UK cinema attendance down by 5%

[Karl]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6898758.stm

WHAT?!

Every time I go to the cinema, it's horrendously busy, showings are sparse and cinemas are crammed. Parking spaces are hard to come by, and the whole complex is a bustling hive of activity whether there's a big premier on or not.

Is there one region letting the side down?

[Goose]

On the radio t'other day (BBC Berkshire) they mentioned it was up, however I don't know the time periods they have based it on.

[Wryel]

The cinema near my work is always dead when I go, that's probably due to the fact that 5pm on a Tuesday evening isn't the most popular time! Still, its lovely to watch a movie that you 'didn't pay for' (pre-payed on unlimited card) and there being only 5 other people in the cinema!

[Desmo]

If it's correct, it doesn't really surprise me. What with their prices being, IMO, too high along with the rip-off food and drink (I know you can eat/drink before you go but it's all part of the experience for me).

People are also getting their own large TV's and sound systems so they can watch a film in the comfort of their own home rather than sitting in a noisy cinema.

I'd still happily go out and watch the odd film, but I don't go anywhere as often as I used to.

[Matblack]

The cost and quality of home projectors and big screens have gone through the floor and cinema tickets are prohibitively expensive plus the cost of the extras is just CRAZY!

I'll be going to the cinema a maximum of 3 times this year, the experience I have at home is only slightly worse sight and sound wise and 1000x better from a seating, food and drink standpoint.

MB

[Pebs]

I love going to the cinema but it's SO expensive and I don't have my cinema buddy any more so I hardly ever go. I only tend to see kids films now and at about £55 per visit for us all inc sweets and drinks it's a rare treat.

[Daz]

Despite the drop in 2006, the council's figures showed that both audiences and takings had risen over the last decade
Worth noting. Doesn't excuse the cost though, it's horrendous at the moment. I only go now either on Orange Wednesday or some other cheapy day Tuesday or whatever. And even then I try and sneak in some snacks.

[Karl]

The high prices are an acceptable reason for it, but at what point were they making their revenue last year that's different from this year?

I'll visit during the afternoons of Sunday and evenings of Friday / Saturday, and you can't park, nor get a showing. Why not increase the number of showings for that time of the evening and reduce the number of showings during the day? They'd pack that place out with a few hundred quid more per showing if they added one extra showing for the larger films out at the moment like Die Hard 4.0.

[Desmo]

My best mate and I used to go and pig out at Maccy D's first and then go and veg out in front of the film ;D

[BBx]

I only ever go for Orange Wednesdays - the only way you can in London, too expensive otherwise.

BB x

[Piggymon]

I love going to the cinema but it's SO expensive and I don't have my cinema buddy any more so I hardly ever go. I only tend to see kids films now and at about £55 per visit for us all inc sweets and drinks it's a rare treat.

Ouchy ! :(

We rarely go, I think the last thing we saw was War of the Worlds ( I did a hoooge burp in a quiet bit which was muchos funny ) ;D

I'll be going to see Harry Potter with Mummy Desmo... it's the only way I'll get to see it !

[killerkebab]

I don't have a projector, my TV is only 13", and my PC screen isn't good enough at 19", so I try to go as often as I can, really. Well, as often as decent films showing allow me to go. This summer I estimate I'll be in there a lot :DMy best mate and I used to go and pig out at Maccy D's first and then go and veg out in front of the film ;DWith a friend of mine we go to the Maccy D's drive thru they have next to the cinema and literally walk into the showing with our food :P

[Daz]

Used to be great when we were in college. Get bored, **** off down maccy's and go see a film with the cinema too ourselves :D

[Admiral Huddy]

£26 quid for 4 tickets to Harry Potter the other - disguisting! It used to be a cheap night out... not anymore. They got too greedy... £26 to have someone munch in your ear 'ole, stand up infront of you and sit there for 30 minutes of ads..

[Goose]

I wonder what the profits are. I mean, to a certain extent the cinema owners are probably screwed per film. Perhaps they get charged less during the day.

[Davey_Pitch]

I seem to remember Kate saying years ago that the cinemas made a loss on the ticket sales, and relied on the food/drink to make their profits. Considering how expensive the food etc is, that doesn't surprise me. When Lynne and I go nowadays we always take our own drink, and I may treat myself to a small popcorn. No way would I buy everything there any more, it's just far too expensive.

[Mondo]

It has gotten more and more expensive over the years, about 8 years ago I was going to Warner Village in Plymouth in a weekly bases. With Student Discount it was about £4 for a film (Tuesday before 5 was £1.50), and I even bough popcorn and drink there sometimes about £5 for both together and they were big portions too. Since then it has become Vue Cinema, the price has gone up, in Cardiff/Worcester it's over £5 a film without student discount, and it'll cost £7/8 for a small drink and popcorn, and the cups and popcorn has gotten smaller. It's no longer in a bucket, the popcorn now comes in a little paper bag.

[Feek]

I just took the family to the pictures this morning, we did it on a shoestring. £5.70 for MacDonalds Breakfast before, then in to the 10:30 showing at £4 per ticket and we had a 'one child goes free' voucher. We bought nothing in the cinema but I grabbed four bottles of fizzy beverage on the 2 for £1.40 deal in the Tesco Express on the way up.

Total cost - Just over twenty quid.

If we'd done it in the evening and bought stuff there I reckon it would have been double that.

[Haly]

I only tend to go on Orange Wednesdays, and I almost never buy food or drink there, just take something with me. It's far too expensive otherwise and tbh there aren't many films I've found worth watching on a big screen lately, a lot of them are equally good/crap on the small screen.

[Flibster]

Local cinema to me charges over £7 a ticket now.
It's not even a good cinema.

The UCI/Vue in Norwich was a good cinema and the tickets were £5 each unless you went for the posh £14 expensive seats.

Plus the cinema's now only show the big releases. Most of hte films I want to go see aren't the big releases as I know they're going to be pretty much crap anyway.

I want to see the little arty films in a cinema rather than on DVD. It's just too expensive now.

Simon/~Flibster

[Zirax]

Well in the Vue in Reading it was £8 to see Die Hard the other week. Add a medium coke at £3 and its damn pricy. I'll probably end up seeing Harry Potter there to ease the boredom of the hotel, but damn i'll buy a drink from the newsagents nearby

[iCraig]

Alluc and TV-Links are to blame for this. :D

[Belmit]

I'm off to London on Saturday but not meeting friends until 4pm so thought I'd see Potter at the Odeon in Leicester Square. Cheapest seat £12.50?! I expected it to be more than usual, but still. Most expensive are £17.50. Decided to drive to Basingstoke and catch the 9am viewing, come home and then head to London. Price including petrol/parking? More like £10. Still pricy, but at least the ticket is more reasonable by about 50%.

[Del Lardo]

Just booked tickets for Transformers on Friday and it cost £17 for 2 of us. I want to go and see Die Hard 4.0 and the Simpsons but tbh I just don't think I justify that sort of cost. I'd much rather wait 6 months and pay £10 for the DVD which I can keep and watch whenever I want.

[Matblack]

I'm off to see Harry Potter tonight, mostly because Aitch wants to go shopping at Bluewater and I don't but she need me to go so she gets a lift :D

MB