EasyCinema

Last updated
easyCinema
Type Private
Industry Cinema
Founded2003;19 years ago (2003)
United Kingdom
Founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou
Defunct2012;10 years ago (2012)
FateHanded back to Odeon Cinemas (at The Point, Milton Keynes)
Re-branded as LOVEFiLM (online)
Successor
Parent easyGroup

easyCinema was a cinema operation business in the easyGroup corporation.

Contents

History

Cinema

It opened its first cinema on 23 May 2003 when it took over the cinema facility at The Point, Milton Keynes from United Cinemas International. [1] In line with the yield management model operated by other operations in the easyGroup, it offered screenings from 20p if booked well in advance. [2] The cinema initially struggled as major distributors were not prepared to release new films to the company using this revenue model. [2] First run films later became available, but at fixed prices. The cinema began operations by choosing not to serve popcorn and drinks, to save on staffing costs. [2] The company subsequently reversed this policy.[ citation needed ]

Towards the end of its life, the cinema site also housed an EasyInternetcafé and was a pick-up point for easyPizza.[ citation needed ] However, following a dispute over unpaid rent with the landlord, Odeon, [3] which resulted in eviction, the easyCinema closed in May 2006.[ citation needed ] The closure of the Milton Keynes easyCinema appears to have curtailed the desired expansion into London's West End. [4] [5] [6]

DVD rental

In March 2005 saw the commencement of EasyCinema Online DVD Rental (stylised as easyCinema), first announced in November 2004. [7] This was a partnership with Video Island, the company operating rental services for several other retail brands. However, unlike many online DVD rental services, there was no monthly subscription and the users purchased rental credits instead. [8]

On 1 August 2012 the easyCinema website and branding ceased and became wholly branded as LOVEFiLM.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

Milton Keynes Largest settlement in Buckinghamshire, England

Milton Keynes is the largest settlement in Buckinghamshire, England, 50 miles (80 km) north-west of London. At the 2011 Census, the population of its urban area was almost 230,000, although this includes Newport Pagnell and Bletchley. The River Great Ouse forms its northern boundary; a tributary, the River Ouzel, meanders through its linear parks and balancing lakes. Approximately 25% of the urban area is parkland or woodland and includes two Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs).

Blockbuster LLC Defunct American video rental company

Blockbuster, officially Blockbuster LLC and formerly known as Blockbuster Video, was an American-based provider of home movie and video game rental services. Services were offered primarily at video rental shops, but later alternatives included DVD-by-mail, streaming, video on demand, and cinema theater. Previously operated by Blockbuster Entertainment, Inc., the company expanded internationally throughout the 1990s. At its peak in 2004, Blockbuster consisted of 9,094 stores and employed approximately 84,300 people: 58,500 in the United States and 25,800 in other countries.

Rogers Plus was a brand name for the retail operations of Rogers Communications. It was formerly two separate brands, namely the Rogers Wireless chain of telecommunications stores previously operated by InterTAN under licence from Rogers, and the Rogers Video chain of video rental stores. In early 2007, Rogers retired the Rogers Video and Rogers Wireless brand names from its stores and re-branded them as Rogers Plus.

Video Ezy Defunct Australian home video rental business

Video Ezy was an Australian home video rental business that offered titles on VHS, DVD, Blu-ray and Ultra HD Blu-ray, as well as console video games, for rent. At its peak in the mid-2000s, Video Ezy had over 500 company-owned and franchised video rental shops in the country, and owned 40% of the Australian video rental market after taking over Blockbuster's Australian operations. The company also expanded internationally into New Zealand and Asia.

Redbox Automated Retail LLC is an American video rental company specializing in DVD, Blu-ray, 4K UHD rentals, and formerly video games via automated retail kiosks. Redbox kiosks feature the company's signature red color and are located at convenience stores, fast food restaurants, grocery stores, mass retailers, and pharmacies.

National Bowl Outdoor amphitheatre in Milton Keynes

The National Bowl is an entertainment venue located in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The site was a former clay pit, filled in and raised to form an amphitheatre using sub-soil excavated by the many new developments in the area. It has a maximum capacity of 65,000. The arena is open-air grassland, without seats.

Arriva Shires & Essex Subsidiary bus operator of Arriva UK Bus

Arriva Shires & Essex is a bus operator providing services in Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire, with services extending to Oxfordshire and Greater London. Until 2002 its operations included Colchester. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus.

DVD-by-mail is a business model in which customers rent DVDs and similar discs containing films, television shows, video games and the like, ordering online for delivery to the customer by mail. Generally, all interaction between the renter and the rental company takes place through the company's website, using an e-commerce model. Typically, a customer chooses from a list of titles online and adds titles to a queue. As a customer's requested titles become available, the company sends them out. When the customer is finished with the disc, they mail it back to the company.

