When did cheap nights become so expensive.

Cinema where I am is £10.50 a ticket. I joined their membership scheme at £17 a month as it works out so much cheaper as I go often. I never buy snacks there as they are extortionate.

Where I used to live 6yrs ago, the local cinema was £2.50. I've just checked their website and its now £3.50 a ticket. From my understanding, a cinema pays half the ticket price to the film people (forgive my ignorance!) and keep half for the cinema. But that's info I had from about 15yrs ago working at an accountants so may be different now.

But yes! A night out is ridiculously expensive. I went for a pub meal with friends this week, a chicken salad and a glass of wine was £29. And I picked the salad because it was a cheaper option on the menu.

10 cinema tickets for £40
You're welcome

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Treats are luxuries, OP.

You either go less often or give up something like the chocolates / coffee / wine.

You need to get on Groupon & Wowcher!!

Went to All Bar One with my sister and had a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc & 4 tapas dishes all for £25.95

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Cream tea for 2 earlier in the day £7.95

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If you're a Vodafone customer, they have a deal with their Veryme rewards 2 for £8 at Odeon or 2 for £13 for Odeon Luxe, there's still the booking fee but it saves a few quid.
We always take our own snacks to the cinema.
Also, I noticed on the Odeon website, they have a deal until end of January for 20% off their limitless pass for a year. Could be worth it if go a couple of times a month.

Also again going to the pub, when I went to the pub as a student for a cheap night it would be to wetherspoons or a pub with a student deal, I'd only drink the absolute cheapest pint and would only have max 4 drinks in the actual pub.

Going to the cinema would be on a deal or on a specific night when tickets were cheap. Takeaways again we would chose the location very carefully to find the cheapest and only chose the cheapest options

Cheap nights have always involved planning. You can't just expect to be able to go to the cinema on a Friday buy a snack and drink and it be cheap, or go to any pub and buy 4 drinks for less than £20

As one of four a trip to the Cinema was a luxury. We only went when a "Big" Children's film was on . I guess that's why I love it . Nothing g like seeing it on that big screen. Maybe there is an independent cinema in your town OP ? much cheaper .

£9 was a cheap cinema ticket. It's about £18 at our local Odeon.

Going to the cinema buying a snack there and a coffee there and parking has never been a cheap treat. And parking isn't a per head cost.

The cinemas around here are £5 a head, if you want to do it cheaply you buy a snack and a drink from poundland or share a popcorn. Then you walk/get the bus. I actually think parking is discounted so about £3 to park. Could be £15 for 2 which is a cheap night

Fish and chips again round here was £23 for me and DH the other day, 2 big size pieces of fish plus we had 3 sides. That seems really cheap for the amount of fish we got. Again if I wanted a cheap treat I'd share a large chips or go for something like a sausage which is cheaper. Cod from the supermarket is expensive, I can't expect it to suddenly half in price when it's battered

They won’t.

i read a report that the chicken shop has now replaced the fish and chip shop as our staple takeaway.

That fish & chip/wine treat is CHEAP!

Me and dh were talking about this the other day, we’ve cut back and changed lots of days or evenings out now because things are just so expensive.
meals out would cost us £30-£50. Now it’s £80 upwards.
weve gone from a once a month treat to really only special occasions.
takeaways are ditched now, in place of finding something at home or a Chuck in the oven dinner.

we know plenty who are doing the same.
yet places still seem really busy

I do get the running costs of the shop will be high, for the reasons mentioned. I just worry that they won't be able to afford to stay in business charging those prices, as most people in my area can't afford that.

Prices have gone up a lot.
We went to the fireworks and it was £7 for a hotdog.

I agreed to take the DC swimming today. There was an inflatable session so I thought they might enjoy that which they were definitely up for. I didn't realise it would cost £24 due to the big blow up thingy though!!

I'm sure it was cheap, since you apparently also time travelled back to 1998. 😁

It's £12 at ours on a weekend! That's in the north east not even London! We Ave limitless passes for £15 a month so go a lot. I think probably it works out at about £5 per go as we are also quite busy so would maybe see more but have time!

I don't get people who complain about this sort of thing and think that all the add ons are necessary. The cinema itself is the treat, you don't need to buy a coffee before hand and chocs from the cinema. Most people I know go to Home Bargains and buy sweets/drinks there and take it in with them. Anyway the cinema has never been a cheap treat.

It’s the cost of oil, and heating that oil. Their overheads are extortionate now.

@TheLogicalSong I ended up working in a cinema in the 90s (which is why after the age of 16 I suddenly saw a load more films) and doing Saturday morning cinema club - parents happy to dump their very young kids with a few non DBS checked (don’t even know if that was a thing then) teenagers to watch films that were up to 30 years old so they could go shopping. Jason and the Argonauts was a particular standout.

The cost of keeping fryers running has gone up astronomically. As has the cost of oil, potatoes and fish. And rents, rates and min wage. It's easy to see how the price of F&C has sky rocketed.

Vue cinemas are £4.99 for a ticket, which is way cheaper than they were pre-Covid! I had 2 freebies via Vitality (had to clock up plenty of exercise to earn them though), and took 4 of us to see Wonka for £9.98 at Christmas! Made popcorn at home before we left (takes 5-10 mins max, and way nicer than cinema popcorn) so it was a bargain trip out!

In contrast, my friend saw Wonka at Everyman and came home £100 lighter...

I agree about chip shops. I had a fish and chips takeaway the other week and it was £15 for one person! I don't live in London or anything, in fact I live in a run-down area. I don't understand how they can charge so much.

Food in the cinema has always been overpriced. Nothing new there. I wouldn't say £20 to the cinema is an 'expensive luxury'.

Our local cinema is £18 for an evening ticket! I don't remember it ever being cheap though, even in the 90s going to the cinema was a treat.