In this day and age going to the movies is an extravagance. Where I live a normal ticket price is $8 which I know is low compared to other parts of the country. With Redbox machines everywhere and Netflix and Hulu being common in our household it is hard to take the whole family out to a movie when we know we are going to be out $50 or more. Luckily where we live the theaters have been trying to encourage weeknight attendance. They have offered Tuesday night tickets at only $5 each. They also sell popcorn for a discount on this night to try and increase revenue on their slower days. One other thing we have invested in is our theaters refillable drink mug and refillable popcorn bucket. Its kind of pricey up front ($15 for the Mug and $30 for the popcorn bucket) but each refill is only $1.50-$2.50 thereafter. If you like to go to the movies I would suggest checking if your theater offers something like this. Other than sneaking in your own snacks it seems pretty impossible to save money going to the movies unless your local theaters offer some kind of special promotions. What do you do to save money at the theater?
The ticket price around where I live is like...$12 or $15 I think. My husband and I like to go to weekend shows around noon, which brings the ticket price down to $8 per person. And instead of making it into like a huge dinner + movie, we just either eat beforehand at home and bring our own snacks to the movie, or we eat nachos or something filling and so we don't go out for a full dinner afterwards. If we're still hungry or want something sweet, we may go out for ice cream after
I mean, if you can't afford it, then you probably just have to not go. Either that, or wait for the cheaper showings or special offers, if your theater does those. There isn't really much else you can do.
My cellphone provider offers discounted tickets on certain days of the week so I always take advantage of this. I never bother with popcorn or soda - I'll sometimes take my own snacks though. I couldn't afford to go to the movies at all otherwise, the prices have increased massively over the past few years.
You know, I wonder why that is. Is it just because Hollywood keeps spending more and more money on their movies, driving up the licensing prices as well in the process? I know that most theaters are already struggling to live, with their only revenue being popcorn, sodas, snacks and such, which is why they are all so expensive..
I know that theaters make very little revenue on the movies alone but 5.00 for a soda seems just ridiculous to me. I think if the theaters offered more variety and slightly lower prices people would probably buy more concessions rather than skip the counter and sneak in snacks.
I'm pretty sure they have figured out what's more profitable by now, after all, they have the numbers, we don't.
We don't really frequent the movie house, we go once in a blue moon because as everyone knows, the prices are extortionate! Usually when we do go, we'll have dinner or lunch first depending on the time of day. That way by the time we get there, we really don't need anything. We might get water, juice or fizz, but that's it.
I'm "lucky" that our movie ticket prices arent as high as in other places but we cant afford to go all the time anyway. BUT, some movies are AWESOME to watch on the big screen instead of the small one so we make an effort to go to those. We'll choose a specific movie and then save up for the tickets. We either catch the matinee which costs less or we go on ladies night when I get my ticket at a discount. And of course...no one ever check the baby bag.
But way to save for me is to not buy snacks or drinks. Sometimes I will bring in a snack with me, (though some places strictly prohibit this). I'm sorry but I will not be forced to pay 5X the price for food products. I always go to the day shows to save a few dollars as well.
We tend to not go unless there is a really good movie that we know we will enjoy more at the theater then waiting for later. We do not eat or drink at the theater. We either dine before or after too. In addition, we ask for gift cards to the movies for birthdays and Christmas.
Depending on how strict your favourite cinema is, you could easily sneak in food in a backpack or something if they don't check at the entrances. Great way to save as the food inside is sold at a premium charge. Once we even snuck in a whole pizza while going to see the Transformers 3 movie, the film was terrible but at least the pizza was good
I'm always on the lookout for cultural festivals where I can watch films for three days straight, free of charge. This method saves me money because admission is free and I can just focus on sneaking in snacks. The French, Japanese and Korean embassies, as well as the European Union, hold cultural festivals every year and they usually book two to three theatres to showcase domestic box office hits.
They do something similar here like twenty minutes away in car, but I have no car. They usually have family movies. I'd take the bus there but they have these movies starting like at night which blows because who wants to have their kids out at night so late? Especially when the weather can be so bipolar sometimes.
Another money saving idea: Our community always has outdoor movies in the park every weekend during the summer. Its free! They have concessions but you can bring your own dinner and have a picnic in the park with your family. They usually show a good selection of recent movies. Its a fun idea and a cheaper option than going to the movies. Also the kids can get the wiggles out so its much more family friendly. Check and see if your area does something like this, I would highly suggest checking it out!
I save by not going lol. I haven't been to the movies in ages now, I don't even know what I saw last. Probably a kid's movie though. They truly rip you off and I'm patient enough and have a big enough tv that I can wait it out
I rarely go to the cinemas nowadays. I just wait for the movie's DVD release and watch it at the comfort of my own home. I am a DVD collector by the way.
To save money in watching movies, I usually avail the promos of my credit cards and my mobile network. In my place my local phone network companies usually have these special promotion for movie screenings like free popcorns, discount on tickets and buy one take one. I just recently avail a discount for Furious 7.
I haven't been in a movie theater for over many years. The ticket is usually around $15 dollars person if you go after 12:00 AM, and $18 bucks for evening. To save money, I used to take my children in the early morning, which is $8.00 dollars each, or I would wait until the movie hit second-run theater. Now, the children are all grown up, they are on their own
To save money when i am going to the movies is usually to not go at all lol. I usually pirate movies and watch them on my laptop, once an acceptable quality of the movie has surfaced. But, when I do go tot he actual movies, I bring in my own snacks. Yes it is frowned upon, but a friend who worked there once let us know that you will not be kicked out for bringing in your own snacks. But it is frowned upon. So I bring my own snacks in bags and stuff.
