Skip to footer

Blockbusters on the cheap: how to save on movie tickets

Beat the heat with a summer blockbuster, without breaking the bank. 

|
Jerry Bruckheimer, Inc./Disney/AP/File
Johnny Depp, left, as Tonto, and Armie Hammer as The Lone Ranger, in a scene from the film "The Lone Ranger." Catching a matinee and buying tickets in bulk are two easy ways to save a few extra bucks on pricey summer movie tickets.
  • By Emily Dovi Contributor

The summer's blockbuster movies are here (finally!) so you can give your Netflix queue a rest. Are you gearing up to see Man of Steel, World War Z, or Pacific Rim?

Summer is the perfect time to enjoy the cinema, so long as the A/C is working. But the "full movie theater experience" — complete with popcorn, soda, Snow Caps, and the like — can be pricey. Thankfully movie theater deals and discounts abound, and we've got some tips on how to enjoy the big screen films for little cash.

Firstly, let us state the obvious: see a matinee. According to Real Simple, catching the day's first screening can save you around $3 per ticket. For larger cineplexes, matinees usually start around noon, but most local, independently run theaters only open their doors around 5 pm on weekdays — the perfect time for a movie, then dinner.

If you can't make an early screening, or if you prefer to take in the sunshine this summer, and still want to get the most out of your movie experience, consider buying your movie tickets in bulk. With movie ticket admissions starting at just $7.79, BulkTix.com saves you at least $4 per ticket, and you'll receive free shipping on eight or more tickets via Google Checkout and coupon code "TURKEYTX". [Editor's note: Yes, we know that's a Thanksgiving-themed coupon, but it still works!]

But when eight tickets are too many (that's almost 16 hours of video if you view all the movies solo!), keep an eye out for Fandango deals: we've seen tickets valued at $12 for as little as $5 a piece. If you're loyal to a particular theater, consider setting up an email alert for that chain, so that you're notified immediately the next time we find a deal.

Score Free Movie Tickets and Concession Snacks

If you don't want to dish out for your movie tickets in advance, Real Simple suggests that you see if your credit card company offers any perks. Right now Visa Signature cardholders can get a free Fandango movie ticket when purchasing one at regular price on Fridays. Or join AMC Stubs for one year ($12) and you'll receive $10 in rewards points for every $100 you spend at AMC Theaters, free upgrades on concession snacks, waived online ticket purchase fees, and more.

Speaking of discounted concession stand goodies, we often see both AMC Theaters and Regal Cinemas coupons for free or discounted small drinks or popcorn, available by just liking the CineMark Facebook page. Alternatively, you could pick up your snacks first at Kmart and score a Man of Steel voucher for free. We won't judge you for buying the required four bags of 11-oz. to 17.6-oz. Hershey's or Twizzlers (from $8 with in-store pickup, a low by at least $8; expires July 13).

Free movie vouchers are also a popular item to be bundled with gift cards, as well as DVDs and Blu-ray movies. In fact, right now when you buy select Blu-ray movies at Amazon, you'll receive up to $10 in Sony Movie Cash for This Is the End.

As a budget-conscious cinephile, you should keep all these tips in mind when planning future trips to the movies. But you should also be signed up for an email alert so you know immediately when we list such deals, which not only include the above promotions, but also free tickets to movie screenings.

Note that this feature has been updated since it was originally published last year.

Emily Dovi is the senior features editor for Dealnews.com, where this article first appeared.

Original story: http://dealnews.com/features/How-to-Go-to-the-Movies-Without-Breaking-the-Bank/541681.html

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.
editor@csmonitor.com
Subscribe
Mark Sappenfield
Editor

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

Subscribe to insightful journalism

QR Code to Blockbusters on the cheap: how to save on movie tickets
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/Business/Saving-Money/2013/0706/Blockbusters-on-the-cheap-how-to-save-on-movie-tickets
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe