Save Money at the Movies with 6 Simple Steps

No one loves going to the movies more than myself. There’s something about the solitariness of siting down in a big dark room, with a drink on one side, popcorn on the other, and big lit up screen with what you hope to be the best movie you’ve ever watched. For that hour or two or three, you get to temporarily leave your life and submerge yourself into the plot of the movie. The isolation is relaxing enough to lull a person to sleep (and believe me,  I’ve done my fair share of napping through movies). I believe everyone should have the movie theater experience at some point in their life, not just to watch a movie, but to escape from the outside world. That being said, there’s one more reason the big screen calls me to its sanctuary. Movie theater popcorn!

The aroma of popcorn is the very first thing I smell opening the doors to a movie theater.  The only thing that turns me away from purchasing the popcorn is the price. I hate to say this, [but] the quality of the popcorn is worth the price that we pay, which is probably why people still buy it.  I can expect to spend around $20 when I go to the movies; this includes my ticket, popcorn, and soda.  When the number people you have with you increases to 3 or 4, then you can count on spending up to $50. Sounds a little outrageous just for movie tickets and refreshments. But what if I can give you a tip on how you only need to buy 1 large popcorn to feed 5 people or more.  I’m no Harry Potter or Houdini wherein I can make popcorn appear out of nowhere (I sure can make it disappear though), I'm just suggesting you bring something with you that can fit in your pocket.  Gallon size plastic bags with a sealing capability.

Here’s what you do step by step:

1.  Buy a box of gallon size plastic bags with a sealing capability (grocery bags work too, but they make a lot of noise in the theater)

2.       Get to your movie 20-25 minutes early

3.       Buy your large popcorn (for the free refills)

4.       Pour the popcorn in the plastic bags with the sealing capability while in your seats

5.       If you run out of popcorn, then send someone else (sending the same person will throw up red flag) to the counter and get your FREE refill ).  Or if you are alone, try to locate a different counter in the theater and ask for a refill.

6.       Repeat steps 4-5 until everyone has popcorn

The fear of paying for grossly overpriced delicious popcorn should now be significantly decreased. The other upside to using the bags is that you can just seal them up and save your popcorn so it doesn't get stale. Consumer Win.

Share your tips and tricks on how you save money at the movie theater.