How to get cheap cinema tickets
Going to the cinema isn’t the cheap date it used to be, so be sure to make the most of these offers to watch a movie for less. Here are the best ways to get cheap cinema tickets this month.
Now we’re not naming any names, but one of the RadioTimes.com team went to the cinema not too long ago, and two cinema tickets cost them £32... That’s more horrifying than the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre film!
Whereas going to the cinema used to be a cheap date, the prices nowadays are borderline daylight robbery. However, there’s something about sitting in a theatre and watching the latest film, with the snacks you’ve smuggled in, that we find really enjoyable.
Although we love the ease of streaming services — being able to come home after a long day in the office and switching on some soothing reality TV or gripping drama is blissful — we agree with director Martin Scorsese’s rant that subscription services are devaluing the art of cinema. After all, blockbusters like The Whale, Babylon, and The Banshees of Inisherin were destined to be enjoyed on the big screen.
So with all of this in mind, we’ve been determined to find ways of making the cinema cheap again! From monthly passes and two-for-one discounts to savings through Tastecard, Vodafone and Three, these are the best ways to get cheap cinema tickets.
Going to the cinema is a great date night, and for more activities to do with your other half, check out the best couple's experiences. Or, for a more unique day out, take a look at the best animal experiences.
Enjoy up to 40 per cent off cinema tickets with Tastecard 90-day free trial
If you want discounts to see all the latest film releases in the cinema without breaking the bank, Tastecard has got you covered.
A restaurant discount card, Tastecard give you discounts on cinema tickets as well as days out and dining. You can now get 90 days of discounts for free from Tastecard, so let the movie watching commence!
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- How to get cheap cinema tickets
- Best cheap cinema tickets and deals at a glance
- Best cheap cinema tickets and deals for January 2023
How to get cheap cinema tickets
Before booking to go to the cinema, it's important to check if you can get discounted tickets because, more often than not, you'll be able to knock a few quid off your bill.
If you have a phone or broadband contract, chances are they will offer a rewards scheme to get discounted tickets for concerts, theme parks, the cinema, and more. Vodafone, Three UK, O2, and Virgin Media are amongst the providers who offer cheap cinema tickets.
It's important to shop around; buying from the cinema's website or on the door won't be the best way to bag cheap tickets. Sites like Fever and Tastecard are brilliant for discounted cinema tickets, and if you're looking to turn a cinema trip into something a bit more special, Buyagift and Virgin Experience Days have plenty of great packages.
Unfortunately, unlike with things such as train tickets, buying cinema tickets in advance won't lower the price. Plus, most cinemas release tickets only a week in advance anyway. But do not fear our cinema-loving readers, we've got plenty of ways to help you claim cheap cinema tickets.
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Finding cheap tickets is something of our speciality! Check out how to get cheap train tickets, how to get cheap theatre tickets, and how to get cheap football tickets.
What day is 2-for-1 cinema tickets?
This varies depending on where you claimed the offer from, but 2-for-1 cinema days are usually weekdays.
With Meerkat Movies, you can grab 2-for-1 ODEON cinema tickets every Tuesday or Wednesday for a whole year when you buy a qualifying product from Comparethemarket.com.
What day is the cheapest to go to the cinema?
Typically, weekdays are the cheapest to go to the cinema as places, such as Meerkat Movies, offer the 2-for-1 cinema ticket promotion during the week. However, we have some brilliant deals below, from Tesco Clubcard, Fever, Vodafone, and more, that get you discounted cinema tickets on weekends.
For other budget-friendly days out, take a look at how to get cheap Alton Towers tickets and find plays in our best West End shows list from just £12.
