warrrreagl

My wife and I do this nearly every time we go see a movie. As we are walking out of the early show down a long corridor past other movies, we simply walk into another one that starts later and watch an unnoficial double-feature.

In fact, I always get online before we leave home so that I can calculate the ending times for the early shows and the starting times for the later shows. I find that if I add 15 minutes for previews, I can pretty accurately predict the exact ending time for the early shows, and thereby plan exactly which later show we can see.

Also, my wife brings our own bottled Coke drinks from home in her "movie purse," which is a large canvas bag she bought at GAP. Since our theatre has two Coke machines inside the lobby, it's not unusual to see patrons walking around with bottled Cokes.

Plus, we buy one large popcorn because it comes with a free refill at any time, which I usually go get somewhere near the end of the first film. Therefore, when the first movie ends, we watch the ending credits all the way to the end and walk out together with a full bag of refilled popcorn and two bottled drinks. As we walk into the second movie, we look just like all the other patrons who just arrived.

Our theatre takes the tickets back at the entrance door, so there's no one around to watch the back hallways where the theatre doors are located.

Our total expenditures for two movies, two large bags of popcorn, and four bottled Diet Cokes comes out to be $22.75.

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CSflim

Shame on you! Bad warrrreagl!

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thespian86

I did something similar when I was a younger guy, wanting to get into Rated R films. I would go see one film that started twenty or so minutes ahead of the other one... I would calculate the preview time of the other film and watch the first of that film (Something I wouldn't want to see anyways...) and go out for refill of popcorn (by emptying the popcorn in the garbage on the way out of theature one) and I would just get my refil of popcorn and walk into the other theature... Thats how I saw the first american pie haha.

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crfpilot

I have done this several times before. The price of the movie tickets are outrageous, and the theater doesn't make much if anything of it. They make their $ with the overpriced refreshments, I think but could be wrong. We do buy some refreshments though. Our total movie bill for family of 4 is about $50, I think that's worth watching 2 movies.

Kadath

Guilt keeps me from stealing so blatantly from the movie theater. I will break the rule about outside food and bring in my own candy, because I refuse to pay 5 dollars for something I can get for 2, but I pay for the movie I want to see. If I want to see another, I pay for that one. If I want to save money, I'll go to a matinee.

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Cynthetiq

I just can't sit thru a double feature anymore. I don't have the time commitment space of that many hours.

I'd love to do it since movies are dang expensive here in Manhattan.

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Hrothgar

I do it when I have the time to spare or when the opportunity presents itself and another movie I want to see is just starting. It's been about a year since I've done this. I have netflix so I can just wait for the dvd and see x number of movies in the privacy and comfort of my own home. The wait from movie theater to dvd is getting shorter and shorter so that suits me.

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tokaok

god thats disgusting.

if you dont like the pricing of the tickets then just rent dvds. or wait till it hits cable or just wait longer till it hits broadcast tv.

this just shows your fickle moral standard where you only do the right thing in situation where doing the wrong thing would get you caught.

why dont you just go rob a bank then so you can afford free movies for life.


theft disgust me.

Mr.Deflok

What happens when you walk into a full-house screening (and by Full-House I don't mean Danny Tanner and the Olsen Twins) ?

Is walking into a theatre without paying as equally unethical as watching the film on your computer? You decide.

messy

I knew this thread would get nasty. I could care less that you do this, but I would be really pissed if you took up 2 good seats in a packed theater... or if you walked in late and asked us to scoot down a seat so you could fit. Even paying customers who do this really tick me off.

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Peryn

Screw the moral highground, ill be honest. Yes, i do this. I dont usually put as much planning into it as you, but i do. Sometimes ill even do it after getting in free from knowing poeple who work there. I get to screw the theatre twice sometimes. Lucky me.

Now, i wont walk in to a packed theatre on a movie that just opened. ALL of the people that payed have a right to get seated. If theres room leftover, then yes, i might snag a seat.

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Ace_O_Spades

Whats the matter with you?

can't afford the one seat buffer so people can find room to sit with their friends?

gah

people like YOU annoy me when im trying to find seats for me and a few friends to sit and watch the movie together

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philosopherking

Not only have I done this, but I've spent the entire day at a movie theatre with only buying one ticket. A couple summers ago my friends and I saw about 5 1/2 movies (we wanted to say we walked out of some crappy movie, I think it was See Spot Run or something like that). Just a stupid little thing to do back in high school that sounded fun at the time.

As for taking up seats in a sold out movie, theatres usually leave several seats unsold so that people showing up late will have a better chance at finding seats together. I've been to sold out movies with an entire front row empty.

meepa

Often times I'll go to the theatre and we'll buy our tickets, and then when we go in, whoever is supposed to be taking the stubs isn't around. Or one hallway is open while some lazy worker is standing at the other one. The people who work there really don't give a shit one way or another if you have a ticket half the time (obviously management doesn't feel this way, but they aren't around). I always get so pissed off when I pay for something and realize I didn't have to! Be an asshole and demand my ticket, fuckers!!

messy

If you come in late (like I said), then we have a problem. I refuse to scoot down for anyone who comes strolling in 5 minutes after the movie started. And if that pisses you off, maybe you'll get there earlier next time.

