5 ways to save money at the cinema

Everyone loves the cinema, I know I do, it is a great experience and atmosphere to see a film on the big screen. However one thing usually always comes up in conversations over cinema and that is usually, “It's such a shame how expensive it is”. You will be pleased to know that it does not have to be as expensive as you first thought and I will tell you 5 ways to save money going to the cinema.

Bring your own snacks

This one is a bit of a cheeky one as after all a cinema's profits are actually mainly from the selling of food and drink, not from ticket sales. But most of the main cinema chains such as Cineworld, Vue and Odeon, allow you to bring your own food and drink, although each cinema has slightly differing rules regarding bringing your own food and drink.

Please note though that not all cinemas allow this or have special rules, such as Cineworld not allowing hot food or alcohol unless sold by themselves. As such always check with your cinema's website or media page, usually the information is on the FAQ, on what is allowed.

As stated though the selling of food and drink is how cinemas stay in profit and as such business, and the fresh popcorn and nice cold drink are part of the experience, so it can be a better experience to pay especially if you read more in the next section.

Cineworld Unlimited Card vs Odeon Limitless Card

This is a really simple idea, and one that we make use of at least once a week. Pay one price each month and be able to see as many films as you want throughout that month. This is done by Cineworld (Unlimited) for £17.40 a month and Odeon (Limitless) for £17.99 a month.

These are big savers if you often visit the cinema as you will only need to go twice a month for you to have saved money on buying a tickets. My wife and I also found that we ended up going to the cinema more due to having these cards as we wanted to get our money's worth.

My wife and I both prefer the Unlimited card as Cineworld is our closer cinema and you get more for your money.

The Cineworld Unlimited card gives you amazing discounts on snacks bought at the cinema, 10% off during the first year and 25% after the first year when you are ungraded for free to the Unlimited Premium (which is the same price so no worries there). This makes it a lot cheaper to have the cinema snack experience and also support the cinema, without paying too much.

The Unlimited card also gives you a 25% discount on food at Pizzahut, Frankie & Benny's and Chiquito, this makes it even better for a film and meal out.

As a bonus you can recommend a friend which will gain you both a month for free!

Want to get a month of Cineworld Unlimited for free? Enter either of these codes when you register and you will get a month for free:

• RAF-24VB-07EJ-74CL-16LS
• RAF-07GR-59RW-05PQ-69UW

Booking your ticket online in Advance

You will often need to check online what time films are showing and you will often know what day you are going to go ahead of time, so at certain cinemas such as Cineworld it can be better for you to book that ticket in advance. Some cinemas however do have an advanced booking fee so always check to make sure online first.

This not only will save you a little money but can also make sure you are able to see the film at that time. After all there is nothing worse than going to the cinema only to find out that you have to wait until the next screening or not being able to see the film at all and have made a wasted trip!

Cinema Offers

Every cinema has their own offers, deals and exclusives. Some have multiple differing offers or seem very similar to each other so be sure to check out your local cinema's website to look over the offers or even to get in touch with them.

If you have children then the offers that you are most going to be interested in are Cineworld's Movies for Juniors, Vue's Mini Mornings and Odeon's Family Value, these three are all aimed at families with children making it cheaper to go for the family and all follow the same principle of reducing the price for either the adults (only if accompanied by a responsible child) or to reduce the price of both parents and children. Either way it is a great saving for those with families and great way especially to spend these summer holidays.

Some cinema's also bring savings to teens and students, Odeon and Vue being great examples of this. These also being even cheaper during the day when teens and students are at their most free (good way to spend few hours between lectures and lessons when in either 6th form or university). Plus with Odeon if you have a NUS extra card, you get another discount compared to the regular student saving. Both might require ID so always make sure you have it with you.

It isn't just the cinema themselves that have offers, for example Meerkat Movies 2 for 1 if you have bought insurance via Comparethemarket.com. This makes it much easier to bring a friend, partner or relative without that extra cost, just think of the popcorn you could get with the saving if you wanted to?

As I stated above to get the most out of the deals and offers at your local cinema then check out their website or contact them via email, social media or pop in and ask.

Show film first

What's better than free? Not much really. Showfilmfirst are a company that give out free tickets to preview screenings of films, quite that simple really. They work with the film distributors to organise screenings, which for them generates an increased interest in the films and positive feedback, after all you will talk to your friends about the film and they hopefully will go to see it.

The only catch with Showfilmfirst is that you have to register with them and you are not guaranteed to see a film. Each film usually has a target audience and as such you will usually be invited to see certain films if you fall into that target audience, since they are looking to receive the most on that interest and feedback.

They do not just deal with films though, they also do the same for shows, concerts and other events!

I hope that you have enjoyed reading, hopefully I haven't caused to much controversy over bringing your own food but most cinema do allow it. Does anyone do anything else to save money when they go to the cinema?