Best cheap cinema tickets and deals at a glance:
- Discounted cinema tickets at Fever
- Up to 40% off cinema tickets with Groupon
- Save on the latest films with Tastecard
- Get cinema experience vouchers at Buyagift
- Top cinema experiences at Virgin Experience Days
- Save 35% when you become a cinema member at ODEON
- Save when you become a cinema member at Cineworld
- Two tickets for £7 for Vodafone customers
- Turn Clubcard vouchers into Cineworld tickets
- One discounted film every day with Fever
- £3 cinema tickets with Three UK
- Cheap cinema tickets for kids at Cineworld
- Cheap cinema tickets for kids at ODEON
- Cheap cinema tickets for kids at Empire
- Cheap cinema tickets for kids with Kids Pass
- Get group discounts for Vue cinemas at Wowcher
- Free cinema tickets with Priority
Best cheap cinema tickets and deals for March 2023
Discounted cinema tickets at Fever
What’s the deal: Participating cinemas in London are offering discounted tickets via Fever. See the latest films from just £3.99 at Vue, and from £6.99 at ODEON. Plus, there’s the option to join waiting lists for soon-to-be-released movies, such as Creed III.
Why we chose it: If I wanted to see Scream VI at The Chiswick Cinema in London, it would cost me £18.50 for an Adult ticket, and if I chose to see the film at Vue Westfield in Shepherd's Bush, even for the Super Saver option, it would set me back £9.99. However, to see the film at an ODEON cinema via Fever, I'd only pay £6.99. You can't say fairer than that.
Up to 40% off cinema tickets with Groupon
What’s the deal: Groupon has some fantastic deals to help you bag a cinema ticket for less. There are 40 per cent off tickets at ODEON, and discounts on group cinema tickets.
Why we chose it: At the moment, you can bag five tickets for any ODEON cinema for £20, so just £4 each.
Get up to 40% off cinema tickets at Groupon
Save on the latest films with Tastecard
What’s the deal: First of all, what is Tastecard? Tastecard is a one-stop shop for discount codes for your favourite restaurants, cinemas, and shops. Tastecard has partnered with high street and independent cinemas to bring you up to 40% off cinema tickets.
Why we chose it: The money you save on cinema tickets can be spent on snacks instead. Smart idea? We certainly think so.
Cinema experiences with Buyagift
What’s the deal: If you fancy making a day or an evening out of your cinema trip, Buyagift has just the experience packages for you. Some of our favourites include cinema tickets with dinner, a hidden vintage cinema with cocktails, and tickets to Bristol Film Festival with wine tasting.
Why we chose it: Despite some of the vouchers not saving you a huge amount of money, there are some real gems on the Buyagift website. Plus, the experiences can be claimed at various locations across the UK.
- Buy the Cinema Tickets with Dinner Experience Box for £59.99 at Buyagift
- Buy the Hidden Vintage Cinema Experience with Cocktails for Two at TT Liquor experience for £29 at Buyagift
- Buy the Two Tickets to Bristol Film Festival with a Wine Tasting at Averys Wine Cellar experience for £50 at Buyagift
Cinema experiences with Virgin Experience Days
What’s the deal: Like with Buyagift, Virgin Experience Days offers cinema experiences which make watching a movie a whole lot more special. Plus, the site offers bundles on Cineworld tickets, which include snacks and drinks, saving you a couple of pennies.
Why we chose it: If you're buying someone a cinema experience, perhaps for a birthday or an anniversary, a gift card from Virgin Experience Days is a thoughtful idea.
- Buy Cineworld Cinema Tickets with Drinks and Snacks for Two for £42 at Virgin Experience Days
- Buy Cocktail Cinema Evening for Two at the Courthouse Hotel for
£56£44 at Virgin Experience Days
Save when you become a cinema member
What’s the deal: Many cinemas offer memberships where you can pay a monthly fee and see as many films as your heart desires, for example, myLIMITLESS from ODEON offers unlimited films, savings on food and drink, and exclusive screenings from £14.99 a month. Similarly, experience as many movies as you like with Cineworld Unlimited from £10.99 a month.
Why we chose it: A lot of the time, you’d only have to visit the cinema twice a month to get your money’s worth. Plus you get 10% off food and drink, and if you haven't already guessed a discounted snack is a priority for us!
- Become a myLIMITLESS member from £14.99 a month at ODEON
- Get Cineworld Unlimited from £10.99 a month at Cineworld
Two tickets for £7 for Vodafone customers
What’s the deal: Vodafone customers can redeem this Vue offer — two tickets for £7 — once a week. The offer will appear on the My Vodafone app every Monday. There is a tiny bit of small print, however: you’ll need to have a monthly or small business contract, or if you’re a pay-as-you-go customer, you’ll need to have topped up at least £10 in the last 60 days.
