Boy1 kindly inform me last night that Orange / EE are stopping Orange Wednesdays from the end of February.

I’ve never delved into how the deal works between Orange and the cinemas and Pizza Express, but I would think it will mean less bums on seats. A movie plays on Wednesday regardless of how many people are in the theatre.

We won’t be going with regularity that we do now.

One of my sister’s friends runs a cinema and she said they hate Wednesdays as everyone stocks up on food at Pizza Express then joins the scrum for the screening causing chaos. As everyone’s full they don’t buy anything from the concessions (where the cinemas make their money) and the place is left in a state as it seems to attract the knuckle-draggers of society (her words). They make no money as the tickets don’t cover the kick-back to the film studios and no food sales means the staff wages aren’t covered either.

It’s such hell the staff fight to have any Wednesday off!!

Can’t say I really enjoy a trip to the cinema these days anyway. Overpriced, uncomfortable, and with nice big TV’s and surround sound at home and films available on rental months after they’ve been on at the cinema, it doesn’t really have the draw it once did.

I went a few weeks ago on a Wednesday (the shame) and it was empty

I’m sure it will be even quieter in March

still plenty of smaller, traditional or art house cinemas knocking about, jon. dont have to visit the megaplexes. personally i still love going to the flicks, any sort of cinema as long as not full of ‘knuckle draggers’ but i have a pruhealth plan that provides me with a free cinema ticket per week, so inevitably use it – always avoid wednesdays tho!

I won’t go to the multiplexes. Over inflated prices for the film and just don’t get me started on “concessions” (Definition: preferential allowance or rate given by an organisation!!!).

I’m happy to go to my local independent cinema though, where they charge £5 for the film and serve proper mugs of tea (at reasonable prices) for you to take into the cinema. You’re expected to stand for the national anthem prior to the screening. Quirky, but it’s not an entirely bad thing.

As a film buff I hate the cinema. Full of mouth breathing quarter wits. Wednesdays and weekend evenings are strictly no go. First showing on a Sunday is usually quiet or an early weekday showing. The complete lack of social skills on display at a peak showing is quite staggering. No, it’s not alright to talk through the film, browse the internet on your full brightness screen in the middle of a dark cinema, phone your mates during the film etc. Die.

Ecky-Thump that place sounds awesome! wish we had somewhere like that near me 🙁

nevermind

Interesting comment on them not making any money on the promotional nights, I cant see how cinemas are still open, they are massive so rent must be huge and they never seem busy.

I don’t go anymore unless it is for kids club on a weekend morning where tickets are £2 odd. Sod paying £12 for a peak ticket as well as £8 for some popcorn and coke and then be surrounded by people who don’t know how to behave in a public place.

I’m happy to go to my local independent cinema though, where they charge

There’s a ‘cinema’ that takes over one of the univerity lecture theaters in Reading to screen artsy films every so often. Much more enjoyable than the Showcase, and avoids the chance of paying £20 for two tickets to see a crap film as someones who’s into films has presumably picked that film above anything else from that months relseases.

One of my sister’s friends runs a cinema and she said they hate Wednesdays ………..They make no money as the tickets don’t cover the kick-back to the film studios and no food sales means the staff wages aren’t covered either.

It’s such hell the staff fight to have any Wednesday off!!

Same as any business though, does anyone ever voulenteer to work the busy days?

I can’t believe they don’t make any money on the tickets, it’s the one day of the week the cinema’s actualy anything like full and the local multiplex charges more on Wednesday evening than it does on Saturday!

Does anyone else think Cinama’s business models seem a bit back to front? You’ve got a huge building, and a captive audiance and moaning that people go elsewhere for food? If there were half decent food options at the cinema (even a Pizza Express) rather than a novelty microwaved hotdog somehow sealed (extruded?) into the bun for £8 washed down with a coke at a price a central london bar would wince at on a comercial estate on the outskirts of Swindon they’d surely make a killing. If the food’s that rubbish and over priced that parents will heard their screeming kids birthday party accros 1000m of car park to McDonalds then you’re doing something wrong.

I cant see how cinemas are still open,

Probably by charging north of £20 for two tickets.

