Sunderland cinema could re-open?

[Boris Bear]

Issue from a developer perspective with demolishing the cinema site is the cost to acquire the cinema then just to tear it down it will add millions to the development appraisal meaning you’d have to write off the acquisition and demo costs to make any scheme work. Can’t see developer doing that or the council able to write the cost off.

I’m sure council have stated the arena is on pause and they considering other options for crowtree.

Uncertainty over vision for ambitious £80million arena, food hall and hotel development on Crowtree site

City leaders have poured cold water on the vision for a proposed £80million arena in Sunderland, though plans are officially still in place.

www.sunderlandecho.com

Never been. They now do another brand called level x which is more family related, but there are others like gravity etc…

The food is canny but the bowling is turd. Beer is shocking too.

There’s a great table tennis venue in London called bounce…loads of variations on traditional table tennis, great food and drink. Something like that would be topper

 

[Boz33]

Build however many cinemas as you like and most will be doomed to failure if people just stream new releases, or justdont use them regularly enough.
the film output seems to be shit as well. The big studios for years have went all in on superhero shit by and large so unless your a kid or a wrangun the cinema isn’t gonna be appealing on a regular basis if the content ain’t there, although regularly sticking big screen epics on may draw people back if there are seasons of classics.
as well as a cinema they have to offer more, was said earlier about prices of sub standard food, maybe more should be made of offering decent food in cafe style settings on site so people can have something to eat and do a movie to make it a night, as most will go for a meal/ pub before or after a fillum anyway so tapping into that may well work
add in amusements too, maybe an arcade / pool tables etc etc

top and bottom of it is , cinemas will die unless they up their game gathering revenue/ enticing people in to spend more than just the price of a film.

was a thread the other day about the snooker club closing, and loads saying what a shame etc, same principle, unless they are used all week and people support these things they are always gonna be on the back foot revenue wise

 

[PinzaC55]

Theyr'e all daft on food and drink pricing, think it cost me £20 for two cokes, two popcorns and a packet of sweets through the Metro Centre not long back. And that was an offer.

They're not daft for pricing it like that , you are daft for paying it.

 

[HorsePills]

They're not daft for pricing it like that , you are daft for paying it.

Radgies.

 

[Chatty83]

I agree about diversifying, also there’s space there to make it a destination in its own right have a bar, restaurant etc and be able to make a whole evening of going to the cinema. I think the Everyman in Newcastle is a little bit like this.

Ive said this for years but cinemas in general are really outdated with their output. Lazy even.

That block is filled with businesses opening for 6 months and shitting down, basically Nandos is the only one that has lasted, Frankie and Beanies had a decent run but other than those been about 30 different things that shut down after a few months.

Openit out, put some bars and street food places in those blocks and have them work in conjunction with the cinema.

Cinema needs to make more events as well, been there with the bairn for Pokémon and some superheroes films and when they had stuff in for it it was rammed and felt like a good day rather than just a quick trip to the pics.

Classic movie night, indie movie night, hell get a music night going, quizzes, could do loads to attract people.

Straight up new release and popcorn, hot dogs and sweets doesn't cut the mustard anymore.

 

[Weremuthe]

It'd be good if Vue take it over. The Gateshead one has a good balance of new movies, remastered classics and one off events (gigs, theatre/opera shows) and cheap tickets.

When we lived in Leith the Vue cinema was 5 minutes away and it was great but it also had the benefit of having a class shopping centre, the Royal Yacht, great restaurants & bars etc to boost numbers

 

[RedandWhiteRebel]

I wouldn't say I was a regular but the few times I have been to the Odeon in Durham it has been busy.

Hopefully Sunderland can get a decent operator but it's already been mentioned that people need to use it otherwise it'll never work.

 

[small mythos]

I think the focus on churning out so many Marvel / superhero films has caused them a problem in that they just didn’t offer much for people who weren’t into that kind of film .
We went a lot but gradually the amount of films we wanted to see dwindled away and Sometimes stuff we wanted to see didn’t even get screened in Sunderland or got a very short run with absolutely shite times .
I really do hope it gets opened again as I have missed going.

 

[Zimba]

So why build the dalton park one in the 1st place? Given that to the north was served by sunderland & to the south was served by Hartlepool

Honestly not a clue, it always seems a bit of a white elephant as it is. Haven't all the restaurants pulled out now bar McDonalds? It's probably part the reason why Cineworld is currently in administration sites like it tbh. Also seems a completely bizarre place for one.

Issue from a developer perspective with demolishing the cinema site is the cost to acquire the cinema then just to tear it down it will add millions to the development appraisal meaning you’d have to write off the acquisition and demo costs to make any scheme work. Can’t see developer doing that or the council able to write the cost off.