Edited to add: I have no problem sitting right next to someone I don't know. As long as they don't have B.O. like that fat bitch at Day After Tomorrow.

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Stompy

I used to do this till I got broadband.

Now I pretty much just download the movies, heh.. although the quality is crappy. I just can't see bein gone at the movie theaters for 4-6 hours :P

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Pellaz

I get annoyed when asked to move also, 99% of the time. I've even refused to do it. I *always* sit in the middle, 3rd-4th row from the front. I get there in time to make sure I can do this. If you come in with your gang of friends and want me to move 5 seats down just because you don't want to have to sit in the 1st row five minutes into the flick, tough luck. In a full house, it's a different story, but I find the former situation much more common.

As for the topic at hand, I'd say it's moraly wrong but other than that, what are you going to do? I'd never do it, as there's only one theater worth anything that I wouldn't have to drive 60 miles to get to, and I wouldn't enjoy being kicked out one bit.

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Rdr4evr

I agree with Messy on this one. It is fucking annoying when somebody walks in late and expects you to move over. Fuck that, if you wanted to get a decent seat, you should have gotten here earlier. Why should I have to move my seat for some asshole whos late. Half the time these fuckers end up talking through the whole movie too.

Derwood

And we wonder why movie ticket prices are as high as they are?

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Stompy

Don't mean to open a can of worms with this, but actually, if you compare the numbers (not sayin it's okay to download/sneak into movies), you'd find that there's really no reason for ticket prices to be jacked up.

Look at Shrek 2. Cost $75 mill to make it and it's already made about 5 times that.

You'll occasionally have bombs like Gigli (cost $50+ million to make, grossed not even 1/5 of that), but even those losses are made up by the profits from other blockbusters.

Look at the cost vs. profit for even the most non-interesting movies and you'll find they still make quite a hefty income. A lot of times they break even at the box office, but they REALLY rake in when it hits video due to the rentals/purchases. If a movie exceeds box office expectations, then they make that much more once it hits home.

Trust me, these studios are by no means losing money or even coming CLOSE to it, so pay no attention to those "I'm a stuntman and I can't get my kid braces" PSAs. Their "losses" are based on assumption. They assume that the 4,000 people who didn't pay to see Movie X were for sure 100% set on spending $ to see it either way.

Chances are, those who hopped into other theaters while only having paid for ONE ticket wouldn't have paid to see it anyway. There are exceptions, of course, but for the most part..

I'm not trying to justify anyone sneaking or downloading, but I figure I'd give a different perspective on it

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Ace_O_Spades

I misread the original post when he said late

yeah I'd be pissed if someone came in late as well....

my bad

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Speed_Gibson

the best place for this kind of thing was the local drive in theatre (that was closed in mid-late 90 something and the fuckers from safeway tore it down to build a new store) where I watched Beverly Hills Cop III and two other films for the price of one without moving at all.

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warrrreagl

We won't try it on a new release "sold-out" type movie, and we won't try it if the theatre has less than 10 people in it. In the former, I refuse to sit jammed in with gross people who won't shut up. In the latter, it's too easy for the projectionist to notice that the headcount doesn't match the ticket count.

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metalgeek

You do realize movie theaters are not owned by the movie production houses? And haven't been owned since 1950's (although the big movie theater chainsa re starting to be bought by media conglomerates again)
I always used to wait and see the movei in the cheap theaters (unles I wanted to see it right waway, ala LOTR) 2 bucks for a movie, plus their popcorn and such was cheaper.

FaderMonkey

I agree. Movie theaters know that this stuff happens all of the time and they obviously aren't doing anything to stop it. They know that if you are going to hang out there for more than one movie you'll end up buying stuff from the refreshment stand. That's where they really make their money. The only time they have someone collecting tickets at the entrance of an individual screen is when it's a bigger film that's sold out and they don't want extra people taking up seats.

Piston Honda

I'm pretty sure that the cost of the ticket has more to do with the individual movie theater trying to recoup the large sums of money that they have to pay to the studios for the rights to screen the movie. That's what I've heard, anyway.

Nimbletoe

I just quit at the movie theater I worked at (thank GOD), but in three months, I caught 40ish people trying to do this. Most were black. Most of the time I would let them go, because I didn't care. But i'd have to do something if a manager was around.

That isn't racism btw, its an observation. The theater is right between yuppie country and a city thats kinda like the projects, so it's expected. But there's definitley all types of people that try.

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Rdr4evr

I am in no way racist at all, as I have black friends, but the fact of the matter is, that most of the movies I go see, some black people always have to yell and talk through the entire movie. And god forbid you say anything to them, they start making a scene and want to kick my ass.

Scipio

Wait, did they say Diet Coke?! Shameful!

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Nimbletoe

You should try selling overpriced popcorn to people. Heh.

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warrrreagl

Yeah, I'm one of the 4 people on the earth that actually prefers the taste of Diet Coke to Sugar Coke.

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Fremen

I must be one of the four then.

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kurtisj

thats bad karma. im telling

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