Omniplex Cinema Newry — Local services in Newry, Mourne and Down District Council

Will no longer be going here because of persistent technical projection issues.

This has been my go-to cinema since I was 3. Every new movie I saw was here and I have lots of good memories of going to the cinema as a kid, seeing films such as Spider-man 2 and Star Wars Episode III. I even had several birthday parties here back in the days of the Elvis and Marilyn suites. The staff have always been friendly and I haven’t had any issues with food or seating.

Unfortunately, in the last few years I have been let down by numerous quality issues in multiple screens. They are always dirty. There are quite obvious stains and marks on either the screens themselves or the glass in front of the projection lens. This is noticeable during bright scenes and it becomes an eye sore. Please clean the screens/projection windows more regularly, as this has only gotten worse over time. Your CinemaScope screen (screen 3?) is especially bad. I went to see The Lego Batman Movie in Feb 2017 and it felt like I had to watch the film through a layer of grime. The MAXX screen also has some dirt marks on it. The last time I was in screen 5 there was a thin, vertical black line running straight down the middle of the screen. I have also experienced a number of flickering issues, probably when bulbs are dimmed or running low.

My biggest issue is the disregard for original aspect ratio in MAXX and now regular screens. Up until 2017 I hadn’t had many issues with the MAXX screen, but when I saw Blade Runner 2049 in October 2017 I noticed that something didn’t look right. There was a large black bar at the bottom but none at the top. This was really distracting, as I knew the film was supposed to be in 2.39:1, but the image projected onto the screen wasn’t wide enough. This bugged me throughout the showing as I knew there was supposed to be more picture on the left and right than was being shown, and this did a disservice to a film with outstanding cinematography. When I went to see Thor: Ragnarok it was the same ordeal. The framing of the image was clearly wrong. Everything felt closed off and more claustrophobic than it should have been because visual information at the sides of the frame wasn’t present. The credits basically confirmed that it was being shown wrong, because text at the side of the screen was literally being cut off. From then on it felt like it was a gamble as to whether the film would actually be shown correctly or not, that when I went to see Star Wars: The Last Jedi at the midnight showing in December 2017 I was hoping the screening wasn’t going to be messed up. Unfortunately it was cropped just like the other two films, with at least 8% of visual information being excised from the picture. I know what 2.39:1 looks like, and this wasn’t it.

I thought that this was maybe just a problem or mistake here, but from looking online it seems other omniplex cinemas also crop the frame to fit the screen. And it’s not just an accident, it’s a deliberate decision. I read that someone else was told (regarding another omniplex cinema) that zooming in the image is “the lesser of two evils” compared to having black bars at the top and bottom of the frame, and this is very disheartening as well as down-right wrong coming from a company that people pay to show films. Film is a visual medium, and cropping it is a distortion of the director’s vision. No serious cinema chain in Europe or America would do this. Star Wars has always been in 2.39:1 since 1977, CinemaScope is supposed to have letterboxed black bars when being shown on a 1.85:1 screen, and it has been like this for decades. If I watch it on my TV it would have black bars top and bottom and I’d see the full picture as the director intended. Cropping the aspect ratio is extremely unprofessional for a Cinema to do, I at the very least expect them to project the movie properly. At Odeon or Cineworld this business of zooming in films to “fit the screen” would never happen. I’m annoyed because I loved going here and this has put me off. Please consider this and look into...

£37+ to pre book with popcorn drinks and nachos then to get here, they mix up our diet and non diet drinks yep would not matter only 1my gf is diabetic then try to charge me for another diet drink, i wouldnt care but im not looking 3 drinks just 2, 1 diet, keep one of them, thats not what got to me! This got yo me; you are only allowed 1 (yes 1) topping with the suggestion of nachos you paid for online, talk about ackward let people know you are being stingy! I used to come here all the time before covid i dont think i will be back, also the seats at k6 to k10 have popcorn all over them, we are sitting at k8/9 . Omniplex has gone to the dogs 4 workers behind the counter and only 1 working, what are managment at, i will be going to dundalk...

Why three stars well I love my movies and like to see them when possible in the best conditions possible. I haven't been to the cinema for a few years but was up to see the new Spidey movie (excellent by the way). It struck me how low the quality of the image was being displayed don't get me wrong it is very watchable but just not what you expect in a cinema. The second most important thing when going to the cinema is the sound. Well the sound was not immersive at all. Saying all that the booking online was easy and quick. The staff from checking the tickets to buying your popcorn were very friendly and helpful. The seats in the cinema very comfortable even for a tall guy like me. Just a shame the picture and sound quality...