Low-cost, No-frills Budget Cinema

You may have heard of low-cost, no-frills airlines such as Valuair and AirAsia, but what about a budget cinema? Enter easyCinema, the world’s first frills-less cinema where you can watch movies for as low as 20 pence (S$ 0.62)!
easyCinema is the brainchild of EasyJet founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou. Like EasyJet (yes, it’s the famous budget airline), easyCinema also goes the ‘no-frills, low-cost’ way to attract movie-goers who are sick of spending hours queuing for over-priced tickets. It opened in June 2003 to the public at a 10-screen venue in Milton Keynes in the UK.
With easyCinema, cinema-goers have the chance to watch films at lower prices. Booking of tickets is done online or by phone; prices vary according to demand but the cheapest seats (as low as S$0.62!) go to those people who book in advance. Once you’ve booked your bar-coded ticket, all you’ve to do next is to print it out. Make your way to the screen where your movie is showing, swipe it over the infrared readers on the turnstiles, and you’re on your way to enjoying the movie!

True to its low-cost, no-frills business model, easyCinema does not sell popcorn and drinks to movie-goers. For those who wish to indulge in such pleasures, they have to bring their own food along (and clean up their seats before heading home!). Trailers and ads are cut back to lower the costs of operating the cinema.
Think that you’re bound to find lousy seats and poor-quality screens at the low-cost cinema? Well, think again! easyCinema features 10 auditoria with over 1,900 seats which are comfortable and fitted with beverage cup holders. All screens are equipped with Dolby Stereo, much like typical cinema screens here.

Unfortunately, Stelios is facing difficulties in convincing distributors to allow easyCinema to show blockbuster films on their first run. Why? They think that easyCinema will be a hit with existing audiences who’ll be paying super-low prices for their tickets, hence jeopardizing the big bucks the distributors make on new releases. That’s why easyCinema mostly screens films that are in their second run.
Still, who wouldn’t love cheap movie tickets? In its first week of operation, easyCinema has achieved a 56% occupancy in an industry that averages at a 20% occupancy. For films shown during the first week of operation, easyCinema sold more than 6,000 cinema seats (Source: easycinema.com).
Let’s Get Down To Business…
Low cost, no-frills airlines are making waves and disrupting the industry for a reason. Their high volume, low margin business models have proven effective in shaking up the airline industry. Companies that still insist on doing things the conventional way are indeed losing out. So what YOU can do is to apply to your own industry this approach of mercilessly cutting costs and generating volume. The possibilities are limitless: low-cost car rentals, accommodation, coach travel, sea travel, etc. We’re serious! Take a look at easyCar.com, easyHotel.com, easyCar.co.uk, easyCruise.com – all owned by Stelios’s easyGroup!
Related Ideas & Trends
http://www.easycinema.com
http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/fridayreview/story/0%2C12102%2C956487%2C00.html
http://film.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,12589,962314,00.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3051075.stm