I’ve always loved the cinema. I enjoy nothing more than escaping from life for a couple of hours and watching a decent film.
The only thing that has stopped me going regularly is the price. I can’t afford to pay €9 (Savoy, 15 and over) €8.60 (Cineworld, student after 5pm) or even €6.50 (Screen, student) nearly every week to see a film.
After considerable debate and cost analysis, I decided in October to sign up to Cineworld’s Unlimited Card which costs €19.99 a month. For that price, I can go to as many films as I want per month at their cinema on Parnell Street. I’m really glad I did it. I’ve saved a considerable amount of money, saw films which I wouldn’t have seen in the first place and have used the card to my advantage on many cold or wet winter days.
Since October 16, I’ve gone to 13 films in Cineworld. I’ve kept a little movie diary to keep account of my savings:
Oct 16 – The Social Network (€8.60)
Oct 25 – Red (€7.10)
Oct 27 – Easy-A (€8.60)OCT: €24.30 – €19.99 = €4.31
Nov 11 – Jackass 3D (€8.60)
Nov 15 – Another Year (€7.10)
Nov 19 – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (€8.60)
Nov 24 – Chico and Rico (€8.60)
Nov 30 – London Boulevard (€8.60)NOV: €41.50 – €19.99 = €21.51
Dec 3 – The American (€8.60)
Dec 10 – Unstoppable (€7.10)
Dec 15 – The Tourist (€7.10)
Dec 20 – Monsters (€7.10)
Dec 22 – Meet the Parents: Little Fockers (€7.10)DEC €37.00 – €19.99 = €17.01
Total Costs: €102.80 – 59.97 = €42.83
If i had paid each time to see every film above, it would have cost me just over €100. With the Unlimited Card, it cost me just under €60.
(c) Cian Ginty
I’ve done my best to give a critical and honest look at the advantages and disadvantages of the card.
Advantages:
– I’ve started going to a lot more lunchtime and early afternoon films. It’s a great way to kill a couple of hours when your in town. You also avoid the crowds and kids.
– You might not pay €9 to see Little Fockers but it’s fine to take the risk when you have the card. I definitely wouldn’t have seen the fantastic Another Year if it wasn’t for the card.
– It’s really easy to sign up. It takes around 5mins to do it online. They then email you a letter which you can use straight away. Your card will arrive in the post in about 2 weeks.
– Cineworld has 17 screens and thus has a huge range of films. (In comparison, The Savoy has 6 screens while The Screen has 3. So, while Cineworld shows all the hollywood films along with The Savoy and The Screen, it also shows a number of foreign and art house films. Cineworld also opens earlier than the other cinemas and has more showings. So, you’re able to see films from 10am which works well for chilling out after a long night on the town.
Disadvantages:
– You can’t prebook tickets. It sorta makes sense though when you think about it. Apparently when you could, people were booking seats with their card and then not really caring if they skipped the film. The cinema was then losing about €9 per empty seat. However, you can book tickets on the day. So, if I’m in town at lunchtime, I can stroll into Cineworld and book a ticket for a film that night. Saves a good bit of queuing and rushing.
– You’re committed to a 12 month contract. Unless you’re planning on moving away in the immediate future, it shouldn’t be a real problem.
– You do miss the uniqueness, history and family run buzz of The Screen and to a lesser extent, The Savoy. But until they lower their prices or offer some sort of similar deal, I’m going to stick with Cineworld, purely for the money I’m saving.
– Yes, the popcorn and drinks are ridiculously expensive. It’s about a tenner for a medium popcorn and drink. That’s where they make their money. Get your stuff in Tesco just down the road like I do. A big bag of Manhattan popcorn (30g) and a bottle of 7up (500ml) works out about 4 quid.
Click on the book for more.
Click on the book for more.
Donal
Ciarán
Sam
Come Here To Me! 
To be honest, I’m not sure what sort of saving you are making here. Would you have even gone to see half of these films if you weren’t chasing the savings? How many would you have pirated? Reminds me a bit of chasing them two for the price of one deals in Tesco. I’d no interest before they became a designated loss leader.
“How many would you have pirated?”
I never got into the pirating movie thing. I hate watching anything that is longer than 20mins on my laptop. Wrecks my eyes. On the other hand, I love the whole big screen, surround sound, pitch black Cinema buzz.
“Would you have even gone to see half of these films if you weren’t chasing the savings?”
Honestly, yes. I wasn’t trying to go to as many films as possible just to ‘chase the savings’. I would have probably thought about going to see all the films bar maybe Monsters and Meet the Parents: Little Fockers but price wise that would have been impossible if I hadn’t the card. So for me personally, I’ve made real savings and was able to go to the cinema a lot more.
Keep the diary over the whole year. I know I decided against the card on the basis that I tend to attend the cinema sporadically – I’ll go a lot for a couple of months, then get busy and don’t go for a couple of months….
On average, you have to go once a week to get your money’s worth. But I don’t know that I’d manage that (even if I have been known to watch 3 films in one day!).
“Keep the diary over the whole year”
That’s the plan! 😀
I’m not averse to pirating the odd film but I like the big screen and a good surround system.
I’ve had the card for almost 2 years now. I got good use out of it for the first few months but then when spring and summer arrived I found myself to be more interested in spending my long evenings outdoors. Overall, I came to the conclusion that I’d lost money in the long run and I was going to cancel it until I had the good fortune of starting to go out with someone who loves the cinema as much as I do.
Without the card, we probably wouldn’t have taken the risk on films like Rare Exports or Monsters. A couple of months ago, we got to watch Scarface and the digital reprint of The Godfather. During the summer I also caught Inception for a second time in the cinema (I had some time to kill and it was the only decent film being screened when I walked in).
The biggest drawback is that I now only occasionally go to smaller cinemas with more character such as the Screen, IFI and – very rarely – the Lighthouse.
Well, that is the thing, being closed off to just going to Cineworld and the other blockbuster cinemas. With the free preview film once a month now, and a proper meal for the same cost as a popcorn and coke, the ifi membership seems to win out for me.
I feel the same way about my Annual Travel pass for dublin bus, I love it! Ha ha.
I got the card about 9 months ago and haven’t looked back 😀
The price is great and I tend to go to the cinema a lot which probably accounted to why I failed a couple of subjects this semester :L
But as the OP stated, I wouldnt have been able to see some of the films that I seen without this card and its also a relief when you go see a film and its shite and you realize you didnt really pay for it i.e skyline :L
Also only having to pay 1.50 for 3d films is a godsend than paying 12.50 😀