If you have been reading this blog for a while you probably know that I love to go to the movies. My GF and I go to the movies most weekends which adds up to about thirty movie outings a year. Since this is a frequent expense I have found several ways to keep the cost of going to the movies relatively low.
One way I save on movie tickets is by attending the first showing of the day. The movie theater we usually attend only charges $5. 20 for a movie ticket for the first showtime of the day. A later matinée would cost $8.67 and an evening show would cost $10.29. Going to an evening showing rather than the first show of the day costs almost double the price of attending the first showing of the day. Attending the first show of the day is generally a more pleasant viewing experience since the theaters are less crowded giving you plenty of space and making it less likely that a fellow patron will distract you from the movie.
Another way to save on movie tickets is to buy discount gift cards. I was able to buy a $25 AMC gift card for 30% off this weekend at Raise.com. That is a better discount than the usual 15-20% off, but better deals are such as the 30% gift card are sometimes available. At the time of this writing I still see a few vouchers left at 29.9% off. If they sell out buying a card at the regular discount of 15-20% off is still a good deal. If you are not yet a member of Raise.com please consider joining using my referral link. You will get $5 for joining and making a purchase and I’ll get $5 as well.
Visa Checkout is having a temporary promotion with Fandango offering $10 off when you buy three or more movie tickets through Visa Checkout on Fandango on the weekends. This deal lasts until September 6, 2015 while supplies last. Get full details on the promo at the Fandango/Visa Checkout web page. I used this promo a couple of weeks ago to get three movie tickets for a total of $5.60. Even though we didn’t have a third person to give the extra ticket to with this promo it was cheaper to buy three tickets than two. Unfortunately, this is a one time use promo or I’d be taking advantage of this deal again this weekend.
Going to the movies can be pricy but by taking advantage of good deals and special promotions a movie outing can be cheap entertainment.
Andy, don’t they have “dollar movie” spots in the Kansas City area?
In Denver, the best is Elvis Cinemas — you can spend as little as $3 for a movie. (I think that’s before 6 p.m., but it’s not that much more afterward.) Groupon often has a special which lets you add popcorn and a drink to that price, if you buy cards ahead of time.
There are also places that have cut-rate tickets, and sell meals. But the food is usually not that great, and overpriced, as well.
Our favorite, though, is a first-run theater that offers $5 tickets all day long on Sundays. We’ve seen a lot of movies there!
Cindy – There aren’t any dollar theaters in KC. When I lived in southern MO I would go to the dollar theater there. Their movies were just $2 and they had throwback Tuesdays where the price was just $1. Their concessions were cheaper than the regular movie theater too. Those prices have probably gone up by now.
If you can get $5 tickets to a first-run theater you are getting a pretty good deal. When you factor in the discount gift card used to buy our $5.24 tickets they are even less than $5. The tickets are a good deal either way.