Everyman Cinemas

I've been to our local Everyman a couple of times. We don't have a Vue, but I don't recall Everyman's prices were much more than the Odeon.

Everyone seemed to order their drinks etc before they went in. The ushers then brought them to the seats - there are individual armchairs for those customers who are alone and don't wish to share a sofa with a total stranger. There are tables attached to the arms of the seats. Thankfully when I was there no one ordered food - although I believe pizza and similar "refreshments" were available, and most of the serving was completed by the time the film started, apart from the odd latecomer. No one seemed to order anything once the film itself was under way.

The worst food experience I had in a cinema was in the Odeon, where three people brought in their own KFC, chips and ketchup, and would have left the detritus behind if I and another person hadn't said something.

They're very expensive and I don't think it's worth it. I only ever use them if there's an indie film that's not showing anywhere else near by in London but I've got a couple of cinemas near me in Nottingham that are a fiver for a ticket and show a lot of smaller films now so I doubt I'll need to go to another one again. I did have a hot dog though and it was pretty good but again expensive.

But this is exactly the issue:  firstly, not everyone wants -or can afford - a "premium experience" and secondly, if Everyman expand into areas under-served by other chains or without a cinema at all, this makes it less likely that another provider will open nearby, so the less upmarket audience will still have nowhere to go and less hope that this will change.

Ironically I now live nearer to a cinema than ever before in my 60+ years, yet because Everyman took over what had previously been a pleasant site belonging to a small chain and transmogrified it almost beyond recognition, I no longer wish or can afford to go there.  I remember walking there (only 20 minutes away - what a luxury this was) to see an early morning midweek performance only to find that Everyman had taken over and the price had risen by about 20% - and that was several years ago; things have worsened considerably since.  I was so shocked that instead of having the sense to walk away, I paid up, and was then distracted by the thought of being so stupid.

Even then, I could see a film in central London for a couple of pounds less than at this cinema and at today's prices I can probably see 3 for the Everyman ticket cost.  Besides, what is a "premium experience" and is what's offered actually what keen cinemagoers want?  Were I to pay more, I'd want the guarantee of NO talking, mobile use, eating noisy/smelly food, risk of spills from others' drinks and no seat-kicking.  No money in that for cinemas so they are never going to offer it.

I think the price for Manchester is probably being heavily affected by the £4.99 Vue Printworks prices. I don’t know if that’s a marketing strategy by Vue but it’s been that price since they took the site over from Odeon. Long may it continue. 

It's great if there is local competition (and choice for the customer, too, of course), but it's very obvious that Vue doesn't care where there isn't.  In Croydon, for instance, though they've just introduced their "£6.99, all day, every day" deal, which I've already used at Fulham Broadway, there's no hope of a £4.99 version.

Staff where I volunteer have access to discounted cinema vouchers for most chains (of course Curzon and Everyman aren't included - drat) and I expect others here are familiar with this benefit.  For Vue the discounted tickets are reasonably-priced but with a 2-tier system as some sites - even several in London - already offer a very cheap deal, making the discounted price little cheaper, whereas others don't.  I bought a couple of the discounted tickets to use when my sister and I visited Cheshire Oaks and as I hadn't known then that Vue offered a ticket for as little as £4.99 anywhere, I was surprised to find that my vouchers saved 50p only.