Save money at the movies
photo by mathwizxp
Going to see a movie at the theater has become a luxury. Tickets and snacks cost a small fortune. Even if you eat beforehand, it can be hard to resist the Junior Mints or the buttery popcorn. Two people going can cost $40 easily. But there are some movies that you want to see on the big screen. Fortunately, you don’t have to wait for a movie to be released on DVD to avoid the high prices. You can try independent or drive-in theaters or go to a matinee.
Do you sneak in snacks? How do you save money when you go to the movie theater?
Here are a few tips to make movie going cheaper that exclude food smuggling. 
AAA: If you’re a member of AAA, it offers a plethora of discounts, one of which is discounted movie tickets for some areas. Visit www.aaa.com/discounts to find which discounts apply to your area.
COSTCO: It offers discount movie tickets to Regal, AMC and Cinemark. The tickets are sold in groups of five. There is a shipping charge if you buy online at www.costco.com, so check your local store. Online prices are Regal $37.50, Cinemark $37.50 and AMC $39.99.
ENTERTAINMENT BOOK: The 2010 book became available Aug. 12. Typically, the cost for a book is $30 to $56, depending on your location. Included are discount movie tickets that range from $6 to $8.50 per ticket, depending on participating theaters. They sell two tiers. One ticket level is for newly released movies, and the other requires a 12-day waiting period after a show first appears. These tickets are ordered and shipped, so there is a shipping fee. There’s an eight-ticket minimum purchase, too.
ANGIE’S LIST: Thousands of consumers share their ratings and reviews on local contractors and companies in more than 425 different categories. Membership costs an average of $6 per month. Membership perks include discounts from dozens of retailers and organizations such as Blockbuster Total Access — 50 percent off first month and discounted movie tickets. The cost for tickets is $5.50 to $6.50, usually restricted to two weeks after release and includes most major theaters. Visit www.angieslist.com.
SPECIAL PROMOTIONS AND DISCOUNTS: Check your local movie-theater Web sites, or give the theaters a call. Ask whether they have any special promotions. See whether they offer student, senior or military discounts. Many theaters offer specials during the summer, bulk-ticket deals and loyalty rewards clubs, so you can earn concession food or tickets. Sometimes your local newspaper, grocery store or hotels might run a promotion, too. For example, Marriott offers four free tickets when making reservations until Sept. 7. Call (800) 228-9290, and ask for promotional code LLS when making your reservations, or visit www.marriott.com/landofthelost for details.
GO BIG: Buy the larger-sized popcorn and drinks for the best savings. Many theaters offer free refills, too. One reader, J. Moffitt, shares: “When buying snacks, buy the big one and share. Our theater lets us get extra cups for free, and we use these to dole out the popcorn. Everyone gets a cup of popcorn, and when they need more, they just pass the cup back. This is a handy way of sharing the popcorn, as everyone can reach it. You can also get extra cups to share a drink without sharing the germs. Use the large drink as a pitcher, and pour everyone their own drink.”
BUYING ONLINE: Check gift-card Web sites such as Cardavenue.com, GiftCardRescue.com, Plasticjungle.com and Swapagift.com, where you can buy, sell or swap gift cards. Some offer free shipping. You can check Craigslist or eBay.com, too. Or visit www.workingadvantage.com, a discount portal providing discount tickets and shopping to corporate employees nationwide. They service more than 10 million employees at 8,000 participating companies and offer discount tickets for movies, theater, ski resorts, theme parks, as well as hundreds of online shopping sites. If your company or organization is not currently a member of the Working Advantage program, fill out this form and a Member Services representative will contact your Human Resources department to enroll your company.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
These are great ideas. I know that the cable company Optimum Online also offers free tickets to the movies on Tuesday nights if you participate in their Triple Rewards package, which is using Optimum for cable, phone and internet. If you do the research and it turns out to be a better deal than what you currently have, free Tuesday night movies is a nice bonus. Of course, if it’s not a good deal for you, the free movie doesn’t really make it worth your while.
Amy´s last blog ..Real Small Town Fun
check the matinee. My local theater has $4.50 or $5.00 matinee, and usually the theater will have very few people in it.
I haven’t gone to the theater in years! $40.00 for two people is way too much for me! Last time I went to the movies it cost exactly that for a family of four and I balked at the expense! We usually get movies free from the library! I have seen many excellent movies and haven’t had to pay a penny! I am also enjoying the many shows on PBS they have some great movies as well! The snacks I get at a discount store so we don’t go broke watching a movie!
My youngest son sneaks chocolate bars in the theater! He even says the chocolate is alot more tastier! We usually go to the movies on Tuesdays the acces is cheaper.We also buy a 10 time acces card for $60.00 witch is the rate on tuesdays, but with this card we can acces anyday at the tuesday rate!
I microwave popcorn, a bag or two, and toss in my backpack prior to heading out to a matinee. A quik stop at the 99 cent store for some necco wafers or m&m can be had for a low price. Dont forget to toss a drink or two in you pack too. Works great.
Check with your employer!! Mine offers “group tickets” that can be purchased through HR and they simply take the money out of your check. I get 2 movie tickets with no restrictions on when you can go or which movies you can see, plus 2 snack vouchers good for small popcorn and small soda pop for $21.50.
We make up for “movie weeks” by working the odd 1/2 hour stretches of overtime that come available here and there.
Sometimes, we get the tickets free as performance incentives, too!
Leave your response!
Frugal Talk
Garden Talk
Categories
Feed on
Popular topics
Frugal & simple living »
Cut back on products you don’t need
photo by cherryfluff
As a society, we’re fortunate — so much so that we’ve become gluttonous. Wants and needs have become blurred. We’ve become conditioned to believe we need many things. Some people might even think chocolate is a food group. But in all seriousness, we’ve forgotten that we live in the land of options. Modern life is different from basic life. But many of the convenience products we enjoy have …
Frugal Cooking »
Use up evaporated milk
photo by arnold inuyaki
In the back of the pantry, you might find a couple of cans of evaporated milk that are close to expiring. It typically lasts about a year unopened in the pantry and once opened and refrigerated, you have about a week to use it. It’s wonderful when used in mashed or scalloped potatoes, coffee or tea, scrambled eggs, pies or French toast, to a name few.
Here are …
Frugal Home & family »
Safeguard your purse when shopping
photo by Le petit poulailler
With the holidays approaching, there are a lot of people carrying cash and valuables when out shopping. Often, people are dressed up, in a hurry and not paying attention. This offers increased opportunities for thieves, so it’s important to take some precautions. If someone is determined to take your purse or wallet, they will. But you can take steps to decrease the risk and a few …
Question & Answer »
Keep homemade mixes fresh
photo by House of sims
DEAR SARA: I have found several homemade mixes on your forums that I would like to make. If the mixes were stored in a glass jar and exposed to light, would it affect the mix? I am unsure with some of the spices. The reason I ask is because I would like to use glass jars, such as mason jars, and adhere a label. I think …
Reader Frugal Tips »
Use clamp hangers for more than pants
photo by goldberg
Pants hangers have multiple uses in your home. You can use them to clip a printed recipe to keep it off the kitchen counter when preparing it. Simply hang it from the cabinet handle. Or use them to display children’s artwork. The first tip shares a few additional ways to use pant hangers.
MULTIUSE HANGERS: I have a number of clamp-type pants hangers and have found some other …
Recent Comments
You might also like:
Recent Posts
Most Commented
Most Viewed