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Going to the cinema- have you cut back?

(54 Posts)
nanna8 Sun 16-Mar-25 03:16:09

These days it takes a very,very good film for me to go to the cinema and sit there for 2or 3 hours. The last one was the Bob Dylan film, A Complete Unknown, which I did enjoy. I am getting too old to put up with the trashy ads before the film even starts,too. The last ones were 30 minutes,far too long. The cinema near us has layback adjustable seats, all mod cons but it was almost empty when we went- are others the same as me and would rather watch things on tv these days ? I suppose the bigger sized tvs are making a difference,too.

gwyneth28 Mon 17-Mar-25 17:39:11

I dont go anymore as my deafness is getting worse I need subtitles everytime.

Harris27 Mon 17-Mar-25 16:16:07

Went a couple of weeks ago and it cost me £12 to see ‘ mad about the boy’ I’ll go again in a years time when I save up!

cookiemonster66 Mon 17-Mar-25 16:05:50

I have an odeon unlimited card £15 per month and I can watch as many films as I want. I go at least twice a week and because I have a blue disabled badge I have got a CEA card that gets my hubby in for free. Tuesday afternoon they have a senior showing at 1pm it’s £5 and over 60’s get free tea/coffee and biscuits but most bring a Tupperware box with a picnic munching away on their sandwiches. It’s always almost fully booked as it’s more of a weekly social group gathering too. Great idea of odeon filling seats during a quiet weekday lunchtime.

cc Mon 17-Mar-25 14:42:39

A small cinema is about to open very close to where we live and I think that we will probably start to go when it opens. We never bother now, it's a bit of a bus ride to get to our nearest cinemas and we rarely go far at night.

Shanksy Mon 17-Mar-25 14:40:11

What do you need to sign up to , to get two free tickets?

wibblywobblywobblebottom Mon 17-Mar-25 14:30:00

No.

madeleine45 Mon 17-Mar-25 14:18:34

The last time I went to a cinema, the seating was good but the audience were terrible, Eating, drinking, using their phones. Never again to that.!

However, I was able to go to a local place which had several screens, and it had the opera on direct from Verona. What a marvellous evening. Only other opera lovers were there, we all sat very quietly and politely. No phones or slurping etc and even better, where latest technology put to good use, they obviously used a drone at the beginning, so that you felt that you were flying into the auditorium and close to the stage. A great evening, so will be watching out for other opera occasions which I would like to see , but the general cinema is an absolute no no to me now. When did people begin to think they could not exist without food , drink, and their endless flipping phonecalls., for more than 10 minutes?

Certainly the cinema gives you some wonderful scenes and very good quality pictres, but on the whole I am happier listening to the radio and reading my book for most of the time.

Truffle43 Mon 17-Mar-25 05:23:06

We went to see Bridget Jones mad about the boy and thoroughly enjoyed it. Our local cinema is £4 and we really need to use it more, as they say use it or lose it. It makes a nice change to do something slightly different and watch the big screen.

Deedaa Sun 16-Mar-25 23:38:57

DD and I went to see David Tennant's Macbeth with the grandsons. It was superb and there were only about ten of us in the cinema so it was lovely and quiet. I have agreed to go to the cinema with a friend this week. Looked at the films that are showing and they all looked dire. Realised why I can't remember the last film I saw.

merlotgran Sun 16-Mar-25 23:31:17

I go once a month with a U3a cinema group. Last week it was Maria (Callas) which I enjoyed. I also loved A Complete Unknown.

I get the bus rather than take my car as it’s free and the bus stops opposite the cinema. There’s also a special offer of your cinema ticket and coffee for £4.20 and no ads!!

Bargain!

nanna8 Sun 16-Mar-25 22:25:05

In our pandemic they shut all the cinemas down because they were so neurotic. I am told our lockdown was the harshest in the world and I am sure that was the case. Who else had helicopters overhead checking to make sure no one went out at night ? Pretty disgusting, felt and was a police state then.

CanadianGran Sun 16-Mar-25 22:10:15

I don't go very often at all, and my DH even less. Maybe once a year for me, if there is a popular film out that isn't too long! It seems like Hollywood has a contest to make the longest films lately.

Our local cinema has not been updated in ages; the seats are old and stained, and they tend to play the volume extraordinarily loudly. So I usually only go if there is a film that would benefit from watching with a crowd (like a musical), or on a large screen.

crazyH Sun 16-Mar-25 21:46:42

The last time I went to the Cinema was last year to see the last James Bond movie , or was it the year before last, and that’s only because my friends wanted to see it.
There’s enough to watch on TV, in the comfort of my armchair, at home .

MayBee70 Sun 16-Mar-25 21:31:30

Pre pandemic we used to go to our wonderful indie cinema twice a week. Then we got a bit of a lockdown dog that can’t be left in the way our last dog was. I could go on my own in the afternoon but it would mean using public transport and I still don’t want to catch covid. I feel really bad about not supporting them. It was a huge part of our life and I miss it terribly. I’ve got a huge tv in the bedroom to watch DVD’s on but it isn’t the same.

TillyTrotter Sun 16-Mar-25 20:49:28

I go about once a month and thoroughly enjoy a Matinee.
We have a cinema and theatre complex so sometimes it’s to watch a film,
sometimes it’s a live streaming from the West End,
and this week it will be to see an Alan Ayckbourn play.

M0nica Sun 16-Mar-25 20:25:55

We only go to see live transmissions of operas and plays.

Claremont Sun 16-Mar-25 16:57:16

I belong to two Cine-Clubs- amazing films and brilliant value. Very rarely go to cinema otherwise, so so expensive, too noisy and horrible smell of popcorn, etc.

pably15 Sun 16-Mar-25 16:20:57

I can't remember the last time I was at a cinema, the nearest one is 15 miles away, and I'd probaly fall asleep in the middle of the film..

Cabbie21 Sun 16-Mar-25 16:20:39

I rarely go. The last time I went I was the only person watching that film. It was the last showing. I can’t even remember which film!

monk08 Sun 16-Mar-25 16:18:28

Used to go regularly before covid, only been once since and that was to take the grandsons to see Garfield.

Oreo Sun 16-Mar-25 15:29:49

Or Netflix😃

JaneJudge Sun 16-Mar-25 15:27:43

I would rather wait for it to be put on prime.

Oreo Sun 16-Mar-25 15:21:40

Can’t remember when I last went, the price, the noise, the smell of hotdogs being slurped😖
Also I work evenings sometimes.

Maggiemaybe Sun 16-Mar-25 15:16:33

We really need to go more often. We only go around once a month. I enjoy a film so much more on the big screen, actually like the previews, and haven’t experienced all this chomping of popcorn and slurping of drinks so many of you complain about. Before 2020 we made a point of going to the Senior Vue screening every week (cheap tickets and free coffee/tea and biscuits), and we enjoyed a lot of films that we wouldn’t normally have been drawn to. The Senior Vue scheme sadly died a death during Covid, and the last time we went we paid over £18 for our bog standard seats and a coffee each, so we’re more selective now.

glammagran Sun 16-Mar-25 14:35:50

The last film I saw at the cinema was one of the Harry Potter films when DD2 was still a child. I’m not a fan as I hate the smell of popcorn and other food and the constant rustling from other people. Don’t miss it but we do have a (vulgar) 55” TV and a great sound system at home. DH wants an even bigger one as ours is 10 years old but the current one is quite large enough.