5/21/09

Yeah, yeah, I know, ticket prices at the movies have been steadily marching upwards ever since the days when the word Nickelodeon strongly suggests they were a nickel.  But in my adult life, I've seen them more than double, with increases that seem to occur bi-annually now.  I can remember when ticket prices only went up on occasion, and then with apologetic fanfare.  No more:  now it's hard to get past the first weekend of the summer without a bump of a quarter somewhere on the marquee, and another when the Holiday season starts if you're not lucky.  The food's on the rise, too:  I know of more than one theater where a medium soda and small popcorn will set you back over ten dollars even though those same items could be purchased at a mini-mart for $2.00 or less.

Don't get me wrong, I know that some of this is the price we pay for the wave of theater construction that gave us all stadium seating, megaplexes that occasionally feel like devoting a single auditorium to something that wouldn't have reached the area if it still had only 5 screens, and my precious digital 3D.  But there does come a point at which a person can take no more.  3D matinees in my neck of the woods (the Greater Harrisburg, PA area) cost $8.50-$9.00 depending upon where you go.  But two weekends ago, I found myself in New York City with some time to kill and plopped down a cool $16.00 to see Battle for Terra.  I'm sure there's someone somewhere reading this who'll cry out "I remember when we used to pay that for a Broadway Show!"  Before, of course, they were $150.00 for the nosebleed seats.

I face a crisis in all this, of course, because I have no intention of going to the movies any less.  But I must say that for the first time this year I find my mind calculating not only what theater has the best combination of screen size, seating, projection and sound for the movie in question, but also who's got the best deal.

Deals come in all shapes and sizes, and in tough economic times like these, we should all educate ourselves on our options.  First and foremost, you owe it to yourself as a moviegoer to at least learn about bulk tickets, available through coupon books like The Entertainment Book or on websites like Borders Rewards.com.  Theaters wanna get people in their doors to sell them those overpriced sodas, so for all but the hottest new movies you can often find good deals.  If the movie's not in 3D or a special engagement, those Entertainment Book coupons can cut $4.00 off that Manhattan matinee and regularly trim $3.00 or so off nighttime shows in my neck of the woods.  Independently owned theaters sometimes offer really special deals if you buy lots of tickets.  Hershey's Cocoaplex occasionally makes $4.00 tickets available on a local website.  And they've got great nachos, so it's a win-win for me.

You also need to stock up on loyalty cards.  Most chains offer them now, those handy little scannable pieces of plastic that allow you to accumulate points for free sodas, popcorn and tickets.  Granted, since I've got one for just about every local chain, they don't inspire as much loyalty in me as they otherwise might, but they do get me freebies.  And keep your eye out:  most chains that have a card also have special promotions tied to days of the week.  AMC Theaters, for instance, offer free popcorn on Mondays, while Regals will sell you candy on Monday and popcorn on Tuesday for a buck.  That's a pretty big savings if you have flexibility to go on a weeknight.

And you should acquaint yourself with the ticket prices and policies of all area theaters.  The Cinema Center of Palmyra, my neighborhood theater, had been setting some serious empty parking lot records before going to $5.50 shows all day, every day last fall.  Now the place is always packed, and no doubt moving a whole lot of soda (freshen up that selection, guys:  1995 called and it wants its' concession stand menu back!).

It's easy to let high prices talk you out of doing the cool stuff, but I'm a big believer in the power of coupons to prop up my conspicuous consumption.  You know the guy at the ticket counter was gonna look at you like he'd never heard of the movie you wanted to see anyway, so a couple extra loyalty cards and free ticket vouchers can't exactly make it worse.  And you'll have the chance to take in a couple extra movies for no reason other than that I gave them four stars.

You are doing that, right?