Hollywood: Coming soon to save the multiplex - the megaticket

Regal's Megaticket package

While immersive cinema spectaculars like The Secret Cinema might be drawing in huge crowds to experience films like Prometheus in completely new ways, the mainstream cinema experience has barely changed for most punters. Beyond the introduction of gourmet popcorn and a slightly leggier seat for an extra fiver that is. But forthcoming zombie spectacular World War Z may change that.

The Brad Pitt vehicle hits screens on Friday and, sure, you can pop into your local Odeon and pay a tenner, but multiplexes, keen to discourage people from seeking knock-offs (ie, illegal movie downloads), have conjured up The Megaticket. Regal – the biggest cinema chain in the US – has introduced the mega package, which costs $48 (£30), in a bid to boost income streams. It includes an advance screening (two days before general release), an HD digital copy of the movie when it’s released for home viewing, custom 3D glasses, a poster and, of course, some popcorn.

Which – presuming you like popcorn and want to watch World War Z more than once – seems like a pretty good deal. Whether it will work for Richard Curtis’s new film About Time may be a different matter.