Verithiathe honest score on any app
Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
Head-to-head

Cinemark Theatres vs Fandango

Cinemark Theatres 4.9★ · Free to download 55
Winner Fandango
Fandango 4.9★ · Free + IAP 70

Fandango is generally a more reliable option for purchasing movie tickets, despite its issues with ads and fees, while Cinemark Theatres' app is plagued by frequent bugs and functionality problems.

Full reviews: Cinemark Theatres · Fandango

Fandango offers a broader selection of theaters and generally reliable ticket purchasing, though users are frustrated by numerous ads and convenience fees. Cinemark Theatres' app, while offering good value through its Movie Club, suffers from persistent bugs, slow performance, and issues with seat selection and gift card management.

Head to head

Features & Functionality edge: FandangoR1R3R7R17
Cinemark Theatres Many Cinemark users report significant issues with core app functions, including seat selection, ticket purchasing, and gift card management, often leading to errors or an inability to complete transactions R1R3R7R17. Some users also find the app's layout and search features difficult to navigate .
Fandango Fandango generally allows users to find movies and theaters easily . However, users frequently complain about an excessive number of ads and offers that clutter the experience . There are also reports of issues with promo code application and occasional bugs during checkout .
Ease of Use & Reliability edge: FandangoR9R10R12R22
Cinemark Theatres Cinemark's app is frequently criticized for being slow, inconsistent, and buggy R9R12. Many users report problems with logging in or staying logged in R22, and some cannot get past bot verification R10.
Fandango Fandango is often described as easy and fast for purchasing tickets . However, some users experience the app being buggy and slow , and there are reports of issues with payment methods and account linking .
Price & Value tieR4R5R16R23
Cinemark Theatres Cinemark users frequently complain about high online fees, sometimes stating they are more than the ticket itself R4R16R30. However, the Cinemark Movie Club membership is highly praised for its value, offering significant savings on tickets and concessions R5R23R37.
Fandango Fandango users are very critical of the 'convenience fees' which can add significantly to the ticket price, with some calling them a 'scam' R67R96. Some users also report issues with promised discounts or promo codes not working, leading to higher costs . The FanClub membership is noted to waive fees and offer discounts .
Customer Support & Policies edge: FandangoR44R64R68R73
Cinemark Theatres One Cinemark user reported a potential membership scam related to cancellation, where the app showed no active membership but charges still occurred, with support being unhelpful R44.
Fandango Fandango receives mixed reviews for customer service. Some users praise helpful and easy-to-work-with support R68, especially for exchanges. However, others report poor experiences, including unhelpful responses to hacked accounts R64, difficulty with ticket exchanges R73, and refusal of refunds for uncomfortable theater conditions .
Pick Cinemark Theatres if

Pick Cinemark Theatres if you primarily visit Cinemark locations and plan to invest in their Movie Club membership, as it offers significant savings on tickets and concessions R5R37. You should be prepared to potentially use the website for ticket purchases due to app bugs R1.

Pick Fandango if

Pick Fandango if you want a generally reliable app for purchasing tickets across various theaters and value the ability to easily exchange tickets . Be aware of the frequent ads and potential for convenience fees R67.

Evidence note: The lifetime ratings for both apps are very high, but recent reviews for Cinemark Theatres show a significant number of 1-star ratings, indicating a decline in app performance and user satisfaction. Fandango also has a notable number of low ratings, primarily due to fees and ads, but its core functionality appears more stable than Cinemark's.

Frequently asked

Does Cinemark Theatres' app have a membership program?
Yes, Cinemark Theatres offers a Movie Club membership for $15 a month, which users praise for significant savings on tickets and concessions, often saving more than the monthly fee R5R37.
Are there extra fees when buying tickets through these apps?
Both apps charge extra fees. Cinemark Theatres users report 'online fees' that can be substantial R4R30, while Fandango charges 'convenience fees' which are a frequent point of frustration for its users R67R96.
Can I use gift cards with the Cinemark Theatres app?
Yes, you can add gift cards to the Cinemark Theatres app, but users report significant bugs, such as being unable to remove used cards, issues with new cards being recognized, and problems accessing cards if you have more than 50 registered R6R7R15R60.

