Who doesn’t love getting their movie tickets cheaper? And who doesn’t love a trip to the movies?
Whether there’s a new movie out that you’ve been anxious to see, or the idea of a bucket of buttery popcorn that gets you into the door, movies can feel like a little slice of heaven.
The thing that’s not so heavenly about movies is the price tag.
Movies have gone up so much in price over the last few years, and now tickets can be as much as $10 a person before you’ve even splurged for the popcorn.
While the frugal option might appear to be movie nights at home, and this is indeed an option, here is how to save money at the movies for those times you don’t want to wait for the movie to hit Redbox.
If you are willing to be a little bit creative, you can save money on your money tickets and get your movie tickets cheaper!
You should never pay upwards of $10 a ticket, and in some cases, you might not pay anything at all!
So let’s learn how to get free movie tickets because saving money is important.
Plus, when you learn how to get cheaper movie tickets, you’ll never want to pay full price again!
And, getting cheap movie tickets continues to let your family have a great night out for less.
Here are my best tips for how to save money on movie tickets.
The Most Obvious Savings Tip: Go To The Matinee
I know, I know… no one wants to go to the “matinee” showing, during the day. But doing so could save you up to 50% Off making those movie tickets cheaper!
What I’ve found is that if we switch the order and we go to an afternoon movie, THEN go to dinner (instead of dinner and THEN a movie), it makes for a fun night where we can chat about the movie as we are eating.
It feels like it extends our fun of watching the movie together.
We all get to talk about the story line, the plot, the twists, and surprises… it’s actually a great way to finish the evening!
Before heading to the theater, check the cutoff time for your movie theaters’ matinee. You might even be able to get a matinee ticket as late as 4:30 pm, and that means when you exit the theater it’s already dark and “feels” later!
The price difference between going to see a movie during matinee hours versus evening hours is usually 50% or more, which means if you have a large family (like I do) then the savings will quickly add up.
It’s a great way on how to get cheaper movie tickets!
Buy Your Tickets Online
Sometimes it pays to buy your tickets in advance to get those movie tickets cheaper. This is one of those times.
Sites such as MovieTickets.com and Fandango have regular promotions and coupon codes you can use when you checkout online.
Make sure you sign up to receive their email promotions. They may range from BOGO offers to discounts on your total purchase. You can use these codes along with discounted gift cards for an even bigger discount to get those cheap movie tickets.
Free Screenings
This is a great way to go to the movies for FREE! Movie companies will sometimes set up free screening opportunities before the movie officially hits theaters to build hype and get people to post on social media after seeing the movie.
Join these movie companies (they are all free) to get notified by email when they have a FREE movie for you to attend.
• See It First
• GoFoBo
• Warner Bros Pictures
• Sony Screenings
• Advance Screenings
BE AWARE, most of the time, an email is the only way they notify you of a screening in your area (since they tend to run out of seats super quickly). I set up a “filter” in my gmail email account that will “star” the email and “mark it as important” so that it doesn’t go to spam and we miss out.
This was how I’ve learned about many new releases and it feels fun to be “in the know” about sneak peeks that are happening so you can tell friends to sign up for them.
It’s a great way to get movie tickets cheaper and hopefully get some free movie tickets too.
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Use Discounted Gift Cards To Buy Tickets
You probably already know by now that I use discounted gift cards to buy things all the time. In fact, I’d dare to say that if you can plan ahead, even just slightly, you should buy discounted gift cards to use to buy your movie tickets cheaper.
CardCash and Raise are the two discounted gift card sites I personally use all the time.
AMC Gift Cards are usually 20% Off.
Fandango Gift Cards are typically 25% Off
If you are a member of Costco, Sam’s, or another warehouse club, you can often find discounted movie theater gift cards in packs of 4 or 10 tickets. They will typically cost around $9 each, so that is saving you about 25% Off the $12 ticket price. Well worth it if you always want to go see the newest movies at the peak time during the weekend.
You can also buy Fandango Gift Cards at Target and if you use your RedCard, you’ll save 5%!
So the strategy is to buy a discounted gift card for Fandango, then buy your tickets once you receive a discount code via email from Fandango. You’ll save some serious cash that way. And you get to go to the movie you want to see with those cheap movie tickets!
Join The Reward Club
Nearly every theatre has some type of rewards card available for frequent moviegoers. These rewards cards can not only save you money on concessions but your tickets as well!
Oh, and they are all FREE to join. Thankfully you only need one reward card for your entire family.
Here are reward clubs for some of the most popular theatres:
Some theatres even offer discounts for tickets for children, students, seniors, military, or AAA members.
