Sky Cinema TV Packages

Sky Cinema offers access to over 1,000 movies on-demand as well as up to 12 live channels and the Paramount Plus app if you watch directly with Sky.

The films available range from the latest movie releases, to blockbuster's and epic dramas. Each of the Sky Cinema channels focuses on a particular film genre so it's easy to find different film choices from family-friendly entertainment, to action or heart-lifting dramas.

Sky also make their own films in the form of Sky Originals, which are exclusive to Sky Cinema. In 2022, these include feature films After Yang, Russell Crowe's Poker Face with Liam Hemsworth, Irish drama Aisha, and an American political thriller The Independent.

Some recently added films onto Sky Cinema include:

• Spider Man: No Way Home
• King Richard
• Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City
• Ghostbusters: Afterlife
• Fast & Furious 9
• The Matrix Ressurections
• The Card Counter

How often are new movies added to Sky Cinema?

Sky Cinema's main channel Sky Cinema Premiere boasts one new film premiere every day.

Cinema releases generally take anywhere from three months to a year to make it from the cinema to Sky. However, then Sky has exclusive access for up to 18 months before the movie is available elsewhere.

Sky Cinema offers access to over 1,000 movies on demand, as well as to a range of live Sky Cinema channels, including:

• Premiere: Latest movie releases, including one new premiere every day.
• Premiere+1: More of the above, (Sky only)
• Action: Action based entertainment, from fight scenes to car chases. Films include The Dark Knight, Fast & Furious, Star Wars and Godzilla.
• Family: Family friendly films from Harry Potter to Dora the Explorer and Johnny English.
• Animation: Family friendly animated movies, including the Secret Life of Pets, Angry Bird and Lego Movie.
• Greats: The biggest Hollywood blockbusters of all time, including movies such as Titanic, Top Gun, The Shawshank Redemption and Bridget Jones.
• Sci-fi horror: This channel includes supernatural and alien movies, as well as horrors, including Men In Black, Alien, The Omen, I Am Legend and Alita: Battle Angel.
• Comedy: Funny films including American Pie, Sister Act, Meet the Parents and Stuber.
• Hits: Slightly less well-known titles than Sky Cinema Greats, this channel offers inspiration for what not to miss. Movies include Gemini Man, The Kitchen, Crawl and Bumblebee.
• Select: Independent films including Notting Hill, Stardust, The Last Bus, All My Life and Robot & Frank.
• Drama: Period dramas, real life and film epics, including Rocketman, The Last Black Man in San Francisco, Downton Abbey and Once Upon A Time In Hollywood.
• Thriller: Not quite as scary as horror, but suspenseful nonetheless. Titles includes Die Hard, Speed, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and Angles & Demons.

It's only possible to get all 12 Sky Cinema channels with Sky directly.

Paramount Plus

As of June 2022, Sky have also added the Paramount+ channel to their Sky Cinema pack at no extra cost to customers. It's worth around £6.99, so adds good value to Sky's option.

Paramount+ is a streaming service in its own right, and offers a range of shows and movies, including exclusive access to upcoming films such as Top Gun: Maverick, HALO, Star Trek: Strange New Words and The First Lady.

Paramount+ isn't available in the Sky Cinema packages offered by Virgin Media, NOW or BT.

Sky Cinema is available as an optional add on from TV providers including:

• Sky
• Virgin Media
• BT
• NOW

The actual Sky Cinema package as well as the monthly cost varies between providers, but it's possible to compare Sky Cinema deals by price in the comparison table above.

It's worth being aware there are some differences between the Sky Cinema packages on offer between providers. For example, Sky now offer Paramount+ with their Sky Cinema package, but this is currently exclusive to Sky.

Virgin Media, NOW and BT also don't offer the Sky Cinema Premiere+1 channel.

Sky TV customers who take the Sky Cinema pack will also get 20% off Sky Store rentals, so they can watch the latest releases sooner.

Finally, while it's possible to just take TV from Sky and NOW, any customers wanting to watch Sky Cinema with BT or Virgin Media will also need to take one of their home broadband deals.

We have a full guide to where to watch Sky Cinema cheapest here.

While all Sky Cinema providers offer access to the main 11 channels, only Sky and Virgin Media offer Sky Cinema in HD as standard.

Both Sky and Virgin Media allow customers to take an Ultra HD add-on, which means any eligible movies, such as Sky Originals, can be viewed in 4K with a compatible TV.

NOW, often the cheapest way to watch Sky Cinema, offer customers the option to pay for a Boost subscription. Boost offers NOW customers ad-free streaming of on-demand shows, as well as HD viewing in 1080p of any eligible Sky Cinema movies.

BT offer a HD pack which offers HD viewing of Sky Cinema via the NOW Boost add-on, as well as AMC and TNT Sports in HD, and access to the BT Sport Ultimate 4K channel too. It's only £1 more per month than NOW's Boost package, so adds good value for money for any BT Sport fans.

Sky Cinema undoubtedly have access to more of the latest blockbusters and movie releases, as well as more films on-demand in their catalogue and the live channels are great for quick viewing inspiration.

Sky also offer their own content in the form of Sky Originals, which are exclusive to Sky. Sky usually get the latest cinema releases after around three to four months, and then have exclusive access for up to 18 months before the films can be shown on other streaming or live TV platforms.

Netflix and Prime Video tend to offer more unique series and shows, such as Stranger Things and Clarkson's Farm, so tend to offer a different viewing experience overall.

While it primarily comes down to viewer preference, it's safe to say, Sky Cinema has more movie content, especially the latest cinema releases. It's also now possible to add Netflix to most pay TV subscriptions, in fact Sky now include Netflix as standard.

Read more on Netflix and Prime Video in this guide.

Sky rebranded their infamous Sky Movies channels to Sky Cinema to align their channel naming across Europe between 2016 and 2017.

At the time of the rebrand to Sky Cinema, Sky also upgraded the content to improve the video and audio quality, as well as began including HD as standard for Sky TV subscribers.

The Sky Cinema plans offered by BT and NOW run on 30-day rolling contracts, so it's possible to add or cancel the Sky Cinema pack with just a month's notice. This offers great flexibility if you want to watch films during holidays, or over the festive season.

However, it's worth noting customers who take Sky Cinema with Sky or Virgin Media as part of a bundle will be tied to the same minimum contract as their main subscription, unless they're a Sky Glass customer.

People who want to get Sky Cinema can either add the package to an existing TV plan with either Sky, Virgin Media, BT or NOW, or they can add the plan as a new customer.

It's possible to compare Sky Cinema deals by area availability using the postcode search form above, and then filter deals to your personal requirements to find the best Sky Cinema package for you.

Once you've found a plan, click through to sign up online directly with the chosen provider.