I’m sure council have stated the arena is on pause and they considering other options for crowtree.

Uncertainty over vision for ambitious £80million arena, food hall and hotel development on Crowtree site

City leaders have poured cold water on the vision for a proposed £80million arena in Sunderland, though plans are officially still in place.

www.sunderlandecho.com

Never been. They now do another brand called level x which is more family related, but there are others like gravity etc…

Aye that's true, don't the council own the cinema site now? I get what you mean though but didn't they plan to waste £1.5m or something similar on the thing to 'revitalise' it. Seems a bit of a waste of money to me. Didn't realise Level X was owned by Lane 7 mind, it looks canny the one in Middlesbrough to be honest.

When we lived in Leith the Vue cinema was 5 minutes away and it was great but it also had the benefit of having a class shopping centre, the Royal Yacht, great restaurants & bars etc to boost numbers

That in Ocean Terminal? I've heard that place is completely knackered since Covid and the lack of tourists going to the Royal Britannia. Just had a look and it appears it's getting a Level X though ironically.

Cinema sector seems to going through a bit of reinvention what with cinema releases, multiplexes closing, steaming etc and it will be interesting to see which operators remain as there may still be some correction. I’ve seen the light cinema change its model pre covid to 6/7 screens with a large screen similar to imax but also includes competitive socialising (lane 7 style offer). I can see that model working for the cinema but on the flip side is it the best offer for a city? Is it better to have that under one operator or have a cinema operator plus a lane 7?

I think if it stays where it is or relocates there needs to be more complementary offers around it and what offer is there needs to improve ie the bowling alley.

Aye you're right, it just seems to me that people in general want more for the buck and it's pretty much everything. No-one wants a generic basic offer from a chain regardless to what it is, hence the likes of bowling alleys from the 70's have pretty much gone, most the multiplex cinema chains are in big trouble - don't believe Odeon / AMC is in a much better state than the rest or you're greasy microwave food from F&B, Chiqutos or other crap - let's be honest are shutting in mass.

Mind I'm happy about it, as I'd rather actually go somewhere nice tbh. It's no doubt why the likes of Everyman and Lane 7 are doing well. It's just a shame really that Sunderland has pretty much nothing yet but I'm sure that'll change soon.

 

[Howton3r]

When we lived in Leith the Vue cinema was 5 minutes away and it was great but it also had the benefit of having a class shopping centre, the Royal Yacht, great restaurants & bars etc to boost numbers

We stayed in the Leith Premier Inn, popped for a mooch around ocean terminal after seeing the queen's boat. Most of the shops were pretty empty, bar the boat, cinema, a gym and the usual Greggs/Costa/Starbucks trio. Looks like there's plans to partially knock it down.

 

[Osklen]

Aye that's true, don't the council own the cinema site now? I get what you mean though but didn't they plan to waste £1.5m or something similar on the thing to 'revitalise' it. Seems a bit of a waste of money to me. Didn't realise Level X was owned by Lane 7 mind, it looks canny the one in Middlesbrough to be honest.

Aye you're right, it just seems to me that people in general want more for the buck and it's pretty much everything. No-one wants a generic basic offer from a chain regardless to what it is, hence the likes of bowling alleys from the 70's have pretty much gone, most the multiplex cinema chains are in big trouble - don't believe Odeon / AMC is in a much better state than the rest or you're greasy microwave food from F&B, Chiqutos or other crap - let's be honest are shutting in mass.

Mind I'm happy about it, as I'd rather actually go somewhere nice tbh. It's no doubt why the likes of Everyman and Lane 7 are doing well. It's just a shame really that Sunderland has pretty much nothing yet but I'm sure that'll change soon.

I agree but the cost of some of the cinemas are expensive and you have to way up the local demographic and market. Sure we are booked into Durham luxe and the tickets are £22 for an adult £31 for an adult and u16, and Everyman is £17 for adult and £12 for u16. Are those costs sustainable in Sunderland? Perhaps in a much smaller cinema but will it meet the needs for Sunderland demographic I’m not so sure. Guess there has to be an offer somewhere in the middle that can offer both?

Think you are right about council owning the site, but demolition will be a decent cost depending on how the cinema was originally built against the food units unless Nando’s is about to go and the whole thing could come down. Sure the front of that building is listed however. Wonder if they consider a deal to open short term with a view to relocate in the future? However key challenge as said before would be being confident of the cinema chains longevity.

 

[Gillythedilf]

The pictures is a relic of the past. If we put sentiment to one side and are honest with ourselves, it’s absolutely cack.