LoveFilm was a United Kingdom–based provider of DVD-by-mail and streaming video on demand in the United Kingdom, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Germany.

EasyBus

easyBus is part of the easy Family of Brands. It was founded by entrepreneur Stelios Haji-Ioannou in 2003. It initially also offered intercity services within the UK in addition to city to airport low-cost bus transfers. In 2019, easyBus expanded its operation to include many thousands of new routes in partnership with more than 150 bus operators in Europe and beyond.

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment Walt Disney Companys home video division

Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc., doing business as Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, is the home entertainment distribution arm of The Walt Disney Company. The division handles the distribution of Disney's films, television series, and other audiovisual content across several home media formats, such as Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray discs, DVDs, and digital media, under various brand labels around the world.

Stadium MK Football stadium in Milton Keynes, England

Stadium MK is a football ground in the Denbigh district of Bletchley in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. Designed by Populous and opened in 2007, it is the home ground of EFL League One side Milton Keynes Dons and FA Women's National League South side Milton Keynes Dons Women.

Film distribution is the process of making a movie available for viewing by an audience. This is normally the task of a professional film distributor, who would determine the marketing strategy for the film, the media by which a film is to be exhibited or made available for viewing, and who may set the release date and other matters. The film may be exhibited directly to the public either through a movie theater or television, or personal home viewing. For commercial projects, film distribution is usually accompanied by film promotion.

Xscape is a brand name for buildings developed by X-Leisure, now part of Land Securities. Typically they contain a real snow indoor ski slope, leisure facilities and related shops. As of 2017, there are two members of the chain, located in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire and Castleford, Yorkshire. A former member in Scotland has been sold. Xscape Milton Keynes and Xscape Yorkshire were designed by FaulknerBrowns Architects.

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema American movie theater chain

The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema is an American cinema chain founded in 1997 in Austin, Texas, which is famous for serving dinner and drinks during the movie, as well as its strict policy of requiring its audiences to maintain proper cinema-going etiquette.

The Point, Milton Keynes Former entertainment complex in England

The Point is an entertainment complex in Central Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. When it opened in 1985, it was called the UK's first multiplex cinema although the UK had introduced multi-screen cinemas in 1930 and had been increasing the number of screens in cinemas ever since. The front part of the building has a distinctive mirrored crystal ziggurat shape, framed by external steel beams at each corner, joined at the apex. Originally it had red neon lights connecting the apexes at each side, so that it looked like a pyramid at night.

Stagecoach East

Stagecoach East is the divisional name for the bus operations of the Stagecoach Group in eastern England.

Coach transport in the United Kingdom

The United Kingdom has a number of intercity coach services.

Home video Prerecorded video media that are either sold, rented, or streamed for home entertainment

Home video is prerecorded media sold or rented for home viewing. The term originates from the VHS and Betamax era, when the predominant medium was videotapes, but has carried over to optical disc formats such as DVD and Blu-ray. In a different usage, "home video" refers to amateur video recordings, also known as home movies.

Buses in Milton Keynes Bus services in and around Milton Keynes, England

Buses in Milton Keynes are run by a mixture of operators on a network of urban and rural routes in and around the Milton Keynes urban area. These services have a varied history involving five different companies. At the foundation of the 'New City' in 1967 and for some years afterwards, Milton Keynes was served by a rural bus service between and to the pre-existing towns. Apart from a small-scale experimental service, urban buses arrived on the scene with deregulation in 1986. Since April 2010 the core local services have been provided by Arriva Shires & Essex. Long-distance coach services also serve MK, often via the Milton Keynes Coachway located near junction 14 of the M1 motorway.

References

  1. Forde, Leon (4 April 2003). "UK's easyCinema to test low-cost cinema concept". Screen Daily. London. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 Duffy, Jonathan (23 May 2003). "Cinema Paradiso it ain't". BBC News. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
  3. "'No frills' Easycinema shuts down". BBC News. 30 May 2006. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
  4. Gibson, Owen (25 July 2005). "EasyCinema eyes West End debut". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
  5. Clark, Andrew (29 May 2006). "Rent rise brings down curtain on easyCinema". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
  6. Lea, Robert (13 April 2012). "EasyCinema comes to City". Evening Standard. London. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  7. Welsh, James (15 March 2005). "easyCinema launches DVD rental service". Digital Spy. London. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  8. Frater, Patrick (15 March 2005). "Stelios' easyCinema unveils DVD rental service". Screen Daily. London. Retrieved 25 March 2022.