Improving the app experience for Everyman cinema-goers
Everyman Cinemas is one of the UK's premier boutique cinema chains, known for offering a luxury film-going experience across its nationwide venues. They came to LION+MASON with a commercial and digital challenge: their existing mobile app was underperforming, creating friction around venue selection and ticket booking, and failing to meet the expectations of the modern cinema-goer.
Everyman Cinemas wanted to improve their mobile app, as customers were struggling to pick their local cinema and browse film showtimes easily. The team also needed clear guidance on how to prioritise future updates to make the app simpler, more useful, and aligned with business goals.
LION+MASON carried out a targeted project to fix immediate customer headaches and build a plan for future app updates. The work combined a practical UX review of the current app, direct testing with everyday cinema-goers, and updated screen designs ready for the software development team.
The team began by systematically evaluating every screen in the existing app to spot design flaws, missing features, and frustrating steps. Here is a sample of the key findings:
Choosing a favourite cinema did not change the main screen, leaving people unsure if their choice had registered.
The main screen forced content into side-scrolling rows to avoid making users scroll down, which squeezed images and cut off film titles.
Unclear names were used throughout, such as calling the home screen “Hub” and giving buttons different titles than the screens they opened.
Contrast was poor across several buttons and seating maps—using light text on pink backgrounds—making items hard to read.
Links to support pages booted users out of the app and onto basic web pages, disrupting the experience.
To test these initial findings, 1-on-1 feedback sessions were held with 10 UK cinema-goers matching Everyman’s target audience. Here is a snapshot of the key findings:
Every single user missed the film filter icon because it was tucked away in the top corner far from the film list.
When starring a favourite venue, users expected instantaneous visual confirmation rather than having to manually refresh the screen.
Cinema-goers in larger cities found location names confusing and asked for street names or postcodes to find their nearest venue.
Terms like “Experience” and “Beyond” meant little to users, who preferred standard age rating badges and simpler categories.
Using these insights, LION+MASON created fresh screen designs focused on clarity and ease of use:
Cleaner Home Screen: Converted horizontal rows into a straightforward vertical list, allowing users to scroll naturally through films and view promotions.
Simpler Cinema Selection: Added clear search fields, street addresses, and quick-access tags for favourite venues.
Easier Film Filtering: Moved the filter button directly above film listings with clear text, simplified genre categories, and added standard age rating badges.
Better Readability: Tweaked colours to ensure text on buttons and seating plans met clear visibility standards.
LION+MASON delivered a complete set of validated screen designs and an updated plan for future releases. The changes removed friction from booking a ticket, made finding local cinemas effortless, and gave Everyman an accessible mobile experience that matches their high-quality cinema brand.