Are you someone who loves to watch movies? Because I am. I love to watch movies, especially at the movie theatres. There is just something about watching a movie surrounded by strangers, in the dark, that triggers happiness in my brain.
I love going to the movies, but, as a college student, it has become increasingly difficult for me to go. With ticket prices on the rise for the movies, some theatres being up to $13 a ticket, it is impossible for me to pay to go as much as I’d like.
That is why I tried to find the cheapest ways for me to get my movie fix. Everyone already knows about Netflix and Redbox, but most of the time watching movies by myself on my laptop isn’t enough for me.
There are also a number of events that happen around the school that offer movie nights and some select movies for events if you live in East Campus, like I do. However, I was in search of going to the movie theatre the cheapest way possible.
The first way that I found that is the cheapest overall, and the best option for California State University, Monterey Bay students, is the AS Box Office. Most people don’t know that Associated Students office sells Cinemark tickets for $6.
I found this method of buying a movie ticket is the best for a one time visit to theatres, but not so great if you don’t prepare ahead of time. This semester the AS Box Office is only open Mondays and Wednesdays from noon to 2 p.m., Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to noon, and Fridays 11a.m. to 1 p.m.
So if it’s Saturday night and you choose to go to a last minute showing, it isn’t helpful. The AS Box Office accepts cash only, so if you forget and show up with a debit card there is not much they can do for you.
The Cinemark movie theatre itself offers a few ways to watch movies at a cheaper price. Tuesdays are their discount days. If you go to the Cinemark movie theatre in Marina there are no specific student discounts, however, on Tuesdays their tickets are $5.50.
This is another great way to watch movies for a discounted price, but it is difficult to plan on going out to the movies when you’re limited to only Tuesdays.
Finally, the last method I tried was Cinemark’s monthly subscription plan. This is a new rewards member subscription, where for $9 a month you get one free movie ticket to the theatre.
This seems like it isn’t that much of a saving because it is only one ticket that you are paying $9 for; however, there are more hidden savings that can be received within the membership. The best part of the membership is that all add on tickets are also $9.
So, for everyone else who wants to go with you, their tickets are also discounted. But wait, it gets better! Not only do the tickets rollover every month if you don’t have the chance to use them, the membership also includes 20 percent off with all concessions purchases.
This really isn’t supposed to be an ad for the Cinemark movie theatre, but to me it is a great place to go and has a lot of cheap options. If you’re someone like me who really enjoys going to the movies know that there are a lot of easy ways to go at a cheaper price.
