Two things worth checking with your local theater: they may have cheaper viewings on Tuesdays, and look for any rewards program that will most likely waive your convenience fees on top of earning points. Points make your drink/concession purchases much more reasonable.

We SHOULDN'T have to do this, but until something better comes along, these are ok alternatives.

Man. I stopped going to movies when they started showing ads before them. If I pay you, you don't get to double dip with advertising imo. To see this is ludicrous, and I hope they all fail.

Going to the cinema has become a luxury at this point, like (classical) theatre or opera. Which is not a bad thing per se, but the industry should stop complaining.

Last film I watched in the cinema was Dumb and Dumber in the early 90s...

(That's more to do with living rural and not really wanting to spent an hour each way travelling to be disappointed by distracting audiences)

I pretty much only go on Discount Tuesdays now. One of my local theaters also waves the "convenience" fee if you join their free rewards program. Helps me save a lot that way.

That's crazy. I think I spent that much seeing Guardians of the Galaxy 3 but I went with my partner and we ordered food and alcohol to our seats. If we would've just done without I think it would been like 20 dollars for two adult tickets. Your theater seriously robbed you.

And all that money spent just to sit in a room with many people looking at their bright phones, talking to eachother, chewing loudly and causing a mess.

No, thanks.

Have to hit the matinees. I take my son to a nearby movie theatre that has a full bar/menu and the tickets for he and I to go are around or under $15 for both of us. $7.25 for me and I think $5 for him.

As a kid, going to the movies on the weekend was a regular event. Nowadays as a dad with a family, it's a luxury.

Pricing for the large scale theatre chains in Canada is similarly brutal.

The only movies I go to now are at the local independent cinema. Cheaper per ticket, membership that gets you access to two free members-only mystery screenings a month, the building itself is fucking gorgeous and I swear they grease their popcorn machine with crack.

Went a long time pretty much swearing off theatres entirely, but COVID gave me a bit of a "You need to support nice things that you want to keep existing" shake, so I'm happy to toss them a couple of bucks for the experience once and a while.

For a family of 4 which includes 2 adults and 2 children, we’re looking at $100 for tickets and snacks easily. It’s crazy how expensive going to the movies have become. That said, I really like recliner seats + Dolby Atmos without having to worry about “getting the best seats”, so some of the hike is a little more digestible. Movie theater snacks though, now that’s highway robbery.

I'm also not the biggest fan of the whole required reservations thing either. It makes spontaneous movie nights with friends a massive hassle. You have to have a designated ticket buyer now, or somehow perfectly coordinate your online buying times to ensure you get seats together.

Nah, it's not that it's gotten more expensive, it's that most of the films are shit or otherwise unsatisfying. Maybe a combination of the two? :)

Of the films I've seen at the cinema recently, the last one I remember really enjoying was Joker (which is not even recent), and the most recent one I mostly enjoyed, but then it had a shit cliffhanger ending instead of feeling like a complete film in its own right. I was literally saying to my friend before the film started that Dune pissed me off because of the absolutely shit ending, and then the same fucking thing happened. I don't go to the cinema and pay $15-20 for the ticket to come out feeling like I watched half a season of some Netflix show. I could have a month of Netflix for the same money, watch what I want at my own convenience and pause/rewind if I need the toilet or want to check something.

I still like going to the cinema, but I feel like the movies have got to be more varied, more surprising, and fucking end properly instead of teasing a second part in a fucking year. I would love it if they were more respecting of my time and didn't run on for three fucking hours too. I'd love more movies like Terminator 2 where there is zero fluff and the whole thing ends in 2 hours? That's what the cinema is for!