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Newbury Today Forum _ Newbury News _ newbury cinema
Posted by: graham Dec 29 2009, 02:26 PM
After seeing the trailer for Nowhere Boy the story about John Lennon i thought this would be a good film to watch over the x-mas break.
Ive checked the internet page for vue and knew that the film was being released on the 26th dec after not being able to see any listing i phoned the contact number and the recorded message told me that it was not being shown at Newbury but it was on at Basingstoke, so after years on waiting for the cinema to come to Newbury i still have to go to basingstoke to watch my chosen film.
I didnt realise this was the case with vue that they had selected films for different area`s !
so to me it seems pointless that came to Newbury when i a trailer for a good film there is a strong chance that i might have to good to basingstoke or wait for the dvd man to round. 
Posted by: Jeven Dec 29 2009, 05:58 PM
Similar thing happened with Nine, was only shown in one cinema in the entire country. Problem is that presumably Vue HQ have decided that it would only have limited appeal so won't show it at their smaller cinemas. The best thing you could do is provide feedback to them, maybe they might in future show low interest films one day of the week or something.
http://myvue.com/feedback/index.asp?SessionID=
I was bitterly disapointed that they aren't showing any bollywood, if enough people complain their HQ might decide to have one low interest slot a week, or even a month. We can but ask.
Posted by: Bill1 Dec 29 2009, 06:41 PM
I agree that "minority" tastes should be catered for.
However, I have to say my family thoroughly enjoyed Avatar today, worth the extra for 3D too. Finally 3D that works!
Posted by: Strafin Dec 29 2009, 07:13 PM
How much is it to see a 3D film there Bill?
Posted by: Bill1 Dec 29 2009, 07:38 PM
£1.50 extra. But this was on a 25% off ticket for being a weekday afternoon. So about £8.00 for me and Mrs Bill1 and £6.00 for our son.
Posted by: Strafin Dec 30 2009, 12:55 AM
That's probably more than I would pay but doesn't seem ridiculous. I have heard stories of people paying £13 which I thought sounded ridiculous.
Posted by: Jeven Dec 30 2009, 01:28 AM
It's these prices that will kill cinema, and it is the fault of the film distributors. The funny thing is the cinema chains are not even making money from the ticket prices. The 3D prices are slightly more reasonable as they represent the investment in the digital projector, infrastructure and the glasses that each customer gets to keep. It's the prices for standard 2D films that I find absurd.
£13 sounds like 3D and VIP seating at a peak time for an adult. Still, I guess if you enjoy the film and the experience then 3 hours at a cinema for £13 is quite good value compared to the pub
Posted by: GrumblingAgain Dec 30 2009, 08:21 AM
£13 sounds like 3D and VIP seating at a peak time for an adult. Still, I guess if you enjoy the film and the experience then 3 hours at a cinema for £13 is quite good value compared to the pub
Are we not heavily subsiding the cinema, thanks to the Lib Dems who got the thing going only with some huge bung? How much would the films cost had the cinema been built without any council subsidy (as of course it should have been)? Isn't that why we now have ever increasing parking charges?
Posted by: Jeven Dec 30 2009, 01:55 PM
I doubt film prices would have changed, cinemas like Odeon make their money from the food and older films. If it still works as it did a few years ago the first few weeks the cinema takes something like 3 - 10% max of the ticket price. After 4 - 5 weeks that could be up to 40%, though it varied from film to film. The ticket prices are, I believe, dictated strongly by the film companies who want a minimum income. Cinema chains on the otherhand would prefer cheaper ticket prices so customers spend more on their (extortionate) food and drink. That may explain why Odeon, Vue etc have so many free ticket offers, 2 for 1, kids show things etc.
Of course this may all have changed in the last few years and of course Odeon may have been very different. On the topic of the subsidy, is that going to the owner of the site (Kennet Shopping) for the whole development such as restaurants etc or just to the cinema operator? Also will it stop once they're making a profit? Otherwise how did the lib dems ever get it through.
Posted by: blackdog Dec 30 2009, 05:08 PM
Not sure who it goes to, but there appears to be a £500k price tag - implying a 5 year term. There was an interesting interchange in a council meeting in 2008.
http://www.westberks.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=16407&p=0
I'm sure everyone can decide for themselves which party they want to blame (or praise)!
Obviously the Lib-Dems got it through by having a majority to vote it through - as did the Conservatives when they renewed it.
Posted by: Jeven Jan 1 2010, 03:06 PM
Oddly enough they're now showing Nine 
Posted by: Strafin Feb 27 2010, 07:11 PM
Mrs Strafin has decreed that she would like to see "Valentines Day" at the pictures, so we are going to give Newbury a shot. Went to book online and was outraged at the £1.20 fee for doing so, let's hope we're not too late to book when we get there!
