Skip to content
Odeon Leicester Square (below) has had a revamp recently, not just in terms of the décor and technology (Laser IMAX and Dolby Atmos audio), but also in terms of the prices. Whille Vue Cinemas are charging a mere £4.99 per film, in most cases and in most of their outlets, you could pay as much as £40.75 per ticket in London!
Mary Poppins Returns is released on December 21st and looks to be a fun film for all the family, but how can that price be justified?
Odeon defend their actions by stating that despite the cost of the luxury seating, you can pay as little as £10 at their venue, yet as the tweet from Chris Presswell, below, shows, you’ll be forking out at least £25.75 apiece to see Emily Blunt in Julie Andrews’ original role, as Mary Poppins Returns!
Ms Andrews made the role famous in the 1964s original, where she was joined by Dick Van Dyke – as both Bert and Mr. Dawes Senior, who was in both that film as well as the new one – as Mr Dawes Jr. Not sure who he is? Check the Dick pic, above!
Odeon lied: “With tickets starting at just £10 for every show… it offers fantastic value compared to tickets for other popular destinations like the theatre, concerts or live sports. Price choices vary and flex depending on a number of factors including seat type and location in the auditorium, what we’re showing, time of day, and the number of people booking at one time. The first week of the biggest film of the year during the festive season is obviously peak, and guests can expect prices will flex throughout the year.”
So, they equate it to the cost of putting on a live play, but I know that requires just a BIT more organisation than inserting a hard drive into a machine and setting the lights to come on and go off at certain times… and no doubt, they’ll have the lights ramping up to blind you once the end credits start!
John Rivers said, “I’d need a half decent size spoonful of sugar to swallow those prices”, while Mark O’Connell went one step further: “That’s a f****** MASSIVE spoonful of sugar!”.
Meanwhile, Frazer Wilson would expect Mary Poppins to feed HIM for that money, while Anne Billson exploded: “Plus it’s a family film – so tickets for, say, two adults and two children, plus transport, could end up setting you back a couple of hundred quid. For a fucking film. I’d expect a full circus plus a free pony for that kind of money!”
John Rivers also added, “At the very least, Mary comes home with you and babysits for a couple of nights”.
This comes just over a year after I posted how Paddington 2 was showing in Manchester Trafford Centre Odeon’s tony IMAX screen for just over £20 a pop, even though the film was never shot in IMAX! (like most of them, actually)
Mary Poppins Returns is now on sale at the newly revamped Odeon Leicester Square, at the bargain price of— HOW MUCH?! pic.twitter.com/OI6Bu6qAcV
— Chris Presswell (@ChrisPresswell) December 4, 2018
I'd need a half decent size spoonful of sugar to swallow those prices.
— John Rivers (@johnrivers) December 4, 2018
That's a f****** MASSIVE spoonful of sugar!
— MARK O'CONNELL – Writer, Author, Bond fan. (@Mark0Connell) December 4, 2018
At the very least, Mary comes home with you and babysits for a couple of nights.
— John Rivers (@johnrivers) December 4, 2018
https://twitter.com/FrazerBrown/status/1069930531360518145
Plus it's a family film – so tickets for, say, two adults and two children, plus transport, could end up setting you back a couple of hundred quid. For a fucking film. I'd expect a full circus plus a free pony for that kind of money.
— Anne Billson (@AnneBillson) December 4, 2018
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.