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

  1. [R1] Cinemark Theatres 1/5 · US App unusable: The app won’t function for seat selection or ticket purchasing. Constantly throws errors and I have to go use a laptop to purchase tickets because your website automatically throws me back to the app everytime I try on mobile.
  2. [R3] Cinemark Theatres 3/5 · US Works 70% of the time: There is a weird bug, on both android and macOS with items in the shopping cart - you cannot check it out nor remove them. Another bug, the moment you enter the check out screen, the app immediately assumes you want to use visa click to pay and sends and sends an email and sms code, any other selection made (like pay with gift card) also generates another set of visa click
  3. [R7] Cinemark Theatres 1/5 · US New bug in App: Managing gift cards now shows first 50 cards you register. My first 50 have $0 balance. If you have added more than 50 they do not show and you are unable to use your balance. This is a serious bug for heavy gift cards users and makes the app unusable.
  4. [R17] Cinemark Theatres 5/5 · US Page won’t load problem: I love going to the movie and watch them. Always been a movie lover and downloading this app made watching movie so much easier and saves you time. But lately the app has been having this problem where when I click a movie to purchase a ticket and to choose the seat the page won’t load it says error try again. And when you click try again the page works for a small second
  5. [R9] Cinemark Theatres 3/5 · US Update this app: App is inconsistent and slow…need to make more UX like others.
  6. [R10] Cinemark Theatres 1/5 · US Bot verification: I can’t get past the bot verification page. So the app is useless.
  7. [R12] Cinemark Theatres 3/5 · US Very slow: Most of the time you can buy tickets and food however, it is always slow, it takes a long time to open and if it signs you out is even worse because the sign in process is slow.
  8. [R22] Cinemark Theatres 1/5 · US Doesn’t work: I’ve tried so many different ways, this app just doesn’t work. It doesn’t allow me to sign in immediately goes back to the sign and screen every time.
  9. [R4] Cinemark Theatres 2/5 · US Online fees: The online fees are insane. More than a movie ticket
  10. [R5] Cinemark Theatres 5/5 · US Cinemark App is Awesome: The Cinemark app is so easy to use. I strongly suggest investing in the Movie Club. The $15 a month is nothing compared to the savings. The 20% off at the register saves me $18 on all visits with my family. The theater in Beaumont is clean and well run.
  11. [R16] Cinemark Theatres 1/5 · US Payment: It says it’s free and charged me $3. I don’t care about the $3 it’s the principle of lying and being shady when it’s clearly not free to download.
  12. [R23] Cinemark Theatres 5/5 · US Fishes: The commercial before the feature presentation is what made me sign up. Love movie club.
  13. [R44] Cinemark Theatres 1/5 · US NEW SCAM ALERT: Apparently, there’s a new scam going around where if you have the membership and then you look to go and try and cancel it. You’ll go into the membership settings and it’ll basically show you don’t have an active membership so then you just lose up alone. I’m thinking you know they must account by itself or something and then on the day of the renewal they go and actually charge it
  14. [R64] Fandango 1/5 · US No Help: Account was hacked and they wouldn’t cancel the tickets even though I told them it wasn’t me. They said I would be contacted in 5-7 business days and never received anything. I had to call to repeatedly to get anywhere. I never had any issues until I signed up for the FanClub, which required my Credit Card to be saved.
  15. [R68] Fandango 5/5 · US Great customer service!!!: I had to call customer service to help me with a promo code problem. They were super helpful and easy to work with. They got me all squared away quickly. They walked me through everything step-by-step. It was a very good experience. The app is super easy to use. I would definitely recommend this to everyone!!!
  16. [R73] Fandango 1/5 · US Very disappointed: Hello- I attempted many times before the show time to exchange our tickets today. I kept getting directed to ‘contact us’ until finally the page opened where I could exchange our tickets. The information required the transaction number. I had to go back and look for it. When I clicked back I got a message that it was then too late exchange times. Ridiculous experience! You need
  17. [R37] Cinemark Theatres 5/5 · US Single greatest rewards program: In the last two years I’ve spent $200 and saved over $450!!! I couldn’t be happier with Cinemark and this program. 10/10 highly recommend
  18. [R30] Cinemark Theatres 3/5 · US Fee: The fee to use the app is unreasonable.
  19. [R67] Fandango 1/5 · US “Convenience fees”: This whole this is the new scam. The scam is the theaters getting full because most went out of business. So here’s fandango to save the day. Make sure the seats get reserved. For the privilege of buying a 20 dollar seat you also get to pay a 3 dollar convenience fee. 15 percent. Don’t worry just pay a 10 dollar per month membership fee to skip that. Forget than a 10am matinee
  20. [R96] Fandango 1/5 · US Convenience fee: Don’t charge me to use the app when tickets are expensive already.
  21. [R6] Cinemark Theatres 3/5 · US Issues with app: Can’t clear used gifts cards and app a little buggy when trying to checkout right after seat selection. Must go through concession page.
  22. [R15] Cinemark Theatres 3/5 · US Gift card function issues: Love that you can add them in the app but once empty there is no way to remove them. I’m getting false invalid card messages when I add new ones now although it shows added once I restart the app.
  23. [R60] Cinemark Theatres 1/5 · US Frustrating: It is impossible to use the rewards ticket I earned. The gift card section is wonky. So frustrated and I paid a service fee for each ticket and the process was NOT worth it. Do better Cinemark.

Synthesized from 120 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store