Cineworld Cinemas - London Shaftesbury Avenue

Exactly what you'd expect from a Cineworld, but with more comfortable seats! Surprisingly, though, the cinema was only about half-full for a Saturday night viewing only 1 week after the release. However, this meant we all had plenty of room to get comfortable!

Tip: the cup holder may be mounted low down on the seat in front of you.

Only really worth it if you have the Cineworld unlimited card. I don't make enough use of it for it to be worthwhile but the price to go without it is a bit obscene.

Top tip - go on Orange Wednesday's with someone with an unlimited card and both of you can go for free!

The Cineworld on Shaftesbury avenue seems to remain hidden from the crowds of tourists that swarm Piccadilly Circus. I’m not sure if it’s because they naturally gravitate to Leicester Square or are distracted by the arcade in the Trocadero, but I’m happy that this is the case. I found myself with time to kill before dinner so I opted to check out the new Star Trek movie conveniently just starting at this cinema.

Alright, so the entrance is pretty straightforward and there was no line whatsoever. That’s bonus points for any theatre in my book. The screen itself (Screen 2) was large with comfortable plush seats and a decent cinema sound system. There are a few minor issues – the cup holders are awkwardly placed around your ankles, the toilets are only on the 3rd floor, and there is absolutely no mobile reception instead the screens. To be fair, the last one is usually a good thing except when you are trying to coordinate dinner plans without having to miss the movie. I don’t like people taking calls, but covert texting is surely fine? Oh, and the gradient on the floor is minimal so if someone sits in directly in front of you then a head-sized portion of the screen will be lost to you forever.

Overall, I still like this place despite the steady progression to Leicester Square like prices. It’s comfortable, you can always get a decent seat, and it shows the latest movies.

the foyer is woeful, everything is dirty/stained, the staff dont seem to care about selling you their HUGELY expensive tickets (about £13). however the movie watching experience is ok, would be much better to have some elevation in the seating but no doubt its difficult to build that in the space there

The picture quality and sound are good, but the seats are not very comfortable nor spacious. The rows are about the same level, then you can not see the screen when someone tall sits in front of you.

I watched Edge of Tomorrow with a couple of friends in this cinema. As with all other cinemas, the advertisements took up 30 minutes before the actual show began, which is a nuisance since free seating necessitates coming early anyway. For an action movie, the cinema is very well-equipped - seats were comfortable and the screen was wide enough. However, the sound system was a little shrill and my ears rang every time a bullet was fired.

I often find this cineworld branch doesn't show many of the latest big films that some od the out of town branches do. The seating is a bit shabby and due to the seating being quite flat you often have someone sat right in front of you obscuring the screen. It's a good location for an afterwork movie, but I generally go to one of the other branches for a better viewing experience and better choice of films.

This cinema and the entire chain of Cineworlds is a total disaster. My experience - I booked a film for my wife and myself -"Boyhood" this morning. Took off early, crossed London to get to the Cineworld on time. They had cancelled the showing! It seems they decided to show another film instead but still continued to sell this one on their website. The staff treated this failure as nothing but an everyday occurrence and were totally indifferent if not outright rude. You take your chances bigtime when you book with Cineword. Better to find yourself a more reliable cinema.