National Cinema Weekend – £4 Tickets All Weekend

National Cinema Day is back in the UK, but this time you get twice as long to use it. The event has become National Cinema Weekend, with discounted tickets available on Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th September.

More than 500 cinemas around the UK are taking part. National Cinema Weekend's headline offer is simple: £4 for any film, in any format and in any seat at participating cinemas. The £4 figure is an advised price, so a small number of venues may charge differently, and individual cinemas can have their own exclusions.

Major chains including Cineworld, ODEON, Vue, Picturehouse and Showcase are involved, along with hundreds of independent cinemas.

It is a welcome return after National Cinema Day was paused completely last year. The current version of the event started in 2022, ran again in 2023 and 2024, disappeared in 2025 and has now returned in a larger two-day format.

There are some decent films around for it as well. Current listings include big releases such as Spider-Man: Brand New Day, The Odyssey, Toy Story 5 and The Dog Stars, alongside family films, older favourites and special re-releases.

How does National Cinema Weekend work?

National Cinema Weekend runs throughout Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th September at participating cinemas.

You don't need a voucher, membership or promotional code for the main offer. Find a participating cinema, choose an eligible film showing on either day and book it through the cinema in the normal way.

The National Cinema Weekend cinema finder lets you enter your postcode, town or cinema name to see participating venues near you. Once you've found a film, you book directly with the cinema rather than paying through the National Cinema Weekend website.

Booking ahead makes sense, particularly for popular films and premium screens. At £4 a ticket, some showings could fill up much faster than they normally would.

Is this the return of National Cinema Day?

Yes. National Cinema Weekend is the expanded return of National Cinema Day rather than a completely separate cinema promotion.

National Cinema Day started in its current form in 2022 and returned in 2023 and 2024. It was paused in 2025, but it is back this year with the offer spread across a whole weekend rather than a single day.

More than 530 cinemas had signed up when the weekend was announced, with further cinemas able to join before the event.

Having two days rather than one should make the offer easier to use if Saturday doesn't work for you or if the first screening you want sells out.

Which cinemas have £4 tickets this weekend?

The £4 offer covers the big cinema chains as well as a substantial number of independent venues.

Cinema	National Cinema Weekend deal	Main exclusions or differences
Cineworld	£4 for 2D, 3D, 4DX, Superscreen, Recliner and SCREENX	IMAX costs £6; Event Cinema excluded
ODEON	£4 tickets across participating films and screens	Check individual screening terms
Vue	£4 for all films and all seats across the weekend	Check individual event-screening conditions
Picturehouse	£4 for films across its cinemas	Check local listings
Showcase	£4 for most films, showtimes and screens	Several special screenings and marathons excluded
Independent cinemas	Generally £4	Price and exclusions can vary by venue

• At Cineworld, the £4 offer includes 2D, 3D, 4DX, SCREENX, Superscreen and Recliner screenings. IMAX has a £2 uplift, taking the ticket price to £6. Event Cinema isn't included.

  
  

• Vue is advertising all films and all seats for £4 all weekend, making premium seating particularly interesting if you normally avoid paying the extra cost.

  
  

• Picturehouse has £4 tickets for any film across the Saturday and Sunday.

  
  

• Showcase is also charging £4 across most films, showtimes and screens. Its exclusions include Shaun the Sheep: The Movie, The Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy: Extended Edition, its Hunger Games marathon and the Dirty Dancing Popcorn & Prosecco Party.

  
  

• For Cineworld, ODEON, Picturehouse, Showcase and Vue, the current £4 weekend offers also include the normal booking fee in the advertised promotional price.

  
  

Are independent cinemas taking part too?

Yes. National Cinema Weekend isn't restricted to the major chains, more than 500 participating cinemas are listed across the country, including a large number of independent and regional venues. You can use the cinema finder rather than limiting your search to Cineworld, ODEON or Vue.

Some independent venues may charge slightly more or have exclusions for individual screenings, so check the actual ticket price before booking.

This is particularly useful if your local independent cinema normally gets overlooked when national promotions are running. The £4 weekend is much broader than just a handful of multiplexes.

Which films can you see for £4?

Any eligible film being shown at a participating cinema during National Cinema Weekend can fall under the promotion, so the exact choice depends on your local listings.

Films showing across the larger chains include Spider-Man: Brand New Day, The Odyssey, The Dog Stars, Toy Story 5, Minions & Monsters and other current releases.

There are older films returning to cinemas too. Cineworld's weekend listings include all eight Harry Potter films, Terminator 2: Judgment Day and the original Hunger Games films alongside its current releases.

