Shropshire Star

Letter: Cinema is too expensive these days

We went to watch Skyfall in a comfortable cinema with digital projection, reclining seats and air conditioning that was spot-on; a great film, too.

Published

The seat cost was just £6 and £4.50 for me as a pensioner. This excellent multi-screen cinema with friendly and knowledgeable staff was Odyssey cinemas in Belfast.

They have numerous offers available. For instance on Tuesdays all tickets are just £3 and on Mondays students also get to pay just £3.

Another deal is a meal and a film for £10. Eat in the restaurant next door for £10 and they throw in your cinema ticket for free. A difficult one to beat for a good night out.

The Odeon cinema just a couple of blocks away also has great deals at similar prices. I can't help but compare that to the Telford cinema complex where a ticket for me would cost £7.50 to watch at the same time of day – plus, of course, the cost of parking one's car.

I wonder what the cost of tickets will be when the new cinema complex is built at Southwater. What I do know is that the current cinema complexes are charging far too much for too short a programme.

As a young man when I went to the cinema there was a B-rated film to start with then a newsreel, then the main feature film with a time spent in the cinema approaching four hours. Very good value for money by comparison with modern offerings.

With the potential for downloading films on broadband and viewing on a relatively low-cost big screen in one's home, then perhaps the old-fashioned picture house needs to re-evaluate its value to the community.

Overpriced popcorn, sweets and drinks plus the inevitable car parking charges only serve to ensure that a visit to the cinema is a costly event.

Michael Wilkinson

Ketley

Sorry, we are not accepting comments on this article.