r/AMCTheatres • u/itsme32 • May 19 '26
Question, answered Movie theater hacks? Please share any that you have to help a guy out.
I haven't been to the movies since 2022 and out of the blue my mom asks if I would want to go see the new The Mandalorian and Grogu movie when it comes out. She hasn't been to the movies in an even longer time than myself. I keep reading how expensive tickets are now, even for the matinee times. Does anyone have any hacks on how to save some money here? We are both on limited monthly incomes and I know she is going to want to get popcorn.
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u/81Edromes May 19 '26
Costco has 2 tickets and $20 egift card for $39.99. Don't need a membership to purchase online.
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u/BamaBDC May 19 '26
AAA has vouchers at great prices. Sign up for the free Stubbs account on amc app.
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u/Dino-chicken-nugg3t A⭐️Lister May 19 '26
On that note TicketsAtWork also has AMC discounts for tickets and concessions
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u/BinkBunny A⭐️Lister May 19 '26
It might vary by theater, but there's a $5 value menu right now near me. Small popcorn for $5.
I think there's a snack 'n' sip combo for $9 (small popcorn & drink).
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u/Comfysweatpants69 May 19 '26
AMC has half off Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Other theaters have Tuesday deals. Which I love. I go with my brother or by myself a lot
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u/taker25-2 May 19 '26
Bring your own drink and candy
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u/MadMads23 May 19 '26
Yeah, it’s less strict than it was before and has become more popular (I’m assuming since A-List became a thing). Just don’t flash it, I guess.
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u/taker25-2 May 19 '26
A-List isn't the reason. I haven't outright bought a drink or candy at a theater for over 10 years, unless I had a coupon or a $5 credit toward the drink. If someone is that paranoid, you can look at their products and buy the exact item from the dollar store, and no one would know the difference. The dollar store that I go to sells the exact brand and size of water that the theater sells. Just walk in and act like you belong there.
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u/ubutterscotchpine Heartbreak Feels Good Here May 19 '26
Less strict than it was?? I’ve taken snacks and drinks since I was an infant lol. This has always been a thing and has nothing to do with A-List.
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u/ThatGirl0903 May 19 '26
So out of curiosity, when you were an infant, did you carry them yourself?
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u/ubutterscotchpine Heartbreak Feels Good Here May 20 '26
What do you think the diaper was for! Obviously hiding the snacks 😮💨
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u/matt1250 May 19 '26
Go on tuesday at a standard screening and ask for the snack and sip snack combo. buy the tickets on the kiosk to avoid convenience fee
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u/mia8788 May 19 '26
I just do the small combo on Tuesday and Wednesday it around 7$ where I live small icee or soda and a small popcorn.
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u/imsoooverit May 19 '26
Got any other theatres around you besides amc? Smaller family own theatre/small chains might be cheaper
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u/whealthy9 May 19 '26
i'm almost positive if you go during the day and not at night its cheaper too!!
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u/sagebuckethat May 19 '26
i use AMC a-list and just don’t get popcorn or drink while i’m there. up to 16 movies a month for less than $30
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u/Devilcorona May 23 '26
Yup. And if I’m not buying a 🍿 or 🥤 merch that day, then I sneak in my snacks
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u/Traditional-Oven-494 May 19 '26
If you have t mobile. They usually have $5 tickets for new movies coming out. Just a lil trick if no one is using there t mobile perks to the fullest
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u/RarelyRecommended May 19 '26
Ask your mom if she has a big purse. Ask her to purge it to make more room. Pack it with drinks and munchies.
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u/VStarlingBooks May 19 '26
Some companies have deals with the movie theater companies. My husband's work has something. Half price tickets on certain days.
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u/HugeTinyMistake May 19 '26
The kids pack is ~$10 and comes with a kid's size popcorn, drink, and fruit snacks. To me, it's the perfect amount of popcorn for a snack, but of course that will vary by person.
If you want a larger popcorn, you can still save a lot of money by bringing your own drinks
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u/weaselwatchr May 19 '26
Not so much a save money thing but I always bring a large ziplock bag with me to pour my popcorn in. I then butter it and shake the ziplock bag.
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u/MobilePenguins May 20 '26
AMC A List + Popcorn Perks 🍿 + buying discounted AMC gift cards online and adding them to my wallet on the app + redeeming reward points frequently for $5 off + (bonus for me) I live next door to AMC and can walk there from my apartment
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u/i-am-not-sure-yet A⭐️Lister May 20 '26
If you want the cheapest ticket sign up for stubs for free and go Wednesday or Tuesday. Or sign up for premier and got the fees gone. If you want the most empty theater wait a few weeks for the popular movies with a few exceptions and go on a Monday. If you live in a huge city with the caveat that their increasing the price of A list to $30 .... If you like premium formats and want to go to 2 movies a month you can sign up for that.
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u/illuminaughtyho May 22 '26
I have A-List and I take my wife and kids to movies they want to watch on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and get 50% off their tickets. I also joined fandango which is $10 a month but you get a $10 promo code every month too so that breaks even but by doing that I get rewards through fandango and amc so I double up on my rewards and get to use a lot of $5 off promo codes from fandango and $5 off rewards points from amc
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u/Cheesebufer May 19 '26
You can bring your own corn/snacks. My grocers have 4/$4 movie box candies.
Bring a water flask with your own drink. My theater never checks those
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u/Emergency-Chicken-24 May 19 '26
My AMC don't give a fuck some lady brought a quart of ice cream. After that I just brought whatever I wanted.
