PenguinJoe

Valley Plaza 6 in LA is pretty good and sometimes gets first run movies at cheap prices if you're willing to do a survey about the movie. I saw The Green Hornet and Horrible Bosses there before they were released for 1.50. They also have $1 hot dogs which is awesome. Downside, it's in North Hollywood.

TomOpus

I don't know of any dollar theaters out here. If there are, the distance to get there would use up gas that would negate any savings at the theater.

bluetoast

There's a Drafthouse close to me that had dollar Mondays but now it's about $2, but of course you're gonna end up getting a pitcher or some food. They switched to digital recently, which kind of sucks but at least they'll be around. Haven't been there in a bit.

EdTheRipper

There is a $2.50 theater about 20 minutes from here. For me, it isn't worth the drive to save the money.

My Other Self

They bulldozed the only dollar theater in the area not long before I had moved here. All we have now is a 4-screen theater attached to a mall that has steadily raised its prices over the past few years. Over the summer it was bumped from $3.50 to $4. Still alright, I guess, but it's hard to justify it given the theater itself is a relic of the mid-80s and you can go to see any movie at the UA or Century for $6 on Tuesdays.

Ash Ketchum

There hasn't been a cheap theater in New York in a long time.

I remember lots of dollar theaters back in the 1970s, but those all closed up by the end of the decade.

In 1992, the Worldwide multiplex opened on 50th Street, off 8th Ave., built into the basement of a brand new skyscraper. The price was $7.50 in 1992 when I saw PRINCE OF TIDES. They adopted a discount policy in 1994 and I saw MAVERICK there for $2. They raised the price to $3 by 1997 when I saw FACE/OFF there, $3.50 in 1999 when I saw A SIMPLE PLAN there, and $4 by the end of 1999 when I saw BRINGING OUT THE DEAD there. It was still $4 when they showed the SHAFT remake in 2000, my last trip to the theater. I don't know when it closed but it was not long after that. I haven't been over there since 2000 so I have no idea what they've done with the space since then.

I do know that the old Loew's State multiplex, built into the basement of the Virgin Megastore on Broadway between 45th and 46th Streets, was gutted after Virgin closed and the space was taken over by Forever 21. I was in there recently exploring the space. The Loew's State (later the Sony State) also ran a discount policy but it was in 2003-2004, when I saw DARK BLUE for $4.95 and MASTER AND COMMANDER for $5.50. The last film I saw there, HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS in late 2004, was back up to full price, $10.50.

SPiRAL

Academy 6 in Pasadena, same company, Regency.

PenguinJoe

Dollar movies aren't really dollar movies more of discount theaters nowadays but the ticket prices usually are never more than $3 after 6pm and $2 matinees, they do have $1 Tuesdays and family days.

kd5

The ONLY "dollar theater" in this town is Cinemark Movies 8 and they haven't been a dollar for a few years. We go every now and then.

islandclaws

The Woodbridge theater in Irvine is, I think, $1 on certain days, $2 the rest. The last film I saw there was Man of Steel. The last one before that? Heavyweights.

printerati

We still have several in the area, but none of them have been very well maintained, so I would be hard pressed to say that any one of them is the "best" since they are all equally bad (and all owned by the same company, Danbarry). They are all up to $3 (except for $1.75 bargain Tuesdays), and a couple of them have added 3D for $5.

Years ago, I used to go to the one on the west side of town regularly since they would often run smaller/independent stuff (I remember Swimming Pool, Limbo, and The Spanish Prisoner, among others), but those days are long gone. We went to see Life of Pi at one of the other locations about a year ago, which was the first time I had set foot in one in at least five (?) years.

majorjoe23

They're all gone in my town, but we used to have several. For a while one had $5 admission, but that included popcorn and soda. Then they switched to first run. Then they closed.

Spiderbite

We have a Carmike 10 nearby that actually does 3D!

$1.50 a movie and $3.50 for a 3D movie. I haven't been there is a few years since the prints they would get were all scratched and beat to hell and the screens were in bad shape. I have heard that they have cleaned it up and improved it since they started doing cheap 3D movies but I have yet to give it a try.

This is tomorrow's line-up (they change up every Friday) so you get a good idea what they are showing & how long after the regular run:



Really not bad if you don't mind waiting and don't want to pay the huge tickets prices lately. It cost my wife and I $32 just for tickets to the recent IMAX Gravity showing!

EddieMoney

Ticket prices at our local cheap theater are $3. Right now, they're showing "The Heat."

Maybe that one should be Redboxed instead?

PenguinJoe

That's actually a pretty good selection, I hope You're Next and The Way Way Back come to our theater I missed them regular run. I did see We're The Millers and The World's End a couple weeks ago at the second run theater.

JumpCutz

The one by the Arby's.

Why So Blu?

Yep, these guys. This one is also the place where you may catch a local celebrity catching a film. Gary Senise used to come here all the time.

I have a friend who used to work here a few years ago and he'd always stop by for a flick.

Troy Stiffler

Tempe Cinemas and Picture Show @ Superstition Springs Mall. They're both pretty nice.

I only go when I "don't get around to" catching the first release, and it's too late. Otherwise, I try to stick to seeing it in my comfy cineplex.

Troy Stiffler

Makes sense. "South of Heaven" is either hell, or purgatory. Arby's is what I'd expect to find in those places.

PenguinJoe

I finally checked this place out to see Lone Survivor, it's really clean.

Brack

It's an oxymoron at this point. They all suck in my area. They haven't been taken care of since they first opened. Horrible sound and video. I will gladly pay the first run premium.

Count Dooku

There used to be a pretty nice one in North Austin. It was a downgraded Cinemark multiplex, so all the theaters and screens were big. Plus, it was in a shopping complex with a McDonalds and a Taco Bell, so you could really make a cheap evening out of it.

There is still one in Round Rock that has been there for many years, but it is a small theater, so you also get packed in close to all the other cheap smelly bastards.

A former Alamo Drafthouse in NW Austin has just converted to a discount house. I haven't been there yet, but I expect/hope it will be nice enough to enjoy.

asianxcore

There is a solid one about 30+ minutes north in Santa Rosa, CA. I believe it's owned by the same group who owns the big downtown theater (Roxy Stadium 14) right around the corner.

Tickets are $3.50 all day.

E Unit

The one in Round Rock was the first movie theater I worked at when I was 16. Worked at pretty much every Austin theater after for 10 years (not including any Drafthouses since they didn't exist at that time).

Count Dooku

Man... why you wanna bag on Arby's all like that. That Arby's is like dope shit, y'know.