If there is a big release you haven't got around to seeing yet, this could be a particularly cheap way of catching up before it leaves cinemas.

Are premium cinema formats included for £4?

Many of them are, and this could be where National Cinema Weekend offers the biggest saving.

Cineworld includes 3D, 4DX, SCREENX, Superscreen and Recliner screenings for £4. IMAX is the main exception at Cineworld, costing £6 instead.

Vue's offer covers all films and all seats at £4, while ODEON is including a wide range of its premium formats. The latest cross-chain comparison also shows IMAX available for £4 at ODEON and Vue, apart from the relevant 70mm IMAX exception.

If you've been curious about something such as 4DX or normally skip a premium seat because of the extra charge, check what is available at your local cinema before settling for a standard screening.

What if you can't go to National Cinema Weekend?

The £4 weekend lasts only two days, but there are now plenty of cinema deals available throughout the rest of the year.

Some are attached to services you may already pay for, including your mobile phone, bank account, energy supplier or streaming subscription. Others come from loyalty schemes, cashback apps or cheaper family screenings.

These are some of the strongest current options:

Deal	Current cinema saving	When you can use it
Meerkat Movies	2-for-1 tickets	Tuesday or Wednesday
Vodafone / VOXI	2 ODEON tickets for £8	Vodafone weekly; VOXI monthly
Three+	£3 Cineworld or Picturehouse ticket	Friday to Sunday
O2 Priority / Virgin Media	2 Vue tickets for £7.50 or 4 for £15	Any qualifying day
Sky Cinema	2 free Vue tickets each month	Sunday to Thursday
Octoplus	2 Vue tickets for £8	Any day
Club Lloyds	6 ODEON or Vue tickets each year	Subject to account benefit
Amazon Prime	2 ODEON tickets for £10	Monday to Thursday
Tesco Clubcard	Double voucher value at Cineworld and Picturehouse	Plus £5 Cineworld Tuesdays
Lidl Plus	Up to 40% off participating cinema vouchers	Varies
CEA Card	Complimentary companion ticket	Participating cinemas

The current cinema-deal information above was rechecked against offers available at the start of September.

Meerkat Movies is now free to access

Meerkat Movies has become considerably easier to use, because you no longer have to buy insurance or another qualifying Compare the Market product to get the cinema deal. Download the Compare the Market app, create an account and you can access a new 2-for-1 cinema code each week.

The code works on qualifying standard tickets on either Tuesday or Wednesday at participating cinemas, with the cheaper of the two tickets free. The current free app-based offer runs until 19th July 2027.

If two of you regularly go to the cinema together, this is one of the first offers I'd check for a Tuesday or Wednesday visit.

Check your mobile phone before buying cinema tickets

Your mobile network could already be giving you access to cheap cinema tickets.

Eligible Vodafone VeryMe customers can currently get two standard ODEON tickets for £8, or two ODEON Luxe tickets for £13. Vodafone customers can use the offer weekly, while eligible VOXI customers can access a similar deal monthly.

Three+ gives eligible Three customers a £3 Cineworld or Picturehouse ticket for a standard 2D film on Friday, Saturday or Sunday. One code is available each week.

O2 Priority, which is also available to eligible Virgin Media customers, currently offers two Vue tickets for £7.50 or four for £15. That works out at £3.75 per ticket when four people are going.

Those offers can change, so I always check the rewards app attached to my mobile account before booking.

Sky Cinema customers can get two free Vue tickets a month. Eligible Sky Cinema customers can claim two free Vue cinema tickets every month through the MySky VIP app.

The tickets cover qualifying 2D screenings from Sunday to Thursday and can be claimed until 30th June 2027 under the current promotion. This is the type of benefit that is easy to forget because cinema tickets probably aren't why you took out Sky Cinema in the first place.

I wouldn't subscribe to an expensive TV package purely for two cinema tickets, but if you're already paying for Sky Cinema, check the app before paying Vue separately.

Octopus Energy customers can get two Vue tickets for £8

Eligible Octoplus customers can get two Vue tickets for £8, with no booking fee, plus 15% off food and drinks.

The tickets can be booked for any day of the week and new codes are released weekly. To join Octoplus, you need electricity supplied by Octopus Energy, a smart meter sending half-hourly readings and payment by Direct Debit. That's effectively £4 per person before considering the food and drink discount.

Club Lloyds can include six cinema tickets a year

Club Lloyds customers can choose six ODEON or Vue tickets as their annual lifestyle benefit.

