St Valentine’s Day: Kent cinema-goers love a romantic movie

Happy Valentine’s Day! Kent is the second most enthusiastic area in the UK when it comes to watching romantic movies. The only place ahead of it is Liverpool.

A study, by Showcase Cinemas, shows that residents of the north-west city – home to The Beatles and their famous song ‘Love Me Do’ – flock to the cinema to watch more romance and rom-com movies than anywhere else in the country.

Kent and Cardiff ranked second and third in the movie love charts respectively, rounding off the top three areas for lovers of romantic movies in Britain.

Film experts at Showcase Cinemas, which runs the cinema at the Bluewater shopping centre, analysed the sales of nine recent romantic movies across all their cinema locations, relative to their usual average attendances, to reveal which areas have the most love in the air.

The 2020 viral hit After We Collided, Wham-music inspired Last Christmas and Danny Boyle and Richard Curtis’ Yesterday were the top movies that Liverpudlians looking for love headed to the city’s Showcase Cinema de Lux to watch. Given the heavy Liverpool interest in Yesterday that is perhaps not surprising.

Fifty Shades of Grey is the movie which most sets film fans’ temperatures rising in Bristol, Derby, Dudley and Leicester. And Book Club scored highest among a more mature audience in both Bluewater and Reading.  

Yesterday and Last Christmas were also high in the rom-com charts – and most popular in Southampton and Reading.

Mark Barlow, UK general manager for Showcase Cinemas, says: “Valentine’s Day is usually a traditional time for a cinema date with a loved one, it’s also a time for some romance and comedy. And it seems that Liverpool loves its romantic films more than anywhere else. It is, of course, already well known as a city full of passion and fun, and now ranks as the most romantic city in the UK.  

“Movies can make us laugh, cry and sometimes feel a little hot under the collar, so we aren’t surprised to see Fifty Shades of Grey make it into our list of popular romance films. There’s no place quite like the big screen to watch your favourite film, or the next big blockbuster, and we can’t wait to welcome guests back.

“We are looking forward to reopening our doors as soon as the government allow us to, with all our cinemas operating the Be Showcase Safe programme we successfully introduced last year.”

RECENT ROMANCE FILMS RANKED BY POPULARITY

1) Mama Mia! Here We Go Again

2) Fifty Shades of Grey

3) Last Christmas

4) Yesterday

5) After We Collided

6) Book Club

7) Crazy Rich Asians

8) Love Simon

9) The Long Shot

What have you planned as a special romantic dinner?

Given restaurants and pubs are closed on this special day a lot of couples are resigned to cooking for themselves.

Digital newspaper and magazine subscription app Readly has revealed which recipes we were searching for ahead of the most romantic day of the year.

European category leader for digital magazines, Readly with more than 5,000 titles on the platform, saw a huge spike of interest in the food category during 2020, with a 31% increase year on year. Food topped the most read of all the categories. Ahead of Valentine’s Day 2021, Readly has found out which recipes are the most sought after this year.

The data shows that searches for recipes in the run up to Valentine’s Day are mainly dominated by desserts, vegetarian and fish dishes. Raspberry pie tops the list as the most sought-after pastry dish, whereas the most searched for main course is the delicious fish stew. In addition to this, the paleo caveman diet, vegan and low-carb recipes also featured.

Top 10 most searched recipes for Valentine’s Day:

1. Raspberry pie
2. Fish stew
3. Trout
4. Vegetarian
5. Vegan
6. Chicken lemon orzo
7. Paleo
8. Mushrooms
9. Marmalade
10. Sweet and Sour