It is becoming a familiar scenario for smaller UK distributors. They have a new movie about to hit the screens but a very limited budget with which to market it. The film has bookings in 10 venues. Other cinemas want to show it. They know that if they accept these extra bookings, they will have to pay over £600 in additional certification charges. They therefore restrict the release.
The rub here is the fee tariff for the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) which means as soon as a film goes out on more than 10 screens, the cost for certifying it doubles.
Source: UK distributors call for overhaul of “stifling” BBFC fee structure | Features | Screen