Carry on at the flicks for £5 as Odeon Telford stays open
Bosses at Telford’s Odeon Cinema are carrying on showing films at the venue, which has been open for more than 30 years.
From today movie fans are being urged to snap up tickets for £5 to see the latest releases including Freaky, Herself, and family films Overboard, Peter Rabbit 2 and Cats & Dogs: Paws Unite.
It comes as rival chain Cineworld is temporarily closing its sites including at Southwater, in Telford, in Shrewsbury and in Wolverhampton due to a fall-off in attendances amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Now customers at Odeon, in Forge Gate, will be offered all-day viewing at a cost of £5 as part of efforts to boost trading.
A spokeswoman at the cinema said: “I would like to reassure all our Telford residents that Odeon is still showing movies and we would very much appreciate the support from our local communities to help keep cinema alive in the area.
“It’s £5 per ticket, all day every day. So guests can watch as many films as they like as long as there is availability.”
“The Odeon has been here for 32 years and that’s no small feat. The community has always visited the cinema and it holds many good memories for families.
“It’s magical and I think the people who have been coming since we re-opened are confident with the safety measures we have put in place.
“We’re only getting a fifth of our normal business. Show times are staggered and as we have plenty of space people can move round comfortably.
“We’re asking people to wear face coverings into cinema rooms and only to remove them for eating snacks.
"We just want to reassure people that we’re still here and open.
“We have plenty of hand sanitiser and disposable gloves if people prefer to wear them. We are showing new releases, but not the blockbusters.”
Meanwhile Showcase Cinemas, which has branches in Walsall and Dudley says that it is committed to keeping its cinemas across the West Midlands open. Mark Barlow, UK general manager for Showcase Cinemas said: “We were delighted to start reopening our cinemas back in July, and are committed to keeping them open.”
Showcase sites reopened earlier than Cineworld after the lockdown was lifted, enticing customers in by showing classic films like Back To The Future and Jaws for £5 a ticket.
New releases like Tenet have also brought people back to their seats, but cinemas received a blow when it was announced the new James Bond film No Time To Die would now not be released until next year.
Independent movie theatres such as Bridgnorth’s Majestic in Whitburn Street secured a £9,997 grant and Wellington’s Orbit cinema £3,662 from the government’s Culture Recovery Fund, which includes a £30 million grant investment for the sector to help rebuild audience confidence.
