Ireland’s first Odeon cinema will officially open to the public today (March 27) at the Point Village in Dublin’s Docklands.
The 1,011-seat cinema boasts six screens, including the first ISENSE screen in the UK or Ireland. It has been designed, Odeon say, to play host to a number of international film premieres.
ISENSE is the brand name the Odeon group has given to its “version of IMAX” and features a supersized “three-storey-high” 160sq m screen as well as an Immsound 3D sound system.
The cinema will create 45 jobs and is located on the top floor of the Point Village complex, which is owned by Dublin property developer Harry Crosbie.
It is currently the only retail unit in the complex, with Odeon - the largest cinema group in Europe - leasing the space from Mr Crosbie.
Harry Crosbie, Chairman of the Point Village development, said of the opening: “We’re proud to be a part of Odeon’s arrival in Ireland and it’s incredibly exciting to be the first location in both the UK and Ireland as a whole, to host Odeon’s first ever ISENSE screen.
“Odeon Point Village will be a fantastic addition for Dublin and we’re thrilled to be able to offer guests visiting the Point Village the chance to enjoy a great cinema experience.”
The Point Village complex was built at a cost of around €25m while a further €6m was spent on refurbishments for the cinema.
All six screens are 3D-enabled and range in size from 70-seater theatres to around about 371 seats in the ISENSE theatre.
Peak price adult tickets for a standard seat will cost €10.50 in screens 2 to 6. That price will increase to €11.50 for a “premier seat”. The “premier seats” are positioned in what the group sees as the best seats in each screen and feature extra comfort.
In the ISENSE theatre a standard seat will cost €12.50.
Premier seats, which account for 48 per cent of the seats in the ISENSE screen, will cost €13.50 for an adult at peak times.
All off-peak tickets (before 1pm) will cost €6.
Speaking to IFTN, newly appointed Odeon Point Village general manager Stephen Miley said the extra €2 surcharge on the INSENSE ticket price, which is the highest in the capital, was in line with the group’s competitors.
He said: “€10.50 is the basic ticket price. You’ve an added premium of €2 for things like 3D and ISENSE as you would in any other cinema. I think that it’s €3 extra in a lot of other cinemas.
“So our overall price for ISENSE or 3D matches in with the market and is cheaper than some places if you look at our €10.50 base price.”
Although the cinema is the first Odeon branded cinema in Ireland, the Odeon group also owns four UCI multiplexes in Dublin and five Storm cinemas across the rest of the Republic. These nine multiplexes host 62 Irish screens in total.
The UK-based group bought all nine of the cinemas last year from Entertainment Enterprises. Odeon had, however, been managing all nine complexes since 2006 at the request of Entertainment Enterprises.
On mooted plans to re-brand its existing multiplexes, Miley said: “There’s a plan for the other cinemas, but nothing’s been finalised yet. It’s all in motion but not finalised.”
Odeon Point Village was opened briefly to the press and local businesses on Friday before hosting a charity gala screening of ‘The Pirates! Band of Misfits’ in aid of The Jack & Jill Foundation on Sunday.
Irish actor Brendan Gleeson (The Guard), whose voice talents feature in the film, attended Sunday night’s screening.
