going to the movies..

[athomeontheprairie]

Dh and I have tried twice in the past week to see Catching Fire. tonight we're driving into the "city" to see it (hopefully!) I love going to our local theater. It may be small, but it's cheap! (we can take our two girls and my popcorn and soda for everyone and spend less than $30)

when we go tonight we will spend at least 30 for the two of us. the last show we actually saw in the city (a real city! ) we spent quite a bit more. Though, to be fair, that theater made ours look like a small screen TV! And the seats were much nicer, and they had real food, and the main theatre had adult seating with servers and alcohol.

So, I'm curious, how much do you spend when you go to the show? what is an average in your area?

[kewb]

I only go to the morning movie when tickets are $6-$7 vs $11-$12 per person.  Plus, popcorn. I bring in my own water bottles and candy.  I must buy my popcorn there.  Something magical about movie theatre popcorn.

[hjffkj]

The small theater near us that has 3 screens is $8.50(6.50 for kids) at night and $6.50 matinees but the matinee prices stop at 4pm so we always go to the matinee.  They usually get the good movies we want to see.  Right now they are showing Catching Fire, Thor, Frozen, The Hobbit, and A Christmas Story(I assume that is a one day event.) Concessions are cheap there as well but they also allow you to bring in your own food so that is what we usually do.  If we can afford it we'll buy food there to support the business.

 

If we were to go to any of the big theaters around us that have like 20 screens general admission is $11.50, matinee is $10  Concessions are really expensive so we never buy them there and you have to sneak food in if you want it. They won't let you bring your own if they see it, except coffee

[gingersmom]

Where I used to live it was something like $9.50 for a kids ticket. Insanity.

 

I think I just paid 6.50/ticket for my kids to see new hunger games movie.

[Stacia]

$10 to $12 per ticket around here. Buying drinks or food is very expensive. A family of 4 can easily spend $60+ for one movie outing.

[bettyandbob]

I've told my dd I'm limiting movie outings to the cheap theatre, which means waiting 3-6 months. I know that's about time things come out on dvd, but some movies are meant for the large screen. The screen at the cheap theatre is not as large as some of the newer theatres, but it's big enough to get the effect.

 

The cheap theatre opened in the early 70s and has not been updated since. Tickets are $4 adults, $3 under age 14. Small soft drinks are $3.75 (and they are huge) and large popcorn is $4 (I think) with a refill for $1. So, my dd, younger ds and I can do movie and popcorn and drinks for around $25. It's fun.

 

All the other theatre cost at least $30 for tickets alone.

 

There may be some special occasions where we will pay full price, but mostly we do Netflix and the cheap theatre. I really hope the crappy strip mall the cheap theatre is in never gets renovated.

[Kim in Appalachia]

We live in a rural area.  The closet movie theater, which is fairly nice and modern, has matinee for $5.50.  I forget what normal price tickets cost.  We never go at night.  

 

We don't go to the movies often, only if it's a movie worth the big screen price.  We will be seeing the Hobbit next week, and I did take 2 kids to Catching Fire.  

 

My dh and I almost never go to the movies together alone (no kids).  

[Cinder]

About $9.50 for a regular ticket, $12.50 for 3D. But they have a special all-day Tuesday $6. And I think matinees are $6.

[sewingmama]

Over $100 here :( my kids have been to a movie theatre twice in their lives. We don't have cheap theatres or matinee prices.

 

Last time I checked it was about $ 18.50 for adults and $13.50 for kids.

 

A large popcorn is about $12.

[twoxcell]

It costs us $38 dollars to take our whole family to a matinee in our town. We do not go often. The evening showings are more, and 3D cost 2 dollars more per person. If we drive an hour away they have a cheepo theater that plays movies right before they come out on DVD and their regular theater is actually a bit cheaper than ours.

[Chris in VA]

Matinee is $9.50, usually, but for some reason we had to pay $12.50 for a 4pm showing of Catching Fire.

 

I only buy snacks/popcorn when I am prepared to spend a bundle. A medium popcorn is $6. 

[Garga]

It's inSANE but on Tuesday the RCA theaters around here have $5 movies for ALL movies ALL day. Sometimes there is an exception and they'll post it. Like, Catching Fire was regular price for the first 2 released weeks. But everything else is $5. Even at 7 or 10 at night. Oh yeah!

 

We go to movies on Tuesday.

 

The deal is off in summertime, so then we go to matinees. I can't remember the matinee price. $6.50 or $7.00, I think, depending on which theater.

[Jerico]

We go only once a year as a family (and maybe once a year as a date night)- we do saturday a.m. $5/person. We do not buy any food or drinks. We prefer to redbox movies and eat inoridinate amounts of homemade junk food on our family movie nights :)

[alisoncooks]

We went to see Catching Fire/Frozen yesterday and the tickets came to around $30 and snacks came to around $35.  And I'll admit that we see a good amount of movies in the movie theater (at least 5-6 a year).

[mytwomonkeys]

we normally go to the dollar theater in the mall -- it's right by the beach, so we make a day of it! it never cost more than $25, and that includes tickets and concessions.  if we go to a newer theater, we can easily spend $75.  we rarely do that!  over thanksgiving my husband took my daughter to see catching fire & it was quite a bit of money. but it was a special treat & a lovely time for them :)

[Aurelia]

Tickets are usually $10-18 per person, depending on the theater and whether the movie is 3D. Most of the theaters give a discount for the very first showing of the day and matinees are cheaper than any showing after 6pm. I took DD to see Frozen (in 3D, earlybird show) last weekend and spent just over $30, $10 per ticket, and more than $10 for ONE large drink and medium popcorn. It was still cheaper than going to the place DH and I prefer - where they sell real food and serve it. A single date night there costs at least $50 (sometimes $70, depending on the food we order) for the two of us. It's usually another $20-30 if DD joins in.

[Lizzie in Ma]

We rarely go out to the movies and when we do it is a special occasion.

So we always go to the Cinema Pub in town where we have supper, beer or wine for dh and I and a lovely evening.

$10 per ticket, $12 for a pitcher of Wachusett Blueberry and about $10 per meal.  $100ish

Next up, Desolation of Smaug as part of our Christmas.

[Alenee]

I just spent $50.25 three nights ago to see Catching Fire with dd.  When we got there for the 7:30pm showing, we were told the tickets were $3 more per person ($15 ea.) because it was in one of their "specialty" theaters.  (Turns out the only thing special was cushier seats and a little more leg room.)   I then purchased a medium popcorn, two medium drinks, and some red vines for another $20.25.  I was appalled!  So glad my dd knows this was a BIG *treat*.

[katilac]

$6 in the morning, $7.50 in the afternoon/early evening, and $10.25 at night. 

 

We generally always go in the morning, but that's tough with some of the really long movies like Catching Fire - they always go through lunchtime! 

 

We buy a medium popcorn and medium drink to share, about $15 I think. About $40 for the four of us, before tax. It's something we all enjoy doing as a family, which can be hard to find with teens, so we usually pony up the dollars about 6 times a year. 

[QueenCat]

$10-12 per person, at night. We don't usually go to the movies as we prefer social activities where we can talk. Maybe once a year is something worth seeing on the big screen. Last movie I saw in the theater was Les Miserables.