Odeon Cinemas
Odeon Cinemas Limited,[1] trading as Odeon (stylised as ODEON), is a cinema brand name operating in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Norway, which along with UCI Cinemas and Nordic Cinema Group is part of the Odeon Cinemas Group subsidiary of AMC Theatres. It uses the famous name of the Odeon cinema circuit first introduced in Great Britain in 1930. As of 2016, Odeon is the largest cinema chain in the United Kingdom by market share (although the Irish cinemas were also included within this figure).[2][3][4]
Formerly
Entertainment
1928
122 (United Kingdom)
11 (Ireland)
United Kingdom, Ireland and Norway
Mark Way (Group chief executive officer)
The first Odeon cinema was opened by Oscar Deutsch in 1928, in Brierley Hill, Staffordshire (now West Midlands), England, although initially called "Picture House". The first cinema to use the Odeon brand name was Deutsch's cinema at Perry Barr, Birmingham in 1930. The brand's flagship cinema, the Odeon, Leicester Square in London, opened in 1937. Odeon then became part of the Rank Organisation who continued their ownership of the circuit for a further sixty years. Through a number of sales and acquisitions in the early 2000s the company was purchased by Terra Firma, which merged Odeon and UCI Cinemas to form Odeon UCI Cinemas Group. Most UCI cinemas then took the Odeon brand name in 2006. Terra Firma/UCI sold the company to AMC Theatres in November 2016. Ironically, UCI was originally formed through the merger of AMC UK and Cinema International Corporation in 1989.
Rank Screen Advertising[edit]
They also ran their own advertising company, called Rank Screen Advertising, in competition with the UK market leader Pearl & Dean, which it eventually overtook. Rank Screen Advertising was later rebranded as Cinema Media before being taken over by Carlton Communications and became Carlton Screen Advertising. In 2008, Odeon, along with rival chain Cineworld, bought back the company and today it is known as Digital Cinema Media.
Services[edit]
The company operates a website and mobile apps for iOS and Android, allowing customers to book tickets in advance of performances. They ceased a telephone booking service in 2014. They run their own Guest Service Centre, based in Stoke-on-Trent, sharing the building with the cinema, but operating separately. The company has a support office in Manchester and a smaller office in London.
"Limitless" is a nationwide scheme, which, on a twelve-month contract basis, allows members to see regular (not 3D) screenings as often as they want for a monthly fee.[31]
Odeon offers premium services for customers who are 18 years or older. It provides a fine dining experience and was formerly a gallery offering (this has since closed in all locations), offering a premium service, at six locations.[32]
Controversies[edit]
Refusals to screen certain films[edit]
In 2008, Odeon made a controversial move by refusing to screen Rambo on any of its UK screens, blaming it on "commercial differences".[33] In 2010 Odeon proposed a boycott of Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland at its cinemas in the UK, Ireland and Italy, over a plan by Disney to show the film for a shorter period to allow it to release the film on DVD earlier.[34] Following individual negotiations with Disney; Odeon, Cineworld and Vue reached agreements.[35]
Public customer complaint[edit]
On 24 August 2012, a customer named Matt Pledger posted a complaint on Odeon's Facebook wall about his experience with the cinema, citing high ticket prices, high food prices, inattentive staff, sound bleeding through from the cinema next door, and displaying adverts on how piracy was killing film.[36] The complaint eventually went viral, with over 275,000 'Likes' and over 23,000 comments as of 3 September 2012, as well as receiving attention from the national media,[37][38][39] including a programme feature on BBC Radio 4.[40]
Ban on Universal Pictures films[edit]
On 29 April 2020, Odeon Cinemas, alongside its parent company AMC Theatres, announced a ban on all films distributed by Universal Pictures after the latter announced that it would skip releasing some films in cinemas and distribute them directly on streaming and on-demand services during the COVID-19 pandemic.[41] Adam Aron, chief executive of AMC Theatres, said that the ban would apply to all 1,000 outlets worldwide after the coronavirus lockdown.[41] The dispute was resolved in July 2020, with AMC agreeing that Universal could stream films 17 days after theatrical release.[42]