Hollywood bankbuster
Cinema tickets £8 more in some areas
FILM fans are facing a postcode lottery with cinema tickets more than twice the price in some cities than others.
Critics said penalising customers in some areas is grossly unfair and could lead to some families being priced out of going to the cinema altogether.
The cheapest cinema tickets are in Cardiff, according to exclusive research for Money Mail carried out by voucher website Vouchercodes.
At the Cardiff Vue cinema one adult ticket for a 2D screening of the Marvel film Avengers: Endgame is £4.75 including a 75p booking fee.
‘No excuse for this postcode tax’
But a ticket to the same film at a similar time on the same day at the Odeon in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, is £13.25 including a 75p booking fee – more than twice the cost. This was the most expensive location outside London.
Child tickets at the cinemas also vary, costing £4.75 and £10.75 respectively. It means a family of four in Mansfield will pay £29 more than in Cardiff.
Even when visiting the same cinema chain, prices still differ depending on location. For example, an adult ticket at the Odeon in Birmingham New Street is £5.75 against £13.25 at the Odeon in Mansfield.
Martyn James, of consumer group Resolver, said: ‘There’s no excuse for this postcode tax. No matter what the underlying reasons are, a film is the same from London to Llandudno – so spread the costs and charge a single price.’
The Vouchercodes research looked at the cost of tickets for Avengers at Vue, Odeon and Cineworld cinemas across the country. All viewings were between 6.30pm and 8.45pm.
An Odeon spokesman said: ‘There are many factors that influence our ticket prices, including ticket type, time of day, type of film, location, local property rent and other costs.’ A spokesman for Cineworld said: ‘Our ticket prices reflect a range of factors including rent and running costs which are unique to each cinema.’
Odeon and Cineworld said they offer a range of discounts. Vue declined to comment.