My husband and I had Cineworld for a few years, pre-pandemic. We would go and see 3/4 films in a day or over a weekend maybe once a month or so, made a proper day of it with lunch and dinner. Cancelled them a while ago and have since moved out of Glasgow and don’t really have much in the way of cinemas nearby, or the time/funds to go regularly now that we have 2 kids.
Definitely enjoyed it while we had it, and if we could afford it and make the time, we probably still would.
Back in college days, I used to mooch off friends with Unlimited cards by using Orange wednesday codes. I watched so many absolutely shit films I’d never have otherwise watched, it actually became a bit of a drag, even though all I was paying was 30p for the codes. The whole thing put me off the idea massively.
The Cineworld in Nottingham is utterly knackered too, most of the fixtures date back to when it opened as a Warner Village, with the exception of the nice seats they had which were replaced by nasty tip up ones and the lighting replaced by harsh LED stuff which make everything look nasty. Even if I did want to watch more than a handful of films a year I would much prefer to spend money seeing them in a pleasant cinema like our lovely arts cinema Broadway or the out of town Showcase with its reclining leather chairs.
The thing that people seem to always forget is that if you:
And/or
Then Cineworld Unlimited isn’t even vaguely aimed at you.
It’s a curious membership programme in that some people have wildly passionate views about it, and feel the need to somehow justify their personal cinema experience (paying more/paying less, preferring boutique, making a point of letting you know they support a local cinema) in why they don’t have a card.
It’s like the age old “how do you know someone’s a vegan; they’ll tell you” but for cinemas.
(This wasn’t saying you were, just a follow on from your reply that made me think)
What’s your ratio of films you come out of going “That was good, enjoyed that” vs “Meh, I’d rather have watched whatever was on tv” etc do you think?
Not sure I have a wildly passionate view about it… just explaining my exposure to it and why despite wanting it when I was a child and had no money for it, I eventually experienced it without paying and decided it wan’t as great as it sounded.
I had a similar experience with Merlin Annual Passes too; got my money’s worth but decided it wasn’t for me in the end, however much I love Nemesis. It turns out for me sometimes less is more. Not to say it doesn’t make sense for others; it clearly does!
BTW - it’s not really about desiring a ‘boutique’ experience - I don’t think I’d describe Broadway or Showcase as that. Just nicer than what Cineworld Nottingham has to offer. Cineworld Sheffield is much nicer too, but I don’t live there so it’s little use, even ignoring the other issue.
I’ve had a mixed collection of Unlimited Cinema things over the years,
Had both Cineworld and Odeon at times when my local was one of those two - generally good value - except my local Odeon was a proper banged up cinema and had no heating control so that got cancelled.
Currently on the Everyman one though - as that’s my local now.
It’s good value (to me…) as the cinemas are generally in very good nick, and at seat food service is lovely.
Probably not rinsing it value wise unlike the Cineworld one, but I think I do go more than what my tickets would cost me if I didn;t have the membership, so happy there!
Most films I enjoy; I tend not to go see films that I don’t think I would enjoy.
But even if a film is a bit “meh”, most TV is as well. At least the film gets me out the house, I’ll have a few nachos and maybe a beer after so it overall is a far better way to spend an afternoon.