing and looks completely different when he returns after big mistake

Many people love making a trip to the beach during the summer, with water sports and activities an appeal to many but one man made a painful mistake when he decided to give surfing a go

Politics

6 d. ago 7 of MrBeast’s wildest video ideas so far as he pitches ‘real life Hunger Games’

MrBeast wants to do Hunger Games “in real life” - with $1m prize 😱

Politics

6 d. ago 'My son is obsessed with McDonald's – so I came up with perfect parenting hack'

As a parent, it can be hard saying no to your kids when they ask for certain things like junk food or the latest video game. But one mum has come up with the perfect hack

Politics

7 d. ago Forever young? I’m another year older but I’ll never stop playing games

My love for video games has never wavered, I have no intention of growing up and moving onIt is my birthday this week. And while that may not sound like a worthy subject for Pushing Buttons, bear with me.I am now 54 – and so officially in my mid-50s – and I still write about video games for a living. I play video games every day; I work in a home office where I’m surrounded by video games. When I’m not playing them, I’m probably thinking about them. But at times like this, I think: maybe should I stop someday? Is there an upper limit on how long someone can do games journalism? Certainly I only know of a handful of people my age who are still writing about games on a full-time basis. Some of my friends outside the industry still play games, but usually only one or two a year – EA Sports FC, maybe, the latest blockbusting narrative adventure, Nintendo with the kids. If you’re not careful, life has a way of shepherding you away from your interests. Continue reading...

Politics

7 d. ago Rollercoaster chaser could still set record despite Storm Floris setback

The former UK head of Google for Education believes people should be encouraged to do what they love.

Events

7 d. ago Roller coaster chaser could still set record despite Storm Floris setback

The former UK head of Google for Education believes people should be encouraged to do what they love.

Events

7 d. ago The Xbox Rog Ally handheld release date may have just leaked

The ROG Xbox Ally is a custom-tuned Asus console designed around a new handheld-friendly Xbox interface

Politics

8 d. ago Jamie Lee Curtis sobs over Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson's 'intimate' relationship

Jamie Lee Curtis has praised Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson's 'intimate' relationship and told people to 'leave them the f*** alone' if they have found love with each other

Politics

9 d. ago The Trolley Solution: the internet’s most memed moral dilemma becomes a video game

Indie developer’s take on the ethical conundrum about choosing who to save from an oncoming train may be gimmicky, but with its charm and bite-size levels, it’s ideal for the social media eraIn 1967, British philosopher Philippa Foot unwittingly created one of the internet’s most regurgitated memes. A runaway train is hurtling towards five people tied to the tracks. You can pull a lever to divert the train to a different track to which only one person is tied. Do you intervene to kill the one and spare the five?What if one of the tracks twisted into a really cool loop-the-loop? Or the trolley was replaced by a bloodthirsty Thomas the Tank Engine? Or the whole dilemma was clumsily altered to comment on the political controversy of the day? Originally formulated as a reflection on moral decision-making, the trolley problem found a second life in the 2010s as a well of inspiration for variously silly, irreverent and self-referential trolley-based memes. Now, it may be entering its thir...

Politics

9 d. ago 'I felt like I was stuck in a video game in this impossible city'

The Hong Kong Tourism Board reports a 14 percent increase in UK visitors to Hong Kong in the first half of 2025, compared to the same period in 2024. With 169,000 UK travellers making the journey in just six months

Politics