Your big romance could start with the big screen.

If you are looking for that whirlwind, blockbuster romance, then grab a bag of popcorn and get yourself down to the big screen.


It seems that the cinema still plays a vital part in budding relationships as 70 per cent of us have been to watch a film on a date, according to new research.

Almost a third of us choose the cinema as the destination for that all-important first date, says the survey of more than 5,000 Odeon customers.

And those looking for love and planning a date will be keen to learn that 15 per cent of couples who went on their first date to the cinema are still together.

Joshua Withey, 21, a recent graduate of the University of Lincoln who still lives in the city’s Richmond Road, has been with his partner for nine months and revealed that the Odeon was the location of their initial meeting.

“The cinema is a great location for a first date,” he said.

“You’re forced to sit in silence but it’s more of a comfortable one than an awkward one – a silence of appreciation.

“Not only that but it gives you something to talk about afterwards.

“You can discuss what you liked or disliked about the film, which is a great way to break the ice and get over those first-date jitters.

“You can also tell what kind of person someone is based on the film you go to see together.

“I once took a date to see a beautifully produced art-house film, which I thought was brilliant – and they hated. I knew then and there that this wasn’t the one for me.”

Meanwhile, nearly half of us who have been on a date to the cinema admit to sharing a sneaky kiss on the back row.

Joseph Merriman, a 22-year-old barman from Lincoln’s Portland Street, explained that he got more than he bargained for when he took a date to the cinema.

“About two years ago I went on a second date to a cinema with a quiet girl who I’d met through an old job,” he said.

“We’d gone to see this massive flop of a comedy film and it seemed like everyone already knew it was rubbish because the cinema was dead. We were the only ones in there.

“About halfway through I kissed her but it seemed like she got the wrong idea.

“She grabbed me and pushed me down between the rows of seats. It was amazing but we stopped seeing each other after that.

“Regardless of how awful the comedy was it will forever be a very happy memory for me.”