 

[Zimba]

I agree but the cost of some of the cinemas are expensive and you have to way up the local demographic and market. Sure we are booked into Durham luxe and the tickets are £22 for an adult £31 for an adult and u16, and Everyman is £17 for adult and £12 for u16. Are those costs sustainable in Sunderland? Perhaps in a much smaller cinema but will it meet the needs for Sunderland demographic I’m not so sure. Guess there has to be an offer somewhere in the middle that can offer both?

Think you are right about council owning the site, but demolition will be a decent cost depending on how the cinema was originally built against the food units unless Nando’s is about to go and the whole thing could come down. Sure the front of that building is listed however. Wonder if they consider a deal to open short term with a view to relocate in the future? However key challenge as said before would be being confident of the cinema chains longevity.

Yeah totally agreed to be honest. Guess it depend now much it would be to demo. Arguably security etc will be as much if it doesn't reopen. Least if it was levelled you could do something like Stack on it to get some return on it for now.

Cinemas are just in a weird space as unless they offer something different then what's the point. It's not exactly enjoyable to watch the latest Marvel shite, in a room dated back to the mid 00's while eating food that would put a burger van to shame.

Your probably right on the demographics but I suppose the likes of the everyman are targeting couples on dates etc who are a bit more open with spending money. The lack of students in Sunderland probably doesn't help either which Durham has tbf.

 

[Mowgli]

The only cinemas that are busy these days are the ones with a card that you pay monthly.

Why pay £12 for one film when £18/19 a month gets you unlimited use? I suspect its why alot of them aren't making decent money aswell mind.

 

[Weremuthe]

We stayed in the Leith Premier Inn, popped for a mooch around ocean terminal after seeing the queen's boat. Most of the shops were pretty empty, bar the boat, cinema, a gym and the usual Greggs/Costa/Starbucks trio. Looks like there's plans to partially knock it down.

that's a shame I worked up there pre-Covid and it was thriving

 

[Cheese n Ipa]

Went ti the Vue at Gateshead yesterday afternoon to see Wonka. Place was heaving. We paid £5.99 for a ticket each and parking is free under the Tesco there. Fat kid about ten sat next to me wife. He spent the entire time ramming a Greggs pastie, full tube of Pringles and then a £5 Toblerone into his piggy eyed face. He was coughing a bit now and again and when ee came out at the end, the wife had dried globules of Toblerone on her coat arm. Like Bad Santa.

 

[Mackemansj1]

Build however many cinemas as you like and most will be doomed to failure if people just stream new releases, or justdont use them regularly enough.
the film output seems to be shit as well. The big studios for years have went all in on superhero shit by and large so unless your a kid or a wrangun the cinema isn’t gonna be appealing on a regular basis if the content ain’t there, although regularly sticking big screen epics on may draw people back if there are seasons of classics.
as well as a cinema they have to offer more, was said earlier about prices of sub standard food, maybe more should be made of offering decent food in cafe style settings on site so people can have something to eat and do a movie to make it a night, as most will go for a meal/ pub before or after a fillum anyway so tapping into that may well work
add in amusements too, maybe an arcade / pool tables etc etc

top and bottom of it is , cinemas will die unless they up their game gathering revenue/ enticing people in to spend more than just the price of a film.

was a thread the other day about the snooker club closing, and loads saying what a shame etc, same principle, unless they are used all week and people support these things they are always gonna be on the back foot revenue wise

The one in Durham is always well packed mind especially on a Friday and weekends. The Sunderland one did well around tentpole releases the last two I seen there the mario movie and Jurassic park I think it was were also packed especially the mario one as it was a Saturday before our match iirc and wasn't a spare seat. It's just like you say they are at the mercy of the studios and what they release.

 

[Boz33]

The one in Durham is always well packed mind especially on a Friday and weekends. The Sunderland one did well around tentpole releases the last two I seen there the mario movie and Jurassic park I think it was were also packed especially the mario one as it was a Saturday before our match iirc and wasn't a spare seat. It's just like you say they are at the mercy of the studios and what they release.

And also being filled other weeks, they have to make money all year round so few packed out weeks has to cover a lot of meh weeks where people don’t bother attending. Their costs don’t decrease in these weeks. Exact same things hit snooker clubs, bowling alleys, laser quests and all the other activities that rely on people attending regularly
I just think they have to be a bit more canny in their offerings to stay viable

 

[Weremuthe]

City leaders give update on empty cinema site as talks with new operator reach 'advanced stages'

 

[Five-Quarter]

City leaders give update on empty cinema site as talks with new operator reach 'advanced stages'

Hope it does reopen

Was canny for an unimaginative trip with the kids

I'd still only be prepared to pay a fiver or so though so I'll be part of the problem ongoing