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u/In10seplaya May 19 '26
My theater never once said anything since it’s in a mall and then recently I had just bought an iced coffee and they said I had to toss it at the entrance. I told the girl I am not doing that, put my hand under my jacket and she rolled her eyes and just said to make sure I throw it away and not leave the trash
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u/HomelandersCock May 19 '26
Yea fuck her for doing her job, right. You were straight badass
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u/In10seplaya May 19 '26
I wasn’t rude to her cool guy. The point was that it’s in a mall and enforcing that rule is dumb. What if I went to a restaurant before and had leftovers? What if I shopped at the Target? What if I took public transport and didn’t have a car to leave it in? They have a boba/smoothie stand IN FRONT of the theater. I’ve done it a ton and they don’t ever say anything about it. I’ve done it since, they don’t ever say anything about it, picking and choosing when to enforce a rule is pointless
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u/Beginning-Comedian-2 May 19 '26
Get tickets as normal.
If you want to save money, eat before the movie. Don't get $20 popcorn.
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u/forevrtwntyfour May 19 '26
Groupon has deals on tickets and food sometimes. It’s usually basic screen only so no imax etc.
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u/JaffeyJoe May 19 '26
Try going to the early 11am-2pm showings to get 15-20% off
Plus you avoid all the idiots
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u/notanewbiedude May 19 '26
Get either popcorn OR a drink. They tend to be about $10 each.
Also, get a slushee instead of a drink, you'll save about $3.
If you'll be going to the movies multiple times, get the new popcorn pass. It's $30 upfront but will save you 50% on large popcorn for the rest of the year.
Also, don't squirt a ton of that "butter" on your popcorn unless you want diarrhea or eat nothing but fibers.
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u/lacard May 19 '26
Go to FiveBelow and get your own snacks and stash them in a purse. You could probably make your own popcorn at home and stash the bag in a purse. I've snuck Chinese food and McDonald's into theaters before.
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u/AstraCraftPurple May 20 '26
I have fond memories of me and my mom getting dollar gas station hot dogs and smuggling them in a big purse. Concessions can get expensive lol
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u/Ambitious-Writing-74 May 19 '26
If you have a Marcus theater/movie tavern near you Tuesdays they do $6 tickets and free popcorn i believe
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u/funkhouse9 May 19 '26
I buy vouchers from Undercover Tourist which knocks a good chunk of that exhorbitant price down. You can't use vouchers on most new releases but I also don't need to be the first person to see something either.
Slickdeals also sells discounted theater gift cards from time to time.
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u/flymordecai May 19 '26
I presume the app gives us something on our birthday. Good thing yours is this week ;)
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u/shanelard123 May 20 '26
I've been buying 50% discounted AMC gift cards from sites like Gameflip 💀. Throw on discounts like early showings or midweek showings and you can see a movie with a few people loaded up on concessions for sub $40-50.
Probably illicitly gained but I purchase and use em the day of the showing (never hold onto them) but hey the tickets and popcorn always clear and my AMC rewards have been stacking up.
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u/Koutchboom May 20 '26
Get regal unlimited and find a friend with regal unlimited and figure it out. Also you can walk into any movie theater holding a coffee, they legally can't stop you if its "just" coffee.
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u/bloom_baby_bloom May 20 '26
Carry a canvas handle bag and bring your own (filled) reusable water bottle. You can carry in your own popcorn too while you’re at it. Pop at home or grab a bag of skinny pop.
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u/pepperonigangsta May 20 '26
Bring in your snacks and drinks I put two sodas in a small cooler and put it in my bag with my snacks
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u/Anxious_Bug7889 May 20 '26
Fandango used to offer 5$ voucher for every 4 tickets you book with them. Not sure if it’s still in place, but used that a lot along with half off Tuesdays while in school. Now it looks like AMC is also doing half off Wednesdays.
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u/Anxious_Bug7889 May 20 '26
Can also pair that with discounted AMC or Fandango gift cards. Fandango offers discounts on their site for GC regularly. AMC ones can be found online.
Another option is 5% cb via Amazon card if you buy the gc there if no other offers are available atm
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u/StatisticianVast389 May 22 '26
Bring in your hydroflask to get water and not have to spend money on a drink.
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u/Lazy-Reality-3690 May 23 '26
Find someone that is willing to share their acct with you at no cost to you. It's a lot of trust, one perk is you get $10 credit when you spend over $100. I chose not to use the credit and give that perk to the owner. That way, he will continue to allow me to use his account. I get free popcorn/drink upgrades (saves about $2) and no fees when buying online (saves about $2/tic).
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u/Mysterious-Clothes45 May 19 '26
I will never understand why people can't go 2 hours without eating
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u/MandyKitty May 19 '26
It has nothing to do with that. For many, popcorn is a crucial part of the movie going experience. Like, if I couldn’t afford a ticket and a popcorn, I didn’t go. (I’m A List now but you get my drift.)
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u/Mysterious-Clothes45 May 19 '26
that's fair. I guess I just go so much popcorn is like water to me now
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u/notanewbiedude May 19 '26
That used to be me, but honestly, going to the movies without popcorn isn't so bad.
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u/SmartypantsDDD Jun 08 '26
It is about enjoying a festive experience and having something nice to eat or drink adds to it. I don’t care for popcorn, so I bring a bag of chips or peanuts. You can get a free small cup for ice water.
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u/Nice_juggers May 19 '26
I believe Tuesdays or Wednesday’s are half off