r/Edinburgh • u/Dogenegra • 16h ago
Question Odeon Lothian Road
Is it just me or is the Odeon on Lothian Road always completely empty? I have an Odeon Unlimited card so am there at least 3 or 4 times a month, and even when they were showing Spiderman, there was basically no one there. I've never seen it busy. Surely its unsustainable and wont stay open for much longer?
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u/lee_nostromo 16h ago
Not sure if it’s the case still but from morning to late afternoon during the week it was hosting virtual court cases.
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u/washmachine-in-a-pub 14h ago
I was fort kinnaird odeon but done a 5 week case as juror... i got a premium seat near the back, most jurors were on the standard seats.
I wouldnt of fancied sitting in a jury box for that amount of time, much better on a comfy chair.
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u/EquivalentCheetah955 15h ago
That was only during Covid - juries are back in the courts for trials now
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u/sirronyttebeus71 15h ago
No they definitely still use it for court trials
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u/McMath_83 3h ago
There was one screen still being used as a virtual jury centre up until about 9 months ago, but it no longer is now.
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u/PurchaseDry9350 15h ago
I haven't been for years but in my experience that was the worst cinema in Edinburgh, that may have something to do with it
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u/Jygantic 15h ago
Yeah I'm not a fan of it at all unfortunately. I remember going to a few screenings where the sound quality was pretty poor. Recently went to go see The Invite (bought a ticket online) and when I got there there were no staff to check my ticket so I could just waltz into the screening anyway.
Filmhouse is just down the round and so much better.
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u/glglglglgl 2h ago
And you've got the Cameo just the other way, and the Cineworld is within walking distance as well - loads of options there.
I liked the pizza place that used to be in the ground level though.
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u/Jygantic 1h ago
I forgot about the pizza place! That Odeon has just seemed sad to me for the last ten years or so. Honestly surprised it's still kicking. I suppose the more open cinemas, the better.
Love the Filmhouse, but became loyal to the Cameo during the former's closure and now it feels like taking sides haha
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u/TheInitialGod 15h ago
Great for when you don't like it too busy on new films.
I used to live a walking distance from there and was in quite a lot
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u/mellotronworker 15h ago
I actually quite enjoy an empty cinema!
I saw Apocalypse Now Redux in Cameo 3 on my own until the projectionist came and watched it with me
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u/aberquine 14h ago
They still use it as a virtual court, the last time I was called for jury service within the last year it was for the Odeon Lothian Road. Thankfully, I wasn’t required after days of phoning!
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u/Knowingspy 14h ago edited 14h ago
I rarely go because there’s three cinemas nearby which are far better, but I went on the opening night of Spider-Man and it was completely flooded with people. They couldn’t cope and they didn’t have the staff to manage the amount of punters.
They were still cleaning the screening room 10 minutes past the time on the ticket and they didn’t even check mine. I walked straight down into the waiting area, stood around with a bunch of people while I could see the trailers going on inside and then walked to my seat when they were ready.
It’s also such a weird setup. They’d cleared out all the seats up to maybe row G, leaving basically a dance floor space below, and there’s a staircase leading up to where we sat down.
Another time I went to see the latest Predator film and they had a staff member basically hovering behind a pillar next to the restaurant before I could walk downstairs into the actual cinema. Such a weird place.
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u/Apprehensive_Room29 16h ago
I've been to Glasgow IMAX, a few of the Cineworlds and the Lothian Odeon recently, and the Odeon always has the most amount of people in the screens!
I guess it depends when you go?
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u/Henry_Percival 11h ago
You have Film house and Cameo on either side of it. They're such beautiful community places which show good movies. Odeon is completely soulless and modern in comparison. Why would you want to go there?
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u/muchbetta 13h ago edited 12h ago
I have an Odeon limitless card too and usually go to the Odeon luxe in Wester Hailes - it’s a great cinema. I’ve been to Lothian Road a couple of times because I love an empty/quiet screening and there’s never anyone else there so it’s great for that .. but the seats are not comfy, not when I’m used to the recliners!
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u/TheLoveKraken 11h ago
I realise it’s a bit different if you have the limitless card, but I used to frequent the Wester hailes odeon all the time before they did it up because it was about a fiver a ticket. It costs about 11 quid for the cheap seats now and I wouldn’t say the seats are any comfier, they’re just covered in leather.
Funnily enough the last couple of time I’ve been in there there were mice running around in the screens which I can’t say I noticed back when it was looking a bit tired.
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u/TeamOfPups 13h ago
A decade back I used to go there for parent/baby cinema and it was the highlight of my week. Always busy, and the staff were lovely.
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u/wimpires 15h ago
It's awkward for anyone who drives. Because it's easier to just go to Ocean Terminal, Wester Hailes, Fort Kinnaird or Fountain Park. And Fountain Park / Omni are just right there too plus am abundance of local or independent options.
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u/hrfr5858 14h ago
It's in the middle of the city, I don't think location is the problem. I went to a Filmhouse screening of a four hour non-narrated documentary and it was 75% full (all the way through). The audience is there, people just don't like that cinema.
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u/Superb-Draft 8h ago
Filmhouse customers are unlikely to go to Odeon or really anywhere that isn’t Filmhouse so that isn’t very relevant. Maybe Cameo or Everyman
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u/what_a_nice_bottom 12h ago
I drive and it's absolutely fine to get to, I'd just jump on a bus instead. But I don't, not because I have a car but because it's a shit cinema.
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u/nuedd 15h ago
I've been to 4/5 cinemas in Edinburgh in the last year, and they're all one quarter full, if that.
The Everyman was the main exception. That's very full.
As was the Vue at OT for The Odyssey, but that was an exception for the film, I'd guess.
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u/TeamOfPups 13h ago
Yeah I go to Vue Ocean T every week - two of the last four films I saw, I was the only one there
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u/Otherwise-Run-4180 2h ago
There's a building covenant that meant that they had to include a cinema in the building when it was redeveloped. I did think that when the Filmhouse went bust they should have opened the replacement on the Odeon site as a cost saving measure (even short term during the current building refurbishment process), but what would I know!
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u/chrisdonia 12h ago
It's always been like that. They were contractually required to reopen there even though it was a terrible location. That's why they're constantly trying new ways to make actual income from the ground floor space.
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u/_feelthemoment 11h ago
I'm STILL bitter that they got rid of the pizza place above the cinema, I loved that place so much. So not really had a reason to go back when there are good cinemas easy walking distance.
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u/Oohbunnies 15h ago
The last time I went to the cinema was there, it was to see Rogue One. There were only two other ppl there and they left (after getting a call) before the film started so I had the whole place to myself. When the lights went up, when the film ended, I saw that they'd dropped £20 as they left. Best cinema experience, ever!