One simple call could help you decide which theater to go to! Simply ask them if they offer a senior rate or any specific days when they offer discounted tickets. Sometimes there is special pricing only on certain days of the week.
For example, if you join the AMC Movie Stubs Card (it’s free) then they offer $5 “Fan Favorite” movies you can go to. Easy Peasy! Who doesn’t love to get those movie tickets cheaper?!
Join a Membership
Just like I mentioned above about the free reward programs, the three bigger movie theater chains also have monthly memberships that will allow you to see movies at a discounted rate.
AMC Theaters has a “Stubs A-List” membership which costs $22 a month in most places and $25 in bigger markets. It includes 3 free movies every week. Unlike the other programs, they include big-screen movies, IMAX, and even 3D. Plus they give you cash-back rewards on concessions and a preferred “express” line so you don’t have to wait as long for your munchies.
If you have free time in your week, then you could potentially see 12 movies a month for just over $20 (that’s only $1.67 per movie!). No other theater membership program comes anywhere close to that.
Regal’s Unlimited Plan is similar to AMC’s and runs from $19 to $24 in bigger markets. But you do get truly unlimited movies, which means the cost is soooo little the more movies you see. To feel like you’re getting a good deal on the monthly cost, you’d just want to play to go to two movies per month. They also offer a discount on concessions.
Cinemark also has a Movie Rewards program. For $9.99 a month, members receive one free movie credit per month. After that, you’ll only pay $9.99 per ticket, which can include a companion ticket. That basically works out to around a $4-5 discount per movie. Then they also have a 20% discount on concessions.
Look For A Discount Theatres Or Drive-In’s
Nearly every city has a $1 or $2 theatre in the area. This can be a great way to see slightly dated movies at a discount, but still inside a theater to see the movie “on the big screen”.
The town where I grew up had a Theater where we could get tickets for only $1. Our whole high school went all weekend long!
My sister lived in Virginia Beach and they had a “Dine-In” Theater that showed movies for $2 each. We took the kids to see Cars 2 and we had a blast. We ate nachos the whole time!
Drive-In Theaters are also a great option because they show the current movies at a discount. We pack a cooler of hot dogs (already cooked and inside the buns) as well as the bottles of Ketchup, Mustard and Relish and our own popcorn and make a night of it. Usually they allow you to see 2 movies for one price. Just don’t forget the sports chairs (kinda like tailgating), it’s more comfortable than sitting in your car the whole time and if you are in FL with me, bring along a can of bug spray 🙂
Avoid IMAX and 3D Movies
These movies come at a premium price and can add $9 to some ticket prices (that could DOUBLE the cost of your ticket)!
If you must see the movie in one of these special experiences, make sure this is something you’ve thought about carefully.
Personally, I get nauseous when I watch a 3D movie, so the extra expense is not worth it for my family. If it doesn’t matter for yours, go for a 2D showing instead and save your money to see another movie later. Those savings can add up quickly to get more movie tickets cheaper!
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Popcorn Savings: Eat Before You Go (& Share)
While popcorn might seem like a staple of all moviegoing experiences, the truth is that in most cases, it can get really expensive.
If you still want popcorn at the movies, eating before you go can help you control those impulse purchases. That way you’ll be less tempted to splurge for the larger popcorn if you already have a full stomach.
I have a designated “movie” bag which has paper lunch bags, Ziploc bags, and plastic cups inside it. I bring that bag with me every time we go to the movies so that we can buy one large popcorn and divide it up to share among all six in our family. The Theater usually gives you at least one refill when you buy a large drink and popcorn, so I always divvy it up right when we get to our seats, and then get our refill right away so that no one has to leave during the movie to go get the refill!
Super Cheap Or FREE Summer Movies
Don’t forget that when summer comes around the movie theaters play FREE or discounted movies during the week. Plus, getting these movie tickets cheaper will help you save for more summer fun activities!
It’s a great way to catch up on any movies you haven’t seen during the year. Plus, you can get out of the summer showers and cool off in the air conditioning!
Whether you’re going for date night, or just a trip to see the latest movie, you never need to pay full price for a movie ticket ever again!
Planning ahead by purchasing gift cards to buy your tickets, or just to know about deals or FREE Screenings could save you a TON of money if you are buying tickets for a crew like I am!
So as you can see, learning how to get free movie tickets is important because saving money is important.
Plus, when you learn how to get cheaper movie tickets, you’ll never want to pay full price again!
And, getting cheap movie tickets continues to let your family have a great night out for less.
YOUR TURN: How do you get your movie tickets cheaper? Let me know in the comments below!
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