Empire Cinemas vs UniFan
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Empire Cinemas
Easily book movie tickets and discover showtimes for films playing in Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Lebanon. Explore diverse cinema experiences and pre-order food and drinks for a seamless movie night.
- Book movie tickets
- Check showtimes
- Discover upcoming movies
- Pre-order food and drinks
- Explore cinema experiences
- Scan e-tickets
- View movie trailers and info
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The all-new EMPIRE Cinemas app makes movie booking a seamless and hassle-free experience. Planning a movie night? Check which movies are on and avoid the ticket queues by booking with our awesome app! We’ve made browsing and booking a movie easier than ever, right from your phone. Check showtimes, book tickets, and discover more about movies showing in Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Lebanon. Explore from our diverse range of cinema across genres; There is something for everyone! Not only this, to enhance your experience even further by exploring a wide range of experiences in which you can enjoy your movies like DOLBY ATMOS, SCREEN X, IMAX, SPHERA, 4DX, MINIS, PREMIERE, FLEXOUND, and many more! What’s more? - Stay updated with Movie Schedules, Upcoming movies, Show timings. - Save your Favorite Cinema, Pick your Movie, and Book. - Skip the ticket queue and Scan your E-ticket at the cinema ticket podium. - Discover all your movie information, with trailers, cast, synopsis, ratings & more. - You can now pre-order Food & Drinks from the app. - Search for movies or your favorite actors. - Experience all of our Ways to Watch movies. - Enjoy a new and improved booking flow. - Booking History. - Get additional exclusive loyalty benefits (Coming soon). Download our app for FREE and book tickets on the go. Entertainment is at your fingertips. We appreciate your feedback and would love to hear from you. Please email us at care@empirecinemas.com.sa.
UniFan
This platform facilitates live streaming, real-time chat, and content sharing. It also allows users to organize and join real-life meetups, fostering community engagement and bringing online connections into the physical world.
- Live streaming with audience interaction
- Real-time chat with friends and new connections
- Photo and video sharing
- Event creation and meetup organization
- Community building and engagement
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UniFan – Connect, Stream, and Meet in Real Life UniFan is the ultimate social platform designed to bring people together through live streaming, real-time interactions, and event organization. Whether you want to stream live, chat with friends, share photos and videos, or plan meetups, UniFan makes it all possible in one seamless experience. Key Features: Live Streaming: Go live and interact with your audience instantly. Real-Time Chat: Connect with friends and like-minded people anytime. Photo & Video Sharing: Upload and explore engaging content. Event Creation: Organize and join real-life meetups easily. Community Engagement: Build and be part of a vibrant network. With UniFan, you can share moments, build friendships, and bring online connections into the real world. Stay updated with the latest events, explore new opportunities, and experience a dynamic social space like never before. Download UniFan today and be part of the ultimate community experience!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: UniFan at 100% against Empire Cinemas's 11%. UniFan also leads on rating (5.0 vs 3.2) and ads (none vs shown). Empire Cinemas's advantage is ratings volume (196 vs 9) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, update cadence and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
UniFan holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Empire Cinemas has 196 ratings behind it against 9, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 11% of Empire Cinemas's written reviews are positive against 100% of UniFan's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and September 16, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Empire Cinemas | UniFan |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.2 (196 ratings) | 5.0 (9 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 11.1% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 196 — better | 9 |
| Update frequency | Every 10 days | Every 10 days |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 109 MB | 249 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Binary Numbers ITZone LLP | Grand block technologies |
Customer experience
Empire Cinemas
UniFan
Bugs and requests
Empire Cinemas
Reported bugs
84 issues- Cannot change language
- Problems with profile, payments, reservations
- Cannot sign in, OTP not working
- App never loads
- App is confusing and badly designed
Show 79 moreShow fewer
- App doesn't open
- Unable to scroll popup window
- Cannot login to account
- App is very bad, heavy, and slow
- Verification code rejected
- White screen on opening, then back to home
- Cannot buy tickets, agree button not working
- App doesn't work after update
- Sad potato image is uncomfortable
- Stuck on loading screen
- Phone number limit (9 digits only)
- App works only 1 time
- App closes for no reason
- App is not working
- Unusable, no proper message display
- Cannot sign up or verify phone number
- Freezing 95% of the time
- Bad connection message
- App won't start
- Very bad app, cannot book
- Cannot complete profile
- Booking is complicated, Apple Pay/credit card not working
- Cannot complete registration form, very slow
- Authentication by mobile number not completed
- Technical bug with Apple login OTP
- App asks to complete info already completed
- Extremely terrible app, slow, buggy, bad UI
- Worst payment options, ApplePay glitches
- Cannot verify mobile number
- Cannot select seats and pay
- Loading error, nothing loading
- Process not completed when user number reached
- Extremely bad experience, poor app
- App is a disaster, complaints ongoing
- Phone number not accepted
- App not for UK market
- Registration taking too long, no OTP
- Cannot login through Gmail
- Cannot check out movie reservation
- App not working in Iraq, wrong country code
- App for Middle East only, clunky system
- Location changed to Saudi Arabia, user in Iraq
- Ticket prices not listed
- App is confusing and has errors
- App is failing, freezes
- Worst cinema app, wastes time
- Slow like a turtle
- Worst app ever encountered
- App not for UK, useless
- Complete waste of time
- Unusable, CEO's stuck on old ways
- Shame big company can't afford good app
- Very poor app, difficult registration
- Payment not connected to app pay, crashes
- Not friendly use, slow
- Awful app, no UK version
- Literally the worst cinema app, slow
- Worst program for cinema, slow, freezes
- Takes too long to run, no Apple Pay
- Worst booking app, made to steal money
- Cannot get account back, OTP issues
- Cannot book with Apple Pay, add to wallet
- Not professional app, slow, poorly designed
- Useless for UK market
- Not supported by Apple Pay or wallet
- Very slow, cannot set nearest cinema
- Cannot close trailer video, force exit needed
- Some cinema addresses wrong
- Reloads all data when going back
- Price more expensive than at the counter
- Cannot send message for problems, phone not answering
- Freezes, payment issues, no ticket sometimes
- Not helpful for UK film times
- Payment method takes to website, annoying
- Every booking requires re-entering info
- Too expensive
- App needs upgrade
- App keeps crashing
- Not user friendly at all
Requested features
23 requests- Add Apple Pay support
- Add PayPal support
- Add ticket prices to the app
- Add time filters for movies
- Allow setting nearest cinema
Show 18 moreShow fewer
- Fix trailer video closing issue
- Improve cinema address accuracy
- Prevent data reload when going back
- Add UK version of the app
- Integrate with Apple Wallet
- Add gender selection option
- Improve payment options
- Add language options (e.g., Kurdish)
- Allow international phone numbers
- Fix phone number verification for Apple login
- Improve UI/UX for better navigation
- Allow users to set preferred cinema
- Fix profile edit notification issue on iOS
- Improve app speed and performance
- Fix OTP sending and verification issues
- Allow login via Gmail/Google
- Fix registration process
- Support for UK market
UniFan
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Empire Cinemas
No in-app purchases
UniFan
No in-app purchases
