Last night we had a great time when we went and saw Iron Man II. I thought it was well done and overall was a great movie!
But calculating the cost, it ran over $50.00 for the entire experience. Here’s a break down of the costs:
- tickets (2 adults, 2 kids): $30
- Popcorn, drinks and candy: $15
- gas driving to the supreme theater: $5
Now contrast the cost of going to the theater vs our typical movie watching experience:
- DVD from Library: (free)
- Popcorn and Candy: $2.00
- Gas: (lol, supplied for free by the dog)
So $50.00 vs $2.00… hmmm…
Of course with the $2.00 route, we have to wait a month or 2 to see that movie but for a savings of $48.00… I think it’s worth it.
Another great route is via Netflix. You pay a set amount a month and can get 1 or 2 movies shipped to you a week. And if you use their online download services, the deal is even better (I believe it’s unlimited downloads). This is another great way to go, but this is pretty common knowledge now… Red Box is another great route, but I haven’t tried that yet.
The idea of Red Box is that you go to a box that looks like a vending machine outside of popular stores, and pay $1.00 for a video for 1 night’s worth of view, then you return it the next day. Although, this may seem cheaper than Netflix, I’m not so sure about that. After all, it really depends on how far the Red Box machine is from your house… The gas prices add up more than people think!
It was still nice to go to a quality theater once or twice a year, if the movie is a great one!
-MR
Even once or twice a year gets under my skin. But how can you say no to your kids all the time?
The first Iron Man was one of those rare experiences. I actually liked the film. But I find it hard to believe any movie is worth $50!
Movies are really expensive. I always make sure I take a big purse for snack-smuggling. There is nothing wrong with treating the family once in awhile.
I love Netflix. I actually just watched Casablanca via Netflix tonight. (Great movie, I had never seen it before.) Since we have xbox live, we can watch a ton of movies for free that go straight to the tv, too. However, not all movies are ‘on demand’ so you have to get them in the mail.
@LeanLifeCoach
I agree, $50 is way to much for a movie.
Sometimes, we do to the Drive-In. It’s only $16 a per car. We then bring our own popcorn and snacks.
@Everyday Tips
Hmmm, I didn’t realize you could download movies via XBox Live. Sounds like a great addition!
I saw Casablanca as a kid, but I think I missed a lot in the conversation. I’ll have to watch it again, with older eyes and wiser ears 🙂
YIKES! That’s a big diff! The wife and I were gonna watch tonight.. just two of us for $20 bucks as we don’t get food there. Then we thought better, since we have DVDs and Tivo.
Your topic is why I wrote “The DVD Method to CD Investing For Maximum Yield”. I like to just wait and watch in front of my home theatre system 🙂
@Financial Samurai
Usually, that’s what we do too. But both of my kids wanted to see it on the big screen. I was a good night out, but $50 is a bit steep for my taste. Perhaps next time we’ll shoot for the matinee
I think it’s ok to go out and go all out once in a while..even if it’s $50 for a blockbuster movie. But if it becomes a habitual regular thing, then it gets expensive. I think i go out and watch movies in the theater 3-4 times in a year and end up watching everything else on dvds.
@Money Green Life
For the kids to experience a blockbuster movie on the big screen. I agree, but not for $50.00. I need to come better prepared next time.
The one expense that I could have controlled in the equation was the snacks. If we weren’t so rush, we could have stuck a few pieces of candy in my wife’s purse (and maybe popcorn too)…
We could have chosen a closer theater, and went during matinee times (this would have saved us a lot of money!)
Next time, I’ll shoot for a max spending of $25.00. This should be possible if I do all I mention above.
Haha, my girlfriend and i always stop by the convenience store before we go to the movies. candies are so much cheaper there! Plus, my gf carries a big purse!
@Money Green Life
That the best way to do it 😉
Iron Man II was a good movie… In my opinion, almost as good the original so it was worth it…
I love IMDB.COM, I use them to eliminate the bad movies before wasting money on them.
Having gone out with your kids like that, I can definitely see how it would rack up the expenses like that. Yikes!
@Aury (Thunderdrake)
Yeah, if I had know it would cost $50.00, I don’t think I would have went that day. Most likely I would have waited until the next day and went at matinee prices 🙂
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