Whether it’s the best premium cinema format out there is up for debate, but it’s unquestionably a good thing that Vue EPIC employs Barco and Dolby technology to give UK and European cinemagoers more premium options.

Vue International

Vue, the UK and European cinema chain, is celebrating reaching a series of ‘EPIC’ milestones – and has unveiled a new sizzle video to celebrate.

It’s been one year since Vue unveiled its first EPIC premium-large-format screen, which brings together HDR by Barco projection and Dolby Atmos audio into a premium audiovisual package that projects onto the auditorium with the largest screen at each Vue location.

At the one-year mark, Vue is also celebrating that it has now rolled out 15 EPIC screens across 14 sites (with two side by side in the London West End). It said that these screens have delivered 400,000 admissions, with their popularity indicated by repeat visits occurring at twice the rate of other premium large format experiences across Vue’s circuit. The pace of the rollout seems strong, with Vue said that it is aiming for more than 60 EPIC screens across Vue’s estate by the end of 2028

To mark the occasion, Vue has released a new sizzle reel, which does a nice job of pulling back the curtain to show how the visual effects in of the HDR by Barco sting, shot by 1983 Creative, were achieved.

I reviewed the first EPIC screen, which was opened in Nottingham, UK, in late July 2025 and the most recent is in Basildon, Essex, UK. This is notable for being the UK’s first dual-laser HDR by Barco system, following on from the dual-laser Vue EPIC in Rozzano, Italy. While its rival Dolby Cinema system is all dual-laser, most HDR by Barco systems rely on just a single laser system, with Vue telling Forbes that it only employs dual-laser for screens that are above 18 metres wide.

In an interview with Vue CEO Tim Richards after the Nottingham launch, the cinema chain boss espoused EPIC as superior to all rivals. He had especially strong words for the premium format leader IMAX, describing it as “a marketing company now and not a technology company”.