Why we chose it: The offer covers any 2D movie, and can be redeemed on the weekend, which is a huge rarity as that’s the most popular time to go.
Turn Clubcard vouchers into cinema tickets
What’s the deal: Is there anything Tesco Clubcards can’t do? If it’s not saving us money on our meal deal, it’s getting us cheap tickets to Thorpe Park. Now, you can get three times the value on your Clubcard vouchers — for example, 50p becomes £1.50 — when exchanged for a Cineworld code.
Why we chose it: ‘Every little helps’, as Tesco would say! Any amount of money off a cinema ticket is a win in our eyes.
One film every day with Fever
What’s the deal: Check out the participating Vue cinemas in Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow, London, Liverpool, Birmingham or Manchester, decide the film and time, then buy your Fever E-code to use on the listing and save yourself some pennies. There's some fantastic films out at the moment that you can use the code on, such as John Wick: Chapter 4 and the Super Mario Bros. movie.
Why we chose it: From just £3.99, you can watch a film at participating Vue cinemas in Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow, London, Liverpool, Birmingham or Manchester.
- Buy Vue Cinema Manchester tickets from £3.99 at Fever
- Buy Vue Cinema Birmingham tickets for £4.50 at Fever
- Buy Vue Cinema Bristol tickets for £3.99 at Fever
- Buy Vue Cinema Liverpool tickets for £3.99 at Fever
- Buy Vue Cinema London tickets from £3.99 at Fever
- Buy Vue Cinema Glasgow tickets from £3.99 at Fever
- Buy Vue Cinema Edinburgh tickets from £3.99 at Fever
£3 cinema tickets with Three UK
What’s the deal: Another great deal you can bag by simply having a phone contract, and this time, it’s from Three UK. Three Mobile customers will get a weekly code for £3 Cineworld tickets on the Three+ rewards app.
Why we chose it: Like with the Vodafone offer, the code can be redeemed on any 2D movie, and you can use it on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday — prime cinema-going days.
Cheap cinema tickets for kids
What’s the deal: An offer you can use during the summer holidays and beyond! A selection of UK cinemas offer discounted tickets for children aged 14 and under, and their accompanying adult. Tickets start from just £2.50 at Cineworld and ODEON, and £2 at Empire.
Plus, Kids Pass offers up to 40% off cinema tickets at a range of cinemas nationwide.
Why we chose it: Keeping kids entertained, particularly during the holidays, can be expensive. That’s why any deal that keeps the cost of family days out down will be shared with you with the utmost priority!
- Empire Jnrs from £2 at Empire
- Movies For Juniors from £2.50 at Cineworld
- ODEON Kids from £2.50 at ODEON
- Get 30% off cinema tickets with Kids Pass
Group discounts with Wowcher
What’s the deal: With Wowcher you can get regular group discounts for over 87 Vue cinemas, including screens in London, Liverpool and Cardiff. You can get discount codes for deals like two tickets for £9, five tickets for £20 or even 10 tickets for £38.
Why we chose it: Cinema is an experience you should share with the people around you, so with these voucher codes you can turn a small cinema trip into a big group day out.
Free cinema tickets with Priority
What’s the deal: What’s better than discounted cinema tickets? Free ones! O2 phone and Virgin Media broadband customers will love this deal: each week, Priority releases 10,000 free ODEON tickets for any 2D screening on a Sunday or Monday, and if you’re in the first 10,000, you’ve just bagged yourself a free ticket.
Why we chose it: It’s completely free as there’s no booking fee.
- Discover rewards with O2 Priority
- Not an O2 phone customer? Take a look at the phones
- Looking to switch to Virgin Media broadband? Check out the packages
As much as we'd love to, it's practically impossible to go to the cinema every day, so be sure to check out our Disney Plus offers and Virgin Media offers.
Plus, you can take a look at some of the other fun experiences we can offer, like the best film and TV studio tours and the best F1 experience days.
