Galway cinemas are participating in the "National Cinema Day" on Saturday 3, with admission prices set at just €4.
The announcement has been welcomed by cinemas following a tough couple of years for the industry. Wellpark's Eye Cinema, Terryland's IMC and Salthill's Omniplex are all participating in the discounted ticket event.
The Eye Cinema have championed the initiative, with Marketing Manager, Chiara Orlani saying, "National Cinema Day is a nice way to encourage people to come back to the cinema. The last two years were very hard with some people having lost their confidence to go to the cinema and this initiative is well needed. We are delighted to take part."
Also welcoming the celebration is Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin TD, saying, “Irish cinemas provide a diverse cultural offering to a wide-ranging demographic of audiences. I welcome the announcement of National Cinema Day which gives an opportunity to experience the big screen this coming Saturday with €4 tickets for all shows, all day.
"It has been a tough two years for many people but the pandemic really demonstrated the importance of social outlets for our collective well- being. The local cinema is a valuable social and educational service to communities across Ireland and offers the opportunity to audiences and potential filmmakers to foster a passion for film and storytelling on screen."
For Chiara and all at The Eye Cinema, Saturday's event is a good way to highlight the benefits of cinema over streaming at home. "Spending a couple of hours with friends and family in the cinema is so much more enjoyable than watching at home. You have an audience around you, an atmosphere, a sound system and can enjoy the high definition."
The Eye Cinema is running a high volume of films this weekend, including 'Blackbird' the viral writing-acting-directing and producing debut of Riverdance star, Michael Flatley. Some golden oldies will be featured too, with 1982 classics 'E.T' and 'Star Trek II: Revenge of Khan' being brought back for their 40th anniversary alongside 1992's 'James Bond: The World is Not Enough'. 'Spider-man: Far from Home' has been re-released with an added 10 minutes of footage. Other showings include, 'Nope', 'Bullet Train', 'Elvis', 'Where the Crawdads Sing' and futuristic adaption of Aladdin, 'Three Thousand Years of Longing', directed by George Miller.
Showings are quickly selling out, so book ahead online to avoid disappointment.
