Cinema First & CompareTheMarket.com Extend ‘Meerkat Movies’ Deal Reaffirming UK Audiences’ Appetite For Cinema

Customers of comparethemarket.com will continue to enjoy 2 for 1 on cinema tickets for a further three years

Cinema First, the UK cinema industry body, and comparethemarket.com have today announced a multimillion-pound three-year extension to ‘Meerkat Movies’, the biggest reward scheme of its kind. The extension will see the sponsorship deal continue through 2023, further demonstrating levels of public engagement and excitement around cinema-going.

comparethemarket.com, one of the UK’s leading price comparison websites, launched 'Meerkat Movies’ in March 2015, offering customers two-for-one cinema tickets every Tuesday or Wednesday for one year upon purchase of an eligible product.

In 2019 UK cinema admissions were among the highest in the past 50 years, with box office surpassing £1.25 billion for the third consecutive year. 2019 saw massive investment in the UK cinema sector, with 20 new cinemas being opened and many more refurbished across the country, and much more planned for 2020.

A diverse film slate of almost 900 releases drove audiences of all ages to the cinema throughout 2019,  with blockbuster titles ‘Avengers: Endgame’, ‘Toy Story 4’ and ‘The Lion King’ leading the charge and British films including ‘Downton Abbey’, ‘Rocketman’ and ‘Last Christmas’ delivering strong numbers at the UK box office.

Meerkat Movies has been an important catalyst in cinema-going in recent years, having driven more than 34 million admissions to date.

This longstanding partnership has been important to Cinema First’s mission of promoting and developing cinema-going in the UK, and has attracted new audiences to the unique and truly immersive experience of watching films on the big screen with friends and family. The extension of the contract reinforces comparethemarket.com’s commitment to its customers and recognition of the unique power of film and its positive impact on our communities.

Iain Jacob, Cinema First Chair, said “We are thrilled to extend our partnership with comparethemarket.com to bring the massively popular ‘Meerkat Movies’ rewards to our audiences for another three years.

comparethemarket.com are digital trailblazers who have the incredible ability to capture the public’s imagination through their powerfully creative ‘Meerkat Movies’ campaign, which brilliantly reinforces the unrivalled experience of the cinema.

The UK cinema industry is booming and in recent years audiences have been spoilt for choice with an incredible slate of blockbuster and independent titles, many of which are homegrown. This year’s film line-up is again shaping up to be exceptional, with continued high levels of production, cinema infrastructure and technology investment ensuring film is at the heart of British culture. 2020 promises to be another extraordinary year for cinema-going in the UK.”

Mark Vile, Chief Marketing Officer at comparethemarket.com added “Meerkat Movies continues to be a huge hit with our customers, with over four million people using the reward to date. Bringing people together to enjoy film with two-for-one cinema tickets for a whole year is the perfect way to thank each of our customers and signals our commitment to rewarding customer loyalty. We look forward to continuing this truly unique and exciting partnership with Cinema First.”

About Cinema First
Cinema First is the cross-industry body charged with the promotion of cinema-going in the UK. Its core constituents are the UK Cinema Association – representing UK cinema operators – and the Film Distributors’ Association, representing UK film distributors.

comparethemarket.com was launched in 2006 and has grown rapidly over the past 14 years to become one of the UK’s leading price comparison websites.

comparethemarket.com provides customers with an easy way to make the right choice for them on a wide range of products including motor, home, life, travel and pet insurance as well as utilities and money products such as credit cards and loans.

comparethemarket.com actively works with its brand partners to help provide great services to customers.

comparethemarket.com and comparethemeerkat.com are trading names of Compare The Market Limited. Compare The Market Limited is an insurance intermediary, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Firm Reference Number 778488).