Your last Cinema sell out experience

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Went to DoY to see 'We Need to Talk About Kevin' near the end of its run a month or two back. Place was rammed. Dunno if it was because it was a Sunday night showing or something, but impressive nonetheless.

 

[Uter]

I agree that it is terribly sad, but this has been a trend going back to the 1980s. This country simply doesn't go to the cinema very often.

Cinema attendances have trebled since the 1980s in the UK. That said they are about one tenth of the best ever year, 1946, where 1.6 billion admissions were recorded.

2011 Summer attendances were up on 2010.

 

[Simster]

Cinema attendances have trebled since the 1980s in the UK. That said they are about one tenth of the best ever year, 1946, where 1.6 billion admissions were recorded.

2011 Summer attendances were up on 2010.

That is quite interesting. Mind you, cine attendances in the 80s were DIRE. I lived in Winchester back in the late 80s and remember the kerfuffle when it was announced the cinema was closing. Everyone was up in arms, but the simple fact is that people didn't use it. Much like some pubs now I guess. Winchester had a new independent cinema built in the 90s which is now thriving, which would be in line with your comments on attendances trebling. Back in the 80s, provincial market towns could not support a cinema, now they most certainly can; and back in the 40s and 50s, these sorts of towns would have 3 or 4 cinemas!

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

If Michael Morpurgo has decided this film has captured it perfectly, then I will probably give it a chance. But lets be honest, Spielberg's track record handling sensitive subject matters always leans towards pure mush, which is fine if you're catering for kids I suppose, much as ET did. Then again Morpurgo's books are written for kids (my daughter has about ten of his books) so I doubt there is an awful lot of complexity in the characters for Spielberg to whitewash.

Lets wait and see. ET is not a kids film for me, kids love it but it is not a kids film per se. There are complex Jesus Christ references all through the film that would go completely over kids heads, ET found in a lit manger, ET from another world, ET can heal, ET can float on water, ET dies and comes back to life, its all there and the last 10 minutes is stunning cinema incredibly beautiful and the perfect end it is no wonder it was voted the greatest ever ending of any film. Spielberg is going to be sentimental with War Horse but I love that , it will be powerful and life affirming, not for everyone I am sure but it is for me.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

I'm a member of the Duke of Yorks and they have a few sell outs. I have been caught out twice in the last year by arriving and seeing a sold out sign. Typically it's the Thursday and Friday showings. The DoY is a great experience. I rarely go to the multiplexes though, mainly as they do not show anything I like but also the crowds do not behave or respect other patrons and are obsessed with eating. What is it these days? Gigs also attract crowds who are disrespectful and chat all through performances.

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

I'm a member of the Duke of Yorks and they have a few sell outs. I have been caught out twice in the last year by arriving and seeing a sold out sign. Typically it's the Thursday and Friday showings. The DoY is a great experience. I rarely go to the multiplexes though, mainly as they do not show anything I like but also the crowds do not behave or respect other patrons and are obsessed with eating. What is it these days? Gigs also attract crowds who are disrespectful and chat all through performances.

Thats why I am dreading seeing War Horse in the multiplex HT. People, mainly younger have no basic etiquette and if anyone talks , plays on their mobile or does not pay attention it will ruin the film for me. I will see the first showing available on the day when it will probably be less full and more likely to have Spielberg devotees there. For me this is the event of the year.

 

[Tricky Dicky]

Cinema attendances have trebled since the 1980s in the UK. That said they are about one tenth of the best ever year, 1946, where 1.6 billion admissions were recorded.

2011 Summer attendances were up on 2010.

Surely those are very misleading stats. Back then you used to have a cinema that had one big screen only, now you have one building with lots of smaller screening rooms. The comparison with '46 isn't really fair either, there was no TV and the only way people could see the news was at the cinema.

