Is getting a cinema membership worth it?

Most cinemas, for example Omniplex cinemas, have an optional subscription providing one ticket for every movie for a set price every month. The omniplex version of this is called the Omnipass. It costs the pass holders £14.99 every month. With the cheapest tickets available being £8.95, as long as you go to see two movies every month the pass would be worth the money.

 

However, the omnipass has gone through many changes over the past couple of years. Causing an outcry from devoted members of the program. One of these changes was the price of the pass itself. It used to cost £9.99 to have a pass with more benefits than what is included now. But they have since changed the price to be £14.99, a £5 price raise. The old price meant that a member could just go to see one movie a month to make having the pass worth the money, but now this has changed to having to see at least 2. This can be bad for months where there aren’t many interesting movies coming out.

Another change that rolled out recently was the coloured tearing system for the seat selection. Currently as seen below, a recline supersaver is red and costs you £8.95, a recline saver is green and costs you £9.95, and the final tear is the regular recline which is orange and is the most expensive costing £10.95. You used to be able to choose any seat you wanted, and it would have been covered by the cost of the omnipass subscription. This was because all of the seats in the screen cost the same. But now you can only choose the red seats, which are the cheapest as they are the most undesirable because they are closest to the screen. This isn’t an issue as long as you book your ticket with enough time to choose the further back red seats, but if you get stuck with the front few rows then the experience isn’t as enjoyable. Or if you don’t want to sit in the red seats you have to pay an additional price, depending on what tier you choose.

 

Additionally, another change that was made to the omnipass service along with the price and seat change was that they removed the discount on cinema snacks. Before the changes the omnipass used to give pass holders a 10% discount on all cinema snacks and drinks sold. Cinema snacks are notorious for having a high price tag, so removing this perk made many people reassess their need for an omnipass. Currently a medium combo which includes a popcorn and a drink costs £8.95. This can be seen as not too expensive, but when you are going as much as omnipass holders are it can add up. Additionally, they have the option to get sweets and chocolate. A bag of chocolate or sweets, for example dairy milk buttons, costs £3.95. This is extremely expensive, especially considering you could go to a shop and buy the exact same bag for £1.94.

 

However, despite all of the changes made to the omnipass I still believe it is worth the money. As long as you go at least two time a month which isn’t hard as there are so many movies that come out monthly. With the cost of supersaver seats that are free with the omnipass being £8.95 regularly it would cost £17.90 to go and see two movies a month without the omnipass. Compared to the £14.99 the omnipass costs a month it seems worth it, especially if you love going to the cinema like me.