Picturehouse is throwing its own Zillenial Odyssey series across different London cinemas
Bring on the slumber party
Nolan’s Odyssey has been the film of the year, and one of those big cultural events you know will date you in the 2070s when you tell a kid studying film that you remember the summer it came out. It’s not the only famous Odyssey though, as Picturehouse are rightly reminding us, with the classic sci-fi flick 2001: Space Odyssey turning a whopping 58 years old this year. Putting its own retro spin on the whole vintage Odyssey, putting on a new season of screenings created especially for ZIilenials.
Called 2001: A Big Night Out Odyssey, Picturehouse has created a series of summer screenings especially for Zillenials who grew up on sleepovers with DVDs, and the kind of noughties rom coms we seem to be seriously lacking. The idea is to give the public the chance to revisit those classics in a fun cinema setting, complete with themed nights, dress codes and more. It's sort of like Ali Plumb's Big Film Quiz (which is well worth a visit btw), meets your 2005 birthday sleepover on steroids.
And for those wondering, a Zillenial is a micro-generation of those born between 1993 and 1998 who are technically Gen Z but refuse to accept it. It’s that bracket of twenty-somethings who are old enough to remember an analog childhood but also survived their teenage years with the first wave of social media.
The evenings will each feature a different noughties classic, from Spy Kids to Mamma Mia (our original Greek mythological obsession) across different London cinemas. The first evening kicks off on 20th August, running until 24th September.
The line up includes:
- The Princess Diaries: A slumber‑party celebration for its 25th anniversary at Finsbury Park Picturehouse, with princess‑y touches, pyjamas and peak Hathaway energy.
- Spy Kids: A wild 25‑year throwback at Hackney Picturehouse, packed with gadgets, globe‑trotting chaos and early‑2000s sibling‑powered heroics.
- Legally Blonde: a back‑to‑school night at Finsbury Park Picturehouse, with cocktails, crafting, vision boards and full Elle Woods confidence.
- Surprise Film / Mystery Movie: A chaotic mystery night at Finsbury Park Picturehouse, with games, prizes, drinks and a very of‑its‑time 2001 deep cut.
- Mamma Mia!: A Greek‑island party at Arts Picturehouse, with cocktails, ABBA blasting and big sing‑along energy.
- The Mummy Returns: A spooky‑season opener at Ritzy Brixton, with Fraser, Weisz and a giant CGI Scorpion King, plus tomb‑raiding trivia and giveaways.
It makes a change from the days watching these films hunched over a tiny iPod Nano 2nd Gen whose screen was roughly the size of a singular skinny glasses lens.
Picturehouse has done these kinds of evenings before as part of its Big Night Out series where they put on fun, themed screenings of complete guilty pleasures, Gen Z nostalgia, pop-culturey films. Some of its recent events include Challengers, a Scooby Dooble Feature, Pride & Prejudice (2005), the whole of the Twilight Saga, Mean Girls on October 3rd, 10 Things I Hate About You, an overnight Hunger Games marathon and more.
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You can book tickets for 2001: A Big Night Out Odyssey via Picturehouse's website, and if you're under 25 you can get all of the evening antics for £5.99.
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Hermione Blandford is the Content Editor for Shortlist’s social media which means you can usually find her scrolling through Instagram and calling it work, or stopping random people in the street and accosting them with a mini mic. She has previously worked in food and drink PR for brands including Johnnie Walker, Tanqueray, Gordon's, The Singleton, Lagavulin and Don Julio which means she is a self confessed expert in spicy margaritas and pints, regularly popping into the pub in the name of research.
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