At Vue, the vouchers also include half-price popcorn. ODEON tickets can be used for ODEON Kids screenings, which include a small popcorn with each ticket.

The account costs £5 a month, but that fee is refunded if at least £2,000 is paid into the account during the month.

Cinema tickets are only one of the lifestyle benefits, so choose them because they offer the best value for you rather than automatically taking them every year.

Amazon Prime includes discounted ODEON tickets

Eligible Amazon Prime customers can currently get two ODEON tickets for £10 once per calendar month. There is also a two ODEON Luxe Recliner tickets for £15 option.

The tickets are valid for qualifying Monday to Thursday 2D screenings and the current deal has no additional booking fee.

If you're already paying for Prime, it is worth comparing this with Meerkat Movies before booking ODEON during the week.

Tesco Clubcard vouchers can be worth twice as much at the cinema

Tesco Clubcard vouchers can be exchanged for twice their normal face value for Cineworld or Picturehouse. That means 50p in Clubcard vouchers becomes £1 of cinema credit.

Cineworld also runs Tesco Tuesdays, with standard 2D tickets costing £5 when you pay fully or partly using a Clubcard Reward Partner code.

Because Clubcard vouchers double in value, £2.50 in ordinary Clubcard vouchers can become the £5 needed for one qualifying Tuesday ticket. Booking fees are included in that £5 price.

Clubcard vouchers can also be exchanged at twice their value towards Cineworld Unlimited membership, which may be useful if you go regularly.

Lidl Plus has discounted cinema vouchers

Lidl Plus includes discounted cinema vouchers through The Cinema Society.

Savings can be advertised at up to 40%, with participating cinemas including ODEON, Vue, Showcase and various regional and independent venues. The percentage saving is normally compared with peak cinema pricing, so I wouldn't assume the Lidl Plus voucher will always be the cheapest option, check the cinema's own weekday, family and promotional prices first.

Blue Light Card can reduce cinema ticket prices

Eligible Blue Light Card members can access discounted tickets for chains including Cineworld, ODEON, Picturehouse, Showcase, The Light and Vue.

Booking fees vary between the cinema chains, and discounted vouchers can become non-refundable once purchased or revealed.

Choose your film and screening first, then compare the final Blue Light Card price with the cinema's own deal before buying the voucher.

The CEA Card can provide a complimentary companion ticket

If a disability means you need somebody to accompany you at the cinema, the CEA Card is worth checking.

The card currently costs £6.50 and is valid for one year. Eligible cardholders can receive a complimentary ticket for someone accompanying them at participating cinemas.

Around 90% of UK cinemas accept the CEA Card, and you need qualifying evidence when applying.

If you need a companion on regular cinema visits, the £6.50 cost can be recovered quickly compared with repeatedly paying for two tickets.

Always check family tickets before buying separate seats

This recently saved us more than I expected, as my wife was taking two of our children to the cinema, and buying one adult ticket and two child tickets separately would have cost more than £5 extra compared with the family ticket.

The family ticket cost £18, and it could actually have covered another child too. She could therefore have taken four people for less than the price being quoted for three separate tickets.

That is now one of the checks I make before buying cinema tickets. Don't assume the cheapest option will be one adult ticket plus however many child tickets you need.

A family ticket can sometimes work out cheaper even if you aren't using every place included in it.

If you're looking for more family cinema options.

Children's cinema screenings can cost £1 or £2

You can get very cheap family tickets throughout the year if you aren't determined to see the newest film immediately.

• Cineworld Movies for Juniors currently offers selected weekend and school-holiday screenings for £2 per ticket for children aged 14 and under and accompanying adults.
  

• ODEON Kids screenings currently cost £1 per ticket for children and accompanying adults.
  

• Vue Mighty Mornings starts from £2.49 per ticket online for qualifying children and accompanying adults.

These screenings generally use films that have been out for a little while rather than brand-new releases, but they can make a very cheap family trip.

Over-60s can get cheaper cinema screenings too

Several cinema chains also offer reduced-price senior screenings.

• Cineworld CineSeniors currently costs £4.50 for selected Wednesday screenings at participating cinemas and includes hot drinks and biscuits.
  

• ODEON Silvers can cost £2 for free ODEON Extras members, while Showcase has selected over-60s Thursday screenings from around £4.99 at participating cinemas.

The film choice and participating venues vary, but the savings can be substantial if you're flexible over the time and date.