My first thoughts when we got there were that it is not a very nice or welcoming entrance, I am sure though that will improve with the addition of any shops or restaurants that might one day appear there. When entering the main foyer area I was pleased to see some nice sofa's to sit down on by the large windows. The sofa's were dirty, the window was filthy and covered in a variety of hand prints, I am guessing from people leaning on them to get a good look at the view. I would expect a few but it seemed really bad on this particular ocassion. This of course got me looking about and the carpets and tiled floors were really filthy too, I would be suprised if they had been cleaned today at all. A bit disappointing for such a new place. Pick 'n' mix was expensive as you'd expect but cheaper than a lot of others I have seen, at £1.30 per 100g. The theatre itself was very nice. A good size, with extremely comfortable chairs, I didn't opt for the upgraded VIP seats and I am glad because the standard ones were excellent. There was also plenty of leg room which meant I could have a good stretch every 20 minutes or so. The theatre was clean, and the screen seemed to be the perfect size. Cleanliness aside the evening was a very nice one, I will mention the staff as the last thing who were all young, but rather than being lazy and disinterested, were friendly, and polite.
Posted by: lordtup Mar 1 2010, 06:29 PM
Oh dear it seems that the new cinema is running true to it's early predictions . Though the seating and general ambiance is more than acceptable , it runs a real risk of alienating its core clientele by having a narrow catalogue of films ,so it's only a question of time before we hear about financial difficulties .
Incidentally do they charge for watching a 3 D film even if one can not appreciate the effect ? Having only one eye is rather limiting in this respect . 
Posted by: Strafin Mar 1 2010, 06:57 PM
Yep, you have to buy new glasses each time as well. Some films like Up for example are in 2D and 3D so you can make the choice.
Posted by: Andy1 Mar 1 2010, 07:20 PM
I have found that with every Cinema, the young staff are always friendly and polite. It's a shame that people make that assumption first
Posted by: Strafin Mar 1 2010, 08:40 PM
Incidentally an Imax ticket for Avatar is £9, whilst Newbury "regular" cinema is charging £10.65.
Posted by: urZah Mar 1 2010, 09:50 PM
You have chosen to compare a concession IMAX ticket with a peak-time Adult ticket from VUE. A little biased, no?
Newbury really do need to buck up their ideas with what films they show though. Not getting Invictus and such is ridiculous.
Posted by: Strafin Mar 1 2010, 09:58 PM
Newbury really do need to buck up their ideas with what films they show though. Not getting Invictus and such is ridiculous.
No, I picked a standard weekend day time ticket from both. A concession at IMAX is £7. I don't know what the concessions are at Newbury, but I am certainly not being biased. http://www.nationalmediamuseum.org.uk/FilmAndIMAX/Film_detail.asp?FilmID=8824&class=imax
Posted by: user23 Mar 1 2010, 10:25 PM
Newbury really do need to buck up their ideas with what films they show though. Not getting Invictus and such is ridiculous.
https://tickets.bfi.org.uk/selectseat.asp?Venue=IMAX&PerIndex=31190https://tickets.bfi.org.uk/selectseat.asp?Venue=IMAX&PerIndex=31190.
Posted by: urZah Mar 1 2010, 10:37 PM
I wasn't aware of this IMAX, sorry.
I only know of the London BFI IMAX which is priced at £14+ for a standard Adult.
Posted by: JeffG Mar 2 2010, 10:04 AM
I just Googled IMAX and it's hardly relevant to this area, is it? There are only 6 altogether in the UK: London, Glasgow, Bradford, Manchester, Birmingham and Belfast.
It would cost you a lot more than the ticket price difference if you were minded to travel to one of these locations, so the price difference is also irrelevant.
Posted by: Strafin Mar 2 2010, 11:29 AM
The price difference isn't irrelevent, if IMAX opened here then I would have thought their prices would be hugely competitive with our cinema. However that's unlikely and as it transpires IMAX prices are not uniform. My point was more about if you have only one eye or vision in one eye, it would be a waste of money as you would still have to pay, however you could go and not experience the whole IMAX show for less.
Posted by: James_Trinder Mar 2 2010, 11:32 AM
Until recently there used to be an IMAX in Bournemouth. Also, cinema as a whole used to be hardly relevant to Newbury until about 3 months ago.
Posted by: JeffG Mar 2 2010, 01:58 PM
Yes, I'm aware there was one on the south coast, since it's been on the so-called "local" news a few times, discussing what they are going to do with the redundant building. At the moment, it looks as though it houses KFC and precious little else
Or at least since the old Robin's cinema in Park Way closed!
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