FILM BUFFS WHO pay a monthly subscription to one of Ireland’s largest cinema chains are charged additional fees to book their tickets online and reserve a seat outside the first four rows of the theatre.

Omniplex has 21 locations in Ireland. Its ‘Omnipass’ gives subscribers a ticket to every film on show at one theatre of their choice, some exclusive screenings and a ‘super saver seat’ located between the second and fourth row of the cinema.

The cost of the subscription is €17.99 per month at most locations. At nine locations, the ‘Omnipass’ costs €14.99 per month, and Omniplex advertises itself as having the ‘cheapest’ film-pass programme in the country.

Optional fees, between €2 and €4, have recently been introduced and are charged to cinema-goers who seek to reserve a different seat outside the first four rows in the theatre. 

Customers who book their tickets online, regardless if they are subscribers, are also charged a €1 booking fee. 

Amy Curran in Galway recently renewed her subscription after spending a number of months abroad. She was surprised to find out that Omniplex now charges its customers for most of its seating, and she feels the price is not justifiable.

She said: “Even if you have the membership – which I’m paying €17.99 for – you have to sit in the shit seats, down the front, and crane your neck […] What in the Michael O’Leary is this?”

Omniplex said its “priority” is to keep customers’ costs low, citing increases in the cost of living and inflation rates in recent years, and added that optional upgrades are a way to keep subscription prices low.

In a statement, it compared its lower subscription price with the cost of its two largest competitors – which are both priced at the common cost of an Omnipass, €17.99.

One of the competing chains does not charge customers to select seats, and subscribers can see a film at any of its 18 locations. 

Stephen Ward, co-founder the Clifden Film Society in Galway, told The Journal that cinemas always have a base rate of fees they need to pay to distributors and studios to show a new film, and a subscription model helps to raise funds.

“The idea is to get the money in at the start to begin paying these costs,” he said, adding that he assumes large chains operate similarly.

Ward explained that cinemas are often contractually obligated to screen a film, even when no or not enough tickets are sold: “Some of the costs are really, really prohibitive for smaller cinemas.”

He said the total cost of hosting an event could reach up to €500 for a one-off screening, and the film society charges €10 per ticket. He added that they have some “very generous” members who donate to the society, which allows them to keep going.

Ward said: “If it costs €400 to screen a film, that means we’ve to get 40 people in to cover the costs. A lot of time, because we’re in a tiny town and it’s in the winter, we might only get 15 to 20 people at a screening. So, we often lose money.”

Ward set up the society with his friend three years ago and has seen larger crowds attend their events each year. He said the culture of going to the cinema has changed over the last decade, due to its affordability and the popularity of streaming services. 

Under Irish advertising law, the cost of goods must be ‘clearly visible and understandable’ as well as ‘easily identifiable as being the price’. Omniplex’s website states that the cost of the subscription “starts from just €14.99″.

Screengrab from the FAQ section of the Omniplex Website.

Curran said: “I’m paying the membership fee. I’m a ride or die. And [they] are going to make me sit in the shit seats? Because they’re the only ones that are free when you buy the membership? This is probably the fastest way a cinema could ever lose customers.”

Omniplex did not provide a response when asked why its subscription service cost more at particular cinemas, or if they had increased the price at those locations recently.