Regular cinema-goers should compare unlimited memberships

If you go several times every month, an unlimited cinema membership can work out cheaper than buying individual tickets.

• Cineworld Unlimited currently starts at £12.99 a month, although the price rises depending on which group your local cinema belongs to. Higher levels currently cost £17.99, £19.99 and £22.99 per month.

  
  

• ODEON myLIMITLESS starts at £16.99 a month, while myLIMITLESS Plus costs £19.99 a month and includes additional Luxe and premium benefits.

Before signing up, look at how many cinema tickets you have genuinely bought during the last few months.

An unlimited membership is a saving if it replaces cinema trips you were already paying for. It isn't a saving if the subscription encourages you to spend £15 or £20 every month when you previously went twice a year.

You can usually save on cinema snacks as well

Tickets aren't the only part of a cinema trip that can get expensive. The main cinema chains generally allow customers to bring their own cold snacks and non-alcoholic drinks, subject to their individual venue rules. Hot food, alcohol and strongly smelling food can be restricted.

If you're taking several children, buying drinks, sweets and popcorn beforehand can save a considerable amount compared with buying everything at the cinema.

It's still worth checking the cinema's own bundles too. A family ticket or membership can sometimes unlock discounted food deals, so compare that price before automatically bringing everything from home.

Cashback can make cinema tickets cheaper again

Once I've found the cheapest ticket, I also check whether I can reduce the payment itself.

I recently spent £18 on cinema tickets and bought the credit through JamDoughnut during a boosted cashback period.

I received £1.71 cashback, bringing the effective cost of my £18 cinema spend down to £16.29.

Cashback rates change, so I wouldn't expect £1.71 back every time I spend £18. The useful part is checking immediately before you pay.

I normally find the cheapest cinema offer first, then see whether JamDoughnut, TopCashback, Quidco or Rakuten gives me another way to save.

If you're buying a gift card to earn cashback, check that the particular cinema promotion you're using accepts gift cards before putting money onto one.

Is National Cinema Weekend worth using?

At £4 a ticket, it is a very good weekend to check the cinema if there is something you already wanted to see.

A family of four can get into an eligible £4 screening for £16 in total, before food or travel. Premium screens can make the value even stronger where they are included at the same price.

I wouldn't go simply because something has been discounted. Spending £16 on four tickets you didn't particularly want is still £16 spent.

But if Spider-Man: Brand New Day, The Odyssey, Toy Story 5 or another current film is already on your list, National Cinema Weekend gives you a much cheaper opportunity to see it on the big screen.

Start with the National Cinema Weekend cinema finder, check both Saturday and Sunday, and look at the premium-format prices before booking.

And once this weekend promotion is over, keep checking the rewards and memberships you already have. Between mobile networks, Clubcard, bank accounts, energy rewards, family tickets, cheaper children's screenings and cashback, National Cinema Day isn't the only time you can avoid paying full cinema prices.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is National Cinema Day happening in the UK this year?

Yes. National Cinema Day has returned as National Cinema Weekend, taking place on Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th September. More than 500 participating UK cinemas are offering tickets at an advised price of £4.

When is National Cinema Weekend?

National Cinema Weekend takes place on Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th September 2026. The £4 promotion runs across both days at participating cinemas.

How much are National Cinema Weekend tickets?

The headline price is £4 for any film, any format and any seat at participating cinemas, although prices can vary at a small number of venues and individual exclusions apply. Cineworld, for example, charges £6 for IMAX while its other included formats cost £4.

Which cinemas are taking part in National Cinema Weekend?

More than 500 cinemas are taking part, including Cineworld, ODEON, Vue, Picturehouse, Showcase and hundreds of independent cinemas. The National Cinema Weekend website has a postcode search for participating venues.

Are premium cinema formats included for £4?

Many are. Cineworld includes 3D, 4DX, SCREENX, Superscreen and Recliner screenings for £4 but charges £6 for IMAX. Premium-format rules vary by cinema, so check the price of your chosen screening before booking.

Do I need to book National Cinema Weekend tickets in advance?

You can buy tickets directly from participating cinemas, but booking ahead is sensible because popular films and screening times may sell out. The National Cinema Weekend website helps you find a participating cinema and then sends you to its own booking system.

How can I get cheap cinema tickets after National Cinema Weekend?

Regular savings include Meerkat Movies, mobile-network rewards, Tesco Clubcard, Sky Cinema, Octoplus, Club Lloyds, Amazon Prime and cheaper children's or senior screenings. Family tickets and cashback gift cards can reduce the cost further.