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AIBU?

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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:
Havabiscuit · 03/09/2018 00:53

veryberry
It’s the relative poverty that’s the issue here.
I was a single parent 20+ years ago. Not much money around so we did cheap things - walks, pic nics. Local fetes etc. What I observe now is families working very long hours to keep paying the basics. They are not only poor but also time poor.

Oliversmumsarmy · 03/09/2018 01:33

There is a huge disparity in prices

£2.50 to £15+

So for a family of 4 using a voucher or not using voucher it could be as little as £5 or as much as £60+

strawberrisc · 03/09/2018 01:37

A treat? To take out a second mortgage to find yourself surrounded by dickheads? I’d rather watch a film at home.

Canuckduck · 03/09/2018 03:28

It says something that for some people it’s a major treat and then we have other threads where people are talking about spending between 5000 - 10 000 pounds for a week at Disney! The gaps between the rich and poor are widening in an alarming way.

Adulting · 03/09/2018 03:51

Very much a treat for us! We only go around 3 times a year, because it's £40 for 2 adults and 1 child (after spending £5 in nectar vouchers). For a 2 hour (ish) entertainment, that's pricey!
I'd rather save up a bit more and go for the theme park (has been £150+ for us but at least it's the whole day). Or skip on treats for a few months and go on holiday!

JillCrewesmum · 03/09/2018 03:59

It costs 50+ for all five of us to go. We bought a huge TV instead!

mydogisthebest · 03/09/2018 09:12

Bashun, plenty of people go to the cinema regularly. Whenever we go the cinema is busy. As I said before on a Friday or Saturday evening if you don't pre-book the tickets you often can't get in or can only sit in the front row.

Why would I watch a film on tv when I can see it on a big screen in the cinema? No comparison

pinkstripeycat · 03/09/2018 14:36

We also only go on the meerkat buy one get one free days. Easily set up by buying yourself a one day travel insurance for £1.19 and you get a years free of buy one get one free tickets. It’s definitely a treat and we never buy drinks/popcorn etc while there.

TheWinterofOurDiscountTentsMk2 · 03/09/2018 14:39

I don't think its particularly a treat, and I do think its ok to be sad if you can't afford it. My local is 20 quid for 4 of us for new films, less for kids clubs, and we bring our own popcorn and sweets. It's not a big treat, its a regular thing we do.

VeryBerrySeptember · 03/09/2018 15:00

I'd go more often at £20 for 4. At our nearest it's over £25 for 1 adult and 1 child. Off-putting pricing.

Lisabel · 03/09/2018 15:18

Would the point that they were making not be that they couldn't even afford smaller luxuries? So if you think lots of people go on holiday for a week or two each year, then in comparison if you cannot even take your kids to see a film they'd love at the cinema then you are living in relative (not absolute) poverty.

SherbetSorbet · 03/09/2018 17:53

Always a treat for us, we don't go often because of the cost.

Most times when we do go there are a ton of empty seats, like about 80% empty. Makes me wonder why they don't lower the prices and fill the seats, surely they would make more money that way.

catgirl1976 · 03/09/2018 17:56

Prices at big chains are insane. I often wonder how people with multiple children can afford it.

We are lucky as we have a local indie cinema where all tickets are £4, a medium drink is £1.50 and ditto a medium popcorn. It's a smaller screen than say an Odeon but they get all the films at the same time as the big chains. I can take DS here fairly regularly but if we were stuck paying Odeon prices it would be a much rarer treat.

bruffin · 03/09/2018 18:19

Prices at big chains are insane. I often wonder how people with multiple children can afford it

Depends where you live. Cardiff cineworld is £5 for an adult ticket.

Oliversmumsarmy · 03/09/2018 19:22

I think Cineworld is the most expensive.

I think if you can support an independent cinema you get a much better deal.

My worry is that our local cinema might close down and we would be left with the big chains charging a fortune.

Btljalrrl08 · 03/09/2018 19:33

Depends where you live. Cardiff cineworld is £5 for an adult ticket.

I’ve just checked and at my local Cineworld it’s £12.10 for an adult and £8.60 for a child, it’s crazy that there is such a difference.

whatwouldkeithRichardsdo2 · 03/09/2018 19:39

It's not that we can't afford the cinema as a family of 4. But I simply do not want to pay over £50 to go and watch a movie when I can download it for £10. The pricing model doesn't reflect the value. I'm not a mug.

LoveBeingAMum555 · 03/09/2018 22:48

Through no fault of our own we had a time when money was really tight and we had to budget carefully. If you have a limited amount of money the cinema seems expensive when you can have a day at the beach or go to a museum for next to nothing.

For quite a while we didn't eat out or have takeaways. We did go camping quite a bit, went for long walks with the dog or family bike rides, had picnics on the moors, ate chips and put our loose change in the penny slot machines at the beach and made use of our English Heritage membership. Oh and we stayed in Youth Hostels for weekends back in the days when they were £40 a room for the night, self catering of course.

In short we were pretty broke but life was definitely not grim and it didn't do the kids any harm at all.

MuddlingMackem · 06/09/2018 00:10

SherbetSorbet Mon 03-Sep-18 17:53:04

Most times when we do go there are a ton of empty seats, like about 80% empty. Makes me wonder why they don't lower the prices and fill the seats, surely they would make more money that way.

Totally, as people will spend more on snacks the less they spend on tickets, and of course snacks are where the cinemas make most of their money. I remember being told that ticket prices are dictated to them to an extent from the distributor or somewhere, can't remember the details, it was a brief conversation in passing, so they don't have much flexibility in pricing.

Sardinesandparsnips · 06/09/2018 00:42

Cinema is a luxury treat for the dc. at our house. But add in drinks and snacks plus pizza after and I expect I could fly to Barcelona for the same.

Frankly you'd have to pay me to sit in a room full of people munching popcorn but hey ho. It's not a treat for me.

If I have spare cash I eat with the dc. Dc eat very well. Otherwise I pretend I'm eating later and scavenge leftovers. Unless it's Sunday then we have a roast and it's pretty much as exciting as Christmas without the Christmassy bits.

I think cinema is overpriced, but it's a treat I don't care for.

I'd like to go to the local theatre as I love Shakespeare, freezing in an open air theatre instead but that's ££££ even though I'm in the sticks and everyone even the Actors ( thespians! ) are on minimum wage.

It boils down to there isn't any spending money. Living costs are high, wages are low. Future is bleak and I'm going to live til I'm 90 odd. Thirty years of retirement? Really?

DigsysDiner · 06/09/2018 01:01

Costs a fiver for ds and I using meercat movies.......we go fairly often.

Oliversmumsarmy · 06/09/2018 09:16

4 of us went last night + large fizzy drink+ 2 coffees just under £19 something

Meerkat code and dp and I both look ancient (over 60) so get free hot drinks. Dd has a student card and ds is a teen.

bruffin · 06/09/2018 09:37

The other week DH and I went out for a meal at Zizzis followed by Mama Mia 2 and paid £22 for the lot. That was cineworld card, meerkat movies and meerkat 2 for 1 meal.

Oliversmumsarmy · 06/09/2018 09:46

Do you think the prices reflect the fact they expect you to use a voucher

bruffin · 06/09/2018 10:36

I think so Oliversmum, there are so many ways of getting cheap cinema tickets nowadays, there is very few reasons to pay full price. From september Nat West silver account include cheap cinema although preferred it when i could get cheap theatre tickets on it