Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

A family cinema trip is a treat surely? not an every day occurrence?

204 replies

LittleBookofCalm · 01/09/2018 12:53

According to the news, end of the news, someone talking about being really badly off and saying they couldnt have a family trip to the cinema and how wrong it was that they couldnt afford this

I would argue that it is a Treat, spending that sort of money -

OP posts:
abacucat · 01/09/2018 13:41

It was a cheaper thing to do before everyone had TVs, because the cinemas were absolutely enormous but showing 1 film. I remember going to some of these old ones as a kid. Modern cinemas that have been around for years, do not attract the same kind of audience size and so even the large screens are pretty small compared to cinemas of old. That makes it more expensive. So it has been expensive for at least 30 years.
But most cinemas do offers to get people in on off peak times. This is when we go.

abacucat · 01/09/2018 13:42

Seren I could not have afforded to do that in the 80s.

TornFromTheInside · 01/09/2018 13:42

It used to be a bit of a treat for the children, until their tastes started to differ, and it became more of a hassle than anything.
It needn't be too expensive if you choose the right cinema and avoid the food and drink (although this for some, is considered part of the 'experience'.

I think it's a shame that it's as a type of art (just like a rock / pop concert is), it can be unaffordable for some. I think most people (adults or children) should be able to enjoy a quality big screen film experience, or a concert without it being a hardship. Sadly films and music are far more about commercialism and culture these days.

LegallyBrunet · 01/09/2018 13:43

I used to live near an independent cinema that did £4 tickets so for just me and my partner it was really good. I’ve recently moved for uni and the only cinema near me now is an Odeon; even with both student and forces discount it still cost us in excess of £20 just for tickets for the two of us.

Theresnodisneyending · 01/09/2018 13:51

£40+ just for a family ticket for us. We can afford it, but I refuse to waste that. We wait until it comes out on Amazon video for £14.99, get snacks in, make a family evening of it.

TheHeartOfTafiti · 01/09/2018 13:51

Surely their point is that it has become unaffordable for some families even as a treat, not that they think they should be doing it every day.

nocutsnobuttsnococonuts · 01/09/2018 13:53

We go fairly regularly - I take the dds in each school holiday to see whichever new film is out. But we live near an independent where tickets are £3.50 On Mondays or £5 other days.

It's a treat for us I always take tea in a flask, massive bag of supermarket popcorn (I have plastic popcorn boxes I put into for them so they have their own!) and a carton of value fruit juice or squash from home.

ItWentInMyEye · 01/09/2018 13:54

We went recently on a skint week before DP's pay day and it was £28 for 5 of us at a Vue cinema. We went to £land for sweets/popcorn/drinks etc. Going to the cinema is definitely a once in a while treat when there's so many of you.

ShatnersBassoon · 01/09/2018 13:54

They didn't say they can't afford to go every day; they can't afford to go at all, ever.

It's rubbish that something like that, which really wasn't a big ticket treat when I was growing up, is now unaffordable to many.

Whatsnewwithyou · 01/09/2018 13:55

I heard it too, it was the woman who just won the case to have the rules regarding widows payments be rethought as it was affecting her children's human rights. She said it was a "major treat" not just a treat. Of course it's a treat but it shouldn't be the equivalent of a trip to Disney or something, surely.

NotTheFordType · 01/09/2018 13:57

It is a treat, yes, but a fairly low-level one. More expensive than a trip to the seaside for the day, but significantly less expensive than a weekend away or a visit to a theme park.

If you smuggle in your own snacks and drinks it significantly reduces the cost, of course Wink

abacucat · 01/09/2018 13:59

When I was a kid my parents were pretty poor, so it was a major treat. Weekends away, theme parks were simply never affordable treats. How you view this depends very much on your income.

MereDintofPandiculation · 01/09/2018 14:01

More expensive than a trip to the seaside for the day, That depends a bit on where you are. If your nearest bit of seaside is 60 miles away, just getting there and back is approaching cinema prices.

MaggieAndHopey · 01/09/2018 14:02

It would be a treat for my family yes - not something we could do every weekend. It's roughly £10 an adult where we live and £5 each for children - so that's £30 before you've bought any food. We've started smuggling in supermarket popcorn though so that helps - the mark up on cinema popcorn and drinks takes the utter piss.

Hufflefloof · 01/09/2018 14:04

I would class it as a small treat, but hardly an extravangance. I guess they’re saying how miserable it is if you can’t even afford the cinema, let alone big treats like days out etc.

NewYearNewMe18 · 01/09/2018 14:04

The cinema was a standard Friday/Saturday night date night as teen, certainly within pocket money range.

You aren't forced to buy over priced hot dogs, giant buckets of pop corn and slurp your way through gallon of fizz. A film isn't that long that you are going to starve to death over the course of 90 odd minutes.

Cineworld do a ticket for £17.50 a month and you can go as often as you like and get 10% off snacks if you feel the urge to gorge yourself on junk food.

Oliversmumsarmy · 01/09/2018 14:06

We go to the Reel cinema. There are a few of them across the country

We also have a comparethemeekat code which is a bogof so is half price.

We might buy a large drink to share but often just take our own stuff.

We go virtually every week.

I nearly had a heart attack when I went to another cinema chain

Oliversmumsarmy · 01/09/2018 14:07

I also get a tea free because I look completely ancient

MaisyPops · 01/09/2018 14:09

It's a treat. And at cinemas near us an expensive one.
We only go 3 or 4 times a year max because we can't justify the price.

It's a shame if they can't afford it but that's life.

MinaPaws · 01/09/2018 14:12

Yes it's a treat but a very low-grade, normal one. Children who grow up in families that can never afford a cinema visit or a night at a pizzeria or a day at the seaside are missing out. They are deprived in relation to the others around them. They don't share the common experience, they feel like outsiders at school if they never get the chance to do nice things as a family which other families take for granted.

violet0805 · 01/09/2018 14:12

It's a treat if you all go to the Odeon! Cost us £45 just to get in and then you get the ridiculously overpriced drinks and snacks which often cost more than the tickets.

Our local independent cinema charges £2.50 during the week and £3.50 at weekends so we go there quite often

Witchend · 01/09/2018 14:13

No, it hasn't always been, It would have been cheap back in the days of the newsreels
It didn't mean it wasn't a treat. We would have regarded it as a treat and it was £1 adults 30p per child back in the 80s, and df remembers the treat of the Saturday morning penny shows when he was a child, and making sure he saved a penny from his pocket money.

PrefabSprouts · 01/09/2018 14:14

We're very lucky, our local cinema is just £4 each, and you can get £1 drinks and £1 popcorn, so we use it regularly. I don't think it's essential or everyday, but it's not really a treat either. I sort of see it as on a par with going swimming, something to do at the weekend.

spinabifidamom · 01/09/2018 14:15

It used to be cheap when my parents were young. I am planning a cinema trip this week and the prices are ridiculous for food and drink too. Whenever I go to see a movie or theatre production I take my own food and drink. Or we eat in a pub or cafe afterwards.

Treats are a part of life. Don’t be stupid. I frequently treat myself.

Bimgy85 · 01/09/2018 14:17

For a family of 3/4/5 with the prices yes a treat. But when me and my husband go it's just a regular thing so wouldn't consider it a treat, suppose it is I just take it for granted, or do lots of things everyday that are considered a 'treat' as life would be too boring otherwise Grin