If there were half decent food options at the cinema (even a Pizza Express) rather than a novelty microwaved hotdog somehow sealed (extruded?) into the bun for £8 washed down with a coke at a price a central london bar would wince at on a comercial estate on the outskirts of Swindon they’d surely make a killing.

Yeah. We went the other day, me with a coat filled to bursting with drinks and snacks bought earlier from the supermarket. I’d happily buy munchies from the cinema if they weren’t charging silly money for it, but “captive audience” pricing isn’t exactly a new thing. I remember the feeling of triumph to be had from making it past the ushers in the Unit 4 in Accrington with a can of Quatro, a bag of Salt’N’Shake and a Marathon squirrelled about your person.

As someone else said, the concessions markup is huge. Back in my shtewdent days I worked in a bowling alley, and the biggest vats of pop you could buy (for about three quid in the early 90s) cost the bowl 7p. The sachets of ketchup that all the customers whined about being charged for cost more to buy than the drinks did.

I’m sure(*) that if they offered better food options at sensible prices they’d make more money in the long term, though I don’t know what that would be. I don’t really wan’t to be sat in the cinema between someone with a bacon butty and someone else chowing into a bucket of noodles.

(* – but I’m almost certainly wring as they’ll have had teams of people working out the maximum price:profit ration for everything they sell)

And anyway, we’re all missing the real question which is,

Whatever happened to intermissions?

Surely in these days of two-hours plus extended epics, it’d be a good idea to have a ten minute break to allow you to go for a wazz, get some blood back in your arse and take out a second mortgage for a tablespoonful of melted ice cream?

Our local multiplex has half price Tuesdays which we go to in preference to Wednesdays.

Usually easy enough to get a voucher of some kind for different eateries too (PE Ask Zizzi F&B, or the local noodle bar is good and cheap).

Whatever happened to intermissions?

I saw Prometheus at a little cinema in Louth. I thought something had malfunctioned when the film stopped half-way through, the lights came on and the velvet curtains closed over the screen.

Seeing someone walk in with a tray of choc-ices and half the audience nip off to the loo seemed very odd at the time, but the more I’ve thought about it it seems like a sensible thing to bring back. Especially with epics like Interstellar!

I’m sure I read that, even at full price, cinema’s barely make any money on tickets. They make all of their money on concessions, popcorn has an astonishing markup on it, something like 1500% (sorry, 1,275% according to Google) and soft drinks too will be high as it just post-mix syrup.

They don’t like intervals for 2 reasons:
1. You buy less concessions as you think “I’ll buy a bit now and get some more if I’m hungry in the interval”, most people won’t. They’d rather you think “3 hours in the cinema, I’d better stock up, XL popcorn please”.
2. More time taken for 1 film means less can be shown in total. This means less punters through the door, so less purchase of concessions…

As a film buff , good god !

as a film buff, i guffawed at that comment too!

i was behind a couple in thwe queue at Vue in Islington recently, they bought two full price tickets, ice cream each, drink, popcorn, and nacho’s -their bill was something like £45 notes!?!? balls to that.

Used to love living within stumbling distance of Malvern Cinema. It was fabulous to be able to treat it almost like my own little viewing room, )think I may have even gone down there in my slippers – :oops:).

Good prices both on entry and food and a good selection of films on a one week rotation.

Really couldn’t fault it other than the seats were a little uncomfortable but I believe they’ve fixed that recently with a load of new super comfy ones.

Can recommend highly if you’re in the area.

The Electric Cinema in Brum is pretty cool.
It’s oldy worldy but you can book a sofa and text drinks orders to the bar.
Pricey mind.

Wouldn’t get me in a big cinema these days. Hate the places…

psa: kids am club at any vue cinema. £1.75 for all tickets. We went to see boxtrolls on it last weekend and it was great. They do reduced price drink and popcorn to go with it too.

I’ve seen a great many films thanks to Orange Wednesday, because I go with a mate who lives some distance away, so we go to a large multiplex near Bristol. Bath is closer, but parking is both a mare and added expense.
I doubt if I’ll bother in the future, and even gigs are getting prohibitively expensive except for exceptional artists; gone are the days of four or five gigs a month, sometimes even three a week, with some in London. These days I’d be looking at £100+ for five gigs, even in small-ish venues. 😐