In the 17 years since Secret Cinema launched, the experiential entertainment company has staged immersive screenings of Stranger Things, Back to the Future, Blade Runner and Casino Royale. “Originally the idea was that you’d love a film so much that you’d want to live in it,” says Matt Costain, Secret Cinema’s senior creative director. Through set design, costume, characters and action, the team found a way of bringing on-screen worlds into physical environments.

Experiences were initially informed by found spaces they came across, before moving towards purpose-built sets in warehouses and the like that could house their bigger ambitions. Early events involved simple ‘mirror moments’ echoing what’s happening on screen in the physical auditorium environment, but eventually the team began orchestrating far more theatrical displays – a Star Wars experience involving flying X-wings and laser fights, for instance.

With the launch of its new branded experience department, Studio Secret Cinema, it’s now hoping to bring some of that immersive storytelling to commercial clients. The company had already begun to dip its toe in the world of brands in around 2018, incorporating relevant products into its experiences through partnerships with the likes of Coca-Cola, Haagen-Dazs, Jack Daniels and Omega.