 

[Bozza]

I'm a member of the Duke of Yorks and they have a few sell outs. I have been caught out twice in the last year by arriving and seeing a sold out sign. Typically it's the Thursday and Friday showings. The DoY is a great experience. I rarely go to the multiplexes though, mainly as they do not show anything I like but also the crowds do not behave or respect other patrons and are obsessed with eating. What is it these days? Gigs also attract crowds who are disrespectful and chat all through performances.

Similarly The Watershed in Bristol is a great place to see a film. Small and intimate, it attracts an older crowd who can take a decent beer, or similar, to their seats to watch all manner of films. Some blockbusters, but many not. Decent food on offer too, if you want a bite to eat.

I saw Drive there recently and it was a sellout as were, I believe, the other 2 films showing that evening.

A multiplex will be my last resort for films now - the whole experience, including the other punters, is so much worse than The Watershed.

 

[Nibble]

I think there are generally more films out there and many more screens than there used to be so the audience gets spread out more.
Also every Holywood film released now seems to be billed as an "event Movie" and people just get fed up of being disappointed. Not so long ago only 2 or 3 films a year were massive events.
DOY is always the best bet to avoid disruptive audiences and my preffered choice of venue. Also helps what time of the day you go. I love afternoon showings and cannot remember the last time I saw a Film on a Fri or Sat night other than at DOY. I am not a massive fan of most blockbusters and don't care about a full screen.
The last full house I was at was for one of the new Star Wars debacles. It was f***ing horrible, apart fromthe film being shit the audience was rammed with kids, sweaty and noisy. Busy and hot is fine for a gig but for a film I'd rather be comfortable. More thn happy if I found myself to be among a near empty house.
Have no idea what War Horse will be like and have no intention of finding out

 

[Bozza]

it will be powerful and life affirming, not for everyone I am sure but it is for me.

For me this is the event of the year.

It's curious that you castigate [MENTION=232]Simster[/MENTION] for pre-judging a film when you clearly have yourself. There is no way you will do anything other than gush glowing praise about this effort after you've seen it.

There is literally no point saying "I hope it lives up to your expectations" because you've already decided it has.

 

[Simster]

Similarly The Watershed in Bristol is a great place to see a film. Small and intimate, it attracts an older crowd who can take a decent beer, or similar, to their seats to watch all manner of films. Some blockbusters, but many not. Decent food on offer too, if you want a bite to eat.

I saw Drive there recently and it was a sellout as were, I believe, the other 2 films showing that evening.

A multiplex will be my last resort for films now - the whole experience, including the other punters, is so much worse than The Watershed.

Wise words. Multiplexes are shit except for the blockbusters. I tend to go to the local Everyman here in Reigate or the Picture House, Harbour Lights in Southampton. MILES better experience.

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

It's curious that you castigate [MENTION=232]Simster[/MENTION] for pre-judging a film when you clearly have yourself. There is no way you will do anything other than gush glowing praise about this effort after you've seen it.

There is literally no point saying "I hope it lives up to your expectations" because you've already decided it has.

Probably.

 

[Brovion]

I'm a member of the Duke of Yorks and they have a few sell outs. I have been caught out twice in the last year by arriving and seeing a sold out sign. Typically it's the Thursday and Friday showings. The DoY is a great experience. I rarely go to the multiplexes though, mainly as they do not show anything I like but also the crowds do not behave or respect other patrons and are obsessed with eating. What is it these days? Gigs also attract crowds who are disrespectful and chat all through performances.

The 'packed' nights we had were Wednesdays as they accept the 'Orange Wednesday' (two-for-one) offer. It's a good, and relatively cheap, night out for us: we walk down from Fiveways having a drink in the Open House on the way down, a glass of wine with the film and then another stop in the Open House on the way back. All very civilised. Like others we only go to the multiplexes as a last resort.

 

[Couldn't Be Hyypia]

I'd agree that the sell-out has become a rare event - certainly as a kid a visit to the cineama meant being in a darkened room with a lot of other people. Some people on this thread have put this down to lower attendances but that I do argue with.

