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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

When did a trip to the cinema get so expensive?!

102 replies

Letshaveablackcelebration22 · 07/01/2023 18:43

DS wanted to take a mate to the cinema for his birthday. So me, him, DD and his mate went for a Burger King before, 1 adult and 3 kids cinema tickets and then popcorn for us. £112 🤯

Aibu to think it just seems RIDICULOUSLY expensive!! I mean it’s only an Odeon cinema!

Its not like I don’t get out much either- we do stuff all the time but the cinema was always a ‘cheap’ option but the tickets were nearly £50 for 1 adult & 3 kids!!

OP posts:
NEmama · 07/01/2023 18:44

Vue 2 for £7 on Vodafone app
Meerkat movies.

Mswarrior77 · 07/01/2023 18:44

This is why I don't go lol! You can take own snacks in with you which cuts down the price.

Original poster
Letshaveablackcelebration22 · 07/01/2023 18:46

@Mswarrior77 i know, I normally would but it’s a birthday treat. SO expensive tho!!

OP posts:
Needmorelego · 07/01/2023 18:46

It would have the Burger King. You need to take out a bank loan for BK.
Should have gone to McDonalds. Much cheaper.

CoffeeBoy · 07/01/2023 18:47

So the tickets were nearly £50 and then you spent another £60 on food. Sounds like the food was the main cost. I haven’t been to the cinema since before covid and it was £14 a ticket then at the Odeon. I imagine it’s nearer £20 now but apparently our Odeon is the most expensive in the country.

purplecorkheart · 07/01/2023 18:48

Do cinemas in the UK do off peak times? I go to a cinema in Ireland for the first showing of the day and it is very cheap and quiet. Popcorn/snacks and drinks are a rip off at all cinemas and best avoided

Keyansier · 07/01/2023 18:48

I made a thread about this before: www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/4660933-to-think-cinemas-will-soon-become-obsolete?

Cinema's IMO might go out of business soon.

Iam4eels · 07/01/2023 18:48

Tickets at our local cinema are £4.99 (Vue) and you're allowed to take in your own food. £112 is extortionate.

Mummieslncorporated · 07/01/2023 18:48

In my experience, Odeon is the most expensive mainstream cinema, and the weekend is the most expensive time to go.

Vue is the best value for money. You would have paid a lot less for your tickets there (which isn't much use if there isn't one near you)

DashboardConfessional · 07/01/2023 18:49

Was it Avatar in 3D? If so there was a surcharge and a charge for the glasses.

I have Odeon Limitless. Works out incredibly cheap.

PlaitBilledDuckyPuss · 07/01/2023 18:50

The most I've paid is £20 for two adults in the 'VIP' seats on the 3D screen - doesn't strike me as excessive. Standard seats are about £7, and sometimes they have an offer of any seat, any screen for a fiver.

You don't break the costs down but cinema food is expensive as is Burger King. Next time have some food at home before you go to keep the costs down.

Original poster
Letshaveablackcelebration22 · 07/01/2023 18:50

@Mummieslncorporated no, we have cineworld or Odeon and only oden showing the film he wants to see - Black Panther 2! I’m in shock at the cost.

OP posts:
00100001 · 07/01/2023 18:50

20 years ago. They've always been expensive.

Rowthe · 07/01/2023 18:51

Its 3.50 each is you go before 12.00

And you can take your own food in.

So would have been around 17.50 for 5 tickets for us.

Original poster
Letshaveablackcelebration22 · 07/01/2023 18:52

@Rowthe the only have one showing of Black panther 2 so we were a bit limited

OP posts:
DoNutSweatTheSmallStuff · 07/01/2023 18:52

£112!?! That is ridiculous!

We have Vue cinema near us, all tickets £4.99 and we take in our own snacks.

Youcancallmeirrelevant · 07/01/2023 18:52

Vue cinemas £4.99 tickets, cibema loads cheaper than it used to be

SuperPup86 · 07/01/2023 18:52

I take 3 x dc to the cinema regularly. Like the pp said, 2 tickets for £7 with vodafone. Kids get £2 each to buy snacks and drink in our local Coop on the way.

Total trip is 20 quid.

DashboardConfessional · 07/01/2023 18:53

Letshaveablackcelebration22 · 07/01/2023 18:50

@Mummieslncorporated no, we have cineworld or Odeon and only oden showing the film he wants to see - Black Panther 2! I’m in shock at the cost.

Ah ok, I'd have expected about £14 each on a weekend. They do £6 evening tickets at my Odeon.

Original poster
Letshaveablackcelebration22 · 07/01/2023 18:53

We don’t have a Vue cinema so no options for cheap deals!

OP posts:
NameIsBryceQuinlan · 07/01/2023 18:54

Wow that's a lot. Think it's £20 at my local cinema but that's an everyman and posh 😂

bonnielochs · 07/01/2023 19:00

Odeon is very expensive. Three of our family had the Limitless passes, as the kids got good use out of it and my husband likes to go often. Looked to cancel one of the passes as it wasn't getting used enough to justify the cause. Well, the drama! You can't just "unsubscribe" online. Nope, you need to submit a case online and wait "up to 4 weeks for a response" ...aka never! Two cases submitted 6 weeks apart, no answer and another payment taken. Website says to call various customer services lines...all disconnected. I ended up sending about 4 million twitter messages and posts to finally get a response. Ultimately, I cancelled all three memberships as no way I was going through that again. So, expensive AND crap.

tiredmama23 · 07/01/2023 19:02

£50 for an adult and 3 kids is roughly what I'd have expected to pay tbh. It's the BK and popcorn that's bumped it right up. Like others have said, eat tea beforehand and take your own snacks / treats, much cheaper!

Fuckitydoodah · 07/01/2023 19:03

Definitely not the cheap option anymore. We're lucky to have a local independent cinema nearby. All tickets are £4 and the drinks and popcorn etc are reasonably priced. I'd be sad if it ever closed.

Hbh17 · 07/01/2023 19:08

Well, you didn't need to go for burgers, so that was actually the cost of a meal, not the cinema.
You also didn't need popcorn because 1) you had just eaten and 2) eating in the cinema is a horrible habit and best avoided.
So the only actual cost is the ticket prices - no idea whether they were expensive or not.