Movies for less

With the price of movie tickets and refreshments, going to the movies has been crossed off many budgets.  Video rental stores work just fine but the late fees are annoying.  For those who want to avoid late fees, Netflix and Blockbuster Online are the way to go. Both companies send your DVDs straight to your mailbox.  You can keep the DVDs for any length of time without late fees but in order to maximize your monthly fee, you need to turnover quickly. Blockbuster has one over Netflix in that you have the option to return the DVD to their store (on Clark Ln), speeding up the return process and allowing you to get your next DVD sooner.

Another video rental option is through the DVD "vending machine" called redbox.  It has a simple fee schedule: $1 per night.  So, if you grab a DVD right when you want to watch it and return it the next day, you only pay $1!  If you submit your email address online, you get one free rental.  The selection is not nearly as large as other video rentals and it varies per machine.  You can browse the selection online, see which redbox in the area has the particular DVD, and reserve it.  Here in town, there are redboxes in HyVee and Walmart.  

Even though movies can be very expensive, there are movies that are only seen "right" on the big screen!  (Star Trek?  The Dark Knight?)  To save some money on tickets, unless you are a student or senior (and therefore enjoy special discounts), you have to pick the right time to watch.  At Hollywood Theater (off of Stadium), movies before 4pm cost $6.25 and those between 4 and 6pm cost $5.75 (regular admission $8.25).  At Forum 8 (off of Forum), shows before 6pm cost $6.00 (regular admission also $8.25).

One way to see a movie for free is to attend a movie screening. Most movies have free showings to gauge audience reaction. Passes are either available to the general public or through partner establishments.  Apparently, getting a pass does not guarantee entry to the movie; they seat on a first come, first served basis. However, getting there an hour early is usually enough lead time. Gofobo is a website that allows easy searching for local movie screenings.  Unfortunately, there are no screenings here in town, but there are some in St. Louis and Kansas City.  The current available screenings are of Orphan and G-Force.  While passes are sometimes available directly through gofobo, these movie passes are only available through partner companies (links on the site). One such partner is Review St. Louis, which currently has raffles for passes to Funny People and G-Force.

Update 7/15:  I forgot to add this yesterday.  If you enjoy documentaries and TV series, the place to score free DVD rentals is the library.  It does not have the most extensive selection, but it's free!  Limit 5 DVDs checked out at once.  Due back in 1 week but you can renew your rental online or over the phone up to three times (unless there's a hold on the title).  Plus, no late fees BUT a hold will be put on your account if you do not return overdue items.