There are more cinema screens showing films more often than I can ever remember. Multiple showings in complexes with ten or more screens must change the way we watch movies when compared with the days or just one screen (remember when three screens at the Odeon was seen as pretty radical?). You can pretty much see most widely distributed films whenever you want.

As for attendance levels? Attendance rose steadily from 1990 (80m) to 2002 (where it peaked at 165m) and then plateaued for the rest of the decade before matching the 2002 figures again in 2010. So it's hard to say that lack of people attending the cinema has been the cause of what feel like fewer packed screenings. The plateau (and what looks like a possible gradual decline) is most likely down to multi-channel home TV (and the improved home TV viewing experience) and broadband/IT developments.

I'd say currently the lack of 'full house' signs is down to more choice and more screens, not lack of customers.

http://www.ukfilmcouncil.org.uk/2009statsrelease
www.ukfilmcouncil.org.uk/media/word/f/q/plateau.doc

 

[tgretton87]

Went to see Rocky 6 sold out full of Rocky Diehards like myself sell out. When the opening credits started to roll with the famous trumpet music the whole cinema erupted into chants of ROCKY ROCKY.

Absolutely fantastic and will probably never experience that again.

 

[Bozza]

Probably.

Don't get me wrong - you're going to have a really positive personal experience, and that is a great thing. We all need as many of those as we can get.

But I don't think you can really knock someone for pre-judging a film when you so clearly do yourself.

 

[Couldn't Be Hyypia]

You can't fault Uncle Spielberg's consitent lack of critical faculty when it comes to Spielberg films (and we're all entitled to a love in our lives) but it's the selective poo-pooing of the critics' views and the simultaneous invoking of a critic to support a case (sometimes in the same thread) that makes it hard to take some of his comments about Spielberg films seriously.

 

[Uter]

That is quite interesting. Mind you, cine attendances in the 80s were DIRE. I lived in Winchester back in the late 80s and remember the kerfuffle when it was announced the cinema was closing. Everyone was up in arms, but the simple fact is that people didn't use it. Much like some pubs now I guess. Winchester had a new independent cinema built in the 90s which is now thriving, which would be in line with your comments on attendances trebling. Back in the 80s, provincial market towns could not support a cinema, now they most certainly can; and back in the 40s and 50s, these sorts of towns would have 3 or 4 cinemas!

Cinema attendances declined pretty much year on year from 1946 until the mid 80s when the nadir of 55 million attendances were recorded. Since then the rise is pretty much solely attributable to the multiplex. Last few years they have flat-lined.

I think there is still a place for independent cinemas. I'd choose the Duke of Yorks over a mulitplex every time. I don't know what the future holds. Perhaps we will see a rebirth of small screens (maybe that's wishful thinking), but clearly the scarcely comprehensible volumes of the 1940s will never be reached again.

 

[brunswick]

after being charged £2.40 for a tiny bottle of water once about 9 years ago, i have not been since.

piratebay or letmewatchthis seem to do the job better.

 

[hans kraay fan club]

Similarly The Watershed in Bristol is a great place to see a film. Small and intimate, it attracts an older crowd who can take a decent beer, or similar, to their seats to watch all manner of films. Some blockbusters, but many not. Decent food on offer too, if you want a bite to eat.

I saw Drive there recently and it was a sellout as were, I believe, the other 2 films showing that evening.

A multiplex will be my last resort for films now - the whole experience, including the other punters, is so much worse than The Watershed.

I share these opinions.

Its as though you have the decent cinema, which is akin to your high end local deli, and your multi-plex full of chavs, which is your ASDA.

Where the analogy falls down though, is that I'll suffer ASDA occassionally for the essentials simply because its CHEAP. The multi-plex for some reason seems to think we should pay MORE for the mass-market experience. For me, that doesn't add up.