Cumbria’s new £4.5 million luxury cinema has seen in a successful opening weekend.
Over 3,000 people flocked to experience the new venue at Workington’s Dunmail Park shopping centre, and see the latest films on the big – and state-of-the-art – screens.
The cinema was close to full capacity for the whole weekend with some screens fully booked at peak times and hot dogs and nachos proved so popular that they completely sold out alongside sweets and large drink cups.
Shazam 2: Fury of the Gods was the most-watched film followed closely by Scream VI and Avatar: The Way of Water – a rerun film first released in December.
Friday night saw long queues of cinema-goers entertained by cosplayers dressed as popular movie characters who volunteered their time to support staff and raise money for the Make A Wish Foundation.
Those who opted to watch Scream VI were also surprised by the film’s main villain ghostface who gave the crowd a good jump scare mid-movie.
Owners Richard and Gerrard Parkes were on hand all weekend alongside the cinema’s general manager, Dan Moxon.
Dan said: “It has been a very good weekend and very very busy, much busier than we expected it to be. It felt like everyone came out to support us which was great.
“We sold more tickets than every other venue Parkway owns across the UK, we’ve even beaten cinemas with more screens than us. We had to get food and drink items couriered up from Cleethorpes and Cheshire because we were selling out.
“To have it so busy was a little shock but a great one, the amount of admissions we had was just absolutely brilliant.”
Dan added that the most popular product all weekend had been the large combo deal – a large popcorn and drink – closely followed by the nachos and hot dogs.
He said: “We don’t really sell many nachos and hotdogs within the wider company in the other cinemas so we planned to have a normal stock level and we were just way off.
“The people of Cumbria clearly love nachos and cheese – we sold what we thought would be enough in the first two weeks in the first two or three days which is very exciting.”
The general manager said that for all staff members, the weekend was new to everyone – with most experiencing their first or second shift or first ever job.
He added: “I’m really pleased with all the staff because everyone here is new, they’re learning on the job so it has been a challenge but one that everyone has risen to.
“The public were also very understanding which was really nice and a massive thank you to the people who bore with us.
“Where I’ve come from people can be a bit abrupt expecting perfect service but here everyone was just really nice and friendly, it took a bit of pressure off for us and it was the reassurance we needed.”
He added that Saturday had proved the busiest day of the weekend with a steady stream of people coming through the doors alongside a rush of visitors on Friday night.
Dan said: “We’ve had really good feedback, people seem really grateful we have moved here and love the modern look and the chairs and that it’s luxurious and feels like home but with a bigger and better screen and sound.
“That’s exactly what we wanted to do instead of stuffy seats and I think people have really appreciated it so far. It’s all been fantastic.”
The cinema’s seats – which are all £1,000 recliner seats – can only be found in two other cinemas across the world in Dubai and Las Vegas.
Local film producer Dennis Devlin also visited the cinema to show his support over the weekend and Dan said a local bar had also visited to test all the new cocktails on offer.
Dan added: “It’s fantastic that we are getting these people come along and support us. All in all it has been a massive success.
“It was great for us to open our doors and finally see if we have done something good for the local area, which seems to be the case – we’re really grateful to the local community for turning up and supporting us.”
On Sunday morning, Dan said the brunch space had also proved popular with visitors, serving locally sourced coffee, cake and luxury brunch items including pancake stacks, croissants and more.
He added: “I think people are definitely starting to realise they can just come in for coffee now and it has been great to see our brunch items go out. It’s just been a massive success.
“It’s shown we have made a business here with a look and feel that hopefully people are after.”
On Tuesday, March 14, the cinema opened to civic dignitaries and invited guests as a test screening before the grand opening weekend.
Attendees included Denise Rollo, mayor of Workington, the Dixon family, who own Dunmail Park and Whitehaven town crier Marc Goodwin.
A ribbon was cut to officially declare the cinema open to its first test audience and owner Richard thanked people for their support.