For one day only, you can see a movie for the price of a cup of coffee.
While we’re big fans of the trend of having movies premiere on streaming services — after all, who doesn’t love curling up on your own couch with your favorite snacks? — sometimes, there’s nothing like a night out at the movies. (Plus, it’s really tough to replicate that buttery concession-stand smell at home.) But paying upwards of $10 for one movie ticket can be hard to stomach, especially if you’re bringing the whole family. (And, given that financial security seems to be top of mind lately, it’s understandable that we may forego certain luxuries if we can get a similar experience at home for a fraction of the price.) There is good news, though: For one day only, you can see a movie in the theater for less than the price of your monthly Netflix subscription. On Sept. 3, National Cinema Day, you can score $3 movie tickets at a number of cinemas nationwide.
Unsurprisingly, the pandemic tanked movie attendance, and certain cinema chains (like Alamo Drafthouse) were forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. (The company that owns Regal Cinemas is also planning to file for Chapter 11.) Fortunately, the movie business rebounded in the last year, especially over the summer, when attendance approached that of pre-pandemic levels. (We largely have Tom Cruise to thank for that comeback.) But movie theaters aren’t completely out of the woods, and Labor Day weekend in particular tends to be a historically low-attendance weekend. To encourage people to make the trip, The Cinema Foundation announced that on Sept. 3, movie tickets at 3,000 theaters and on more than 3,000 screens would cost no more than $3. Don’t you just love the symmetry?
How to get $3 movie tickets
The good news is that major chains such as AMC and Regal Cinemas will be taking part in National Cinema Day and offering cheap tickets. To see if your local theater is participating, visit nationalcinemaday.org and enter your city or zip code. If you’re looking to see a movie in 3-D or IMAX, you’re in luck — the deal extends to all movies, all formats, and all times of day and night. That means you can catch blockbusters like Top Gun: Maverick or Nope for about the price of one cup of coffee.
How to get more deals on movies
If you’ve already made your plans for Labor Day weekend and can’t squeeze in a trip to the movies, there may still be deals in your future. MoviePass, the company that famously offered $10 unlimited monthly memberships to movie theaters across the country, is set to relaunch on Sept. 5 in select cities. Moviegoers living in Dallas, Kansas City, and Chicago who signed up for MoviePass’s waitlist (which opened last week) will be able to choose one of three tiered plans, starting at $10 for 1-3 movies per month. The MoviePass membership will have more restrictions than National Cinema Day — the plans for the former don’t include IMAX or other large formats, and movie times are restricted, for example — but with the average movie ticket costing $9.57 (thanks, inflation), that’s still a great deal.
While we can’t bank on $3 movies becoming an everyday thing (although the Cinema Foundation has said National Cinema Day could become an annual tradition, if all goes well this year), there are still plenty of ways to save money in your budget so you can take more regular trips to the movies, if you so please — and maybe even spring for the jumbo-sized concessions.
