cinema prices in london - too expensive?

Was that for one ticket titchy?

that's insane! i have never paid that even in leicester sq.

otoh i would pay that to see 'zodiac'. it's the price of a bottle of house wine in a restaurant. my thing is that cinemas are such shitty, inhospitable, interchangeable places.

Zodiac is one of the most tedious films i have ever seen. That aside, cinema prices are extortionate and what is worse they don't even dim the lights any more incase you happen to be videotaping the film.

Does Cineworld still offer the 13.99 unlimited card for the London West End?

that was for one ticket, yep. incredible. no zodiac spoilers though please as i still plan on seeing it in the week!

on the subject of cinemas, i think vue has to the tackiest looking.

also, i dont know if its just me but are the films the prince charles cinema is showing almost all mainstream now? im sure they used to show more fringe stuff.

Good lord! And to think I got cranky when U.S. prices jumped to $10 (five pounds - ish). Have British cinemas always been expensive, or is this a recent development?

Have British London cinemas always been expensive, or is this a recent development?

About 6.80 in Glasgow, thought that's up a little over a pound in the past 3 years.

LOL 13 quid.

cinemas are such shitty, inhospitable, interchangeable places

This is like the fucking Gospel truth. (I took Hannah to see Shrek Gets Real Paid today.)

if you go to east london, ie bethnal green or mile end or parts of essex theyd be a bit cheaper (6 or so). even wimbledon is a bit cheaper (7.50 or so i think). south ken and places like that though are about 8 to 10 quid.

i think 6 is about the cheapest in london. and you can get in cheaper before 5pm on weekdays in most places which is good but not too handy if youre working. :(

there are still some nice cinemas in london with a bit of personality like the coronet or gate or renoir - i hope they never close.

yes this is one reason i hardly ever go to the cinema now. the orange wednesdays deal is good but requires, like, organisation of other people.

i'm not in london the whole time. where i am, there is a vue where tickets of all kinds at any time are £4 on tuesdays. iirc in muswell hill tickets were in the £6-£7 region. tbh i rarely pay to see films in the cinema cos i find it an inconvenient and unpleasant experience. even with zodiac a drink and a smoke would have really perfected it -- plus pressing pause to go for a slash. now that big films routinely break the two-hour mark and you have half an hour of ads, for the drinkers among us that it a bit of a conshern, hic.

erm what? you cant not drink for two hours of your life?

it's not a question of can't. it's just a more agreeable experience if you can.

i'm sure noodle vague will back me up on this.

okay but with the smoking ban youre not going to be able to smoke in (m)any places. are you just not going to go out to see anything?

i actually like the communal experience of seeing films with other people (as long as no ones acting like a derkhead of course)... i watch films at home which is cool, but i still really enjoy and even treasure the cinema experience.

I read a good Hubert Selby story once about a guy who sneaks a bottle into the movies and makes a drunken show of himself. I used to miss cigs more than booze tbh. Watching films where everybody lights up all the time is harsh (HI DERE ENTIRE HISTORY OF FRENCH CINEMA). But I don't see any good reason why you shouldn't be able to have a civilised drink during a film. I don't know how else I'll get thru Pirates of the Caribbean's Bogus Journey.

I saw Hot Fuzz the afternoon it opened, and a group of four guys across the aisle had a 12 pack of tennents to enrich their experience.

in france i think they let you drink in cinemas -- but then they seemed to have banned smoking in pubs?!?! -- and it was pretty normal in british cinemas a long time ago. but then taking your fish & chips/meat pie into the cinemas was once the done thing. seeing comedies with a big audience is good but otherwise i can take or leave. often the cinemas are so empty that it's a bit of a halfway-house between communal and not.

i cant imagine going to the pictures

I like it much more in my head than in reality, most times. But I do love big screen and loud sound, and sitting in the dark. I just wish I could watch old movies like that more often.

i basically refuse to go to the cinema friday nights, or anytime on a saturday and sunday. i don't think i'm in it for the communal experience as much as i am for the big picture and the loud sound.

" i don't think i'm in it for the communal experience as much as i am for the big picture and the loud sound."

well i wouldnt really mind if there was no one in the cinema except me watching the films with big screens and loud sound. but im not rich enough to be able to boot the other people out so i kinda make do with it being communal ;)

i think *some* more upmarket cinemas let you go in with a glass (or plastic cup) of wine these days cos they serve it on the premises along with popcorn or whatever.

How much is the Prince Charles these days?

THIRTEEN POUNDS in Camden Odeon? Whenever I go there it's eight.

American art house chains have started introducing full bars into the lobby so you can bring everything from a bottle of domestic to a big, sloshing martini in with you.

(also: never paid more than $8.50 for a ticket, usually $5 for a matinee or $7.50 at night these days - 13 pounds is $26 right?)

"THIRTEEN POUNDS in Camden Odeon? Whenever I go there it's eight."

sat/weekday evenings are peak period though...

"How much is the Prince Charles these days?"

4.50 for non members

Ate there Cineworld cinemas nearby? They do a card for £13 a month that lets you watch as many films as you like.

cinema - one of many many many things that are way too expensive in the too expensive city of London

i cant imagine going to the pictures

How about watching'em?

Last time me and Mr Nathalie were in London we nearly shat our pants when we had to pay the price. It was also about 12 pounds pp. At first we thought it was a joke, then 12 for two and then we realized it was PER PERSON.

Depending on the cinema, you can drink here. Even eat.

well i wouldnt really mind if there was no one in the cinema except me watching the films with big screens and loud sound. but im not rich enough to be able to boot the other people out so i kinda make do with it being communal ;)

as i say, i've been to a fair few films where it really is like five people.

one problem with the sound is often: it's way too loud.

You can drink at the Electric Cinema. In the Brum branch, at least, you can even text bar orders during the movie.

If people didn't download films illegally the movies'd be cheaper.

(I have no idea if this is true but it's the kind of thing they'd say)

if they charged less, people wouldn't download them.

For real. Could you imagine if they halved movie prices? They'd probably get a full house for every showing.

yeah its not like people can replicate the massive screen/heavy sound in their living room so cinemas still have that in their facour (so not really the same as DLing mp3s vs buying the CD). the only problem id imagine that might be a problem for putting bums on seats is if people start to somehow prefer watching films at home with their feet up rather than going to the cinema. which would worry me.

i think that's already happening, but the studios are more or less okay with that -- it's all revenue. with art-house releases and horror the theatrical release is basically a loss-leader: they get a small london release pretty much just to get press quotes. the real money is in the dvd release.

i need to find some box office figures for recent years. im sure dvd sales might have gone up and up in the same period but i wonder how much its gone down or if its just stayed level.