Cinemas understood to be close to an alternative deal with a different company; comparethemarket.com among suitors.

Mobile company EE is to end long-running 2 for 1 cinema deal Orange Wednesdays in February 2015 after the company and cinemas could not agree a commerical deal.

An EE spokesperson said take up of the once “massively successful” offer had declined in recent years due to changing viewing habits:

“Orange Wednesday launched over a decade ago and at its peak was a massive success,” read the statement. “After 10 great years our brand has changed and our customers’ viewing habits have also evolved so it’s time to move on. The final credits will roll for Orange Wednesdays at the end of February 2015. We’re working on new customer entertainment rewards and we’ll provide more detail soon.”

However, one leading exhibition executive Screen spoke to refuted the suggestion that the scheme was less popular now and instead suggested that the contract termination was a result of Orange’s priorities having changed since its merger with EE in 2010.

Cinema and distribution reps confirmed to Screen that they are in talks with price comparison website comparethemarket.com about taking on the tender, with a cinema ticket promotion similar to Orange Wednesdays.

In 2013, Wednesday contributed the highest percentage of box office gross among midweek days (Mon, Tues, Weds, Thurs).

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