Cinema on a shoe-string
Originally published at magependragon.co.za . You can comment there using OpenID.
There is nothing that quite beats the cinema experience. For some it is the smell of the popcorn, for others it's the surround sound and over-sized screen. We all have to admit that the only way to experience 3D is in one of our local cinemas. However, this indulgence comes at cost, a cost that can be fairly dear to the pocket as one of my friends pointed out lately.
There are two cinema chains here in South Africa: Nu Metro and Ster-Kinekor. Both offer various discounts available through various loyalty programmes on various days. For ease, I have based the tables below on cinemas in Cape Town as that is where I live. I am aware prices in the rest of the country may be different.
Nu Metro
Standard 3D Normal 45.00 63.00 Woza-Wednesday 22.00 33.00 Clicks Discount* 27.50 45.00
* Only points earned on Woza-Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. Discount applies for 2 tickets booked on the same card on non-points only days.
Ster-Kinekor
Junction Classic Standard 35.00 49.00 Stanard 3D 55.00 60.00 Movie Club* 17.50 24.50 Movie Club 3D* 27.50 30.00 Vitality 11.50 20.00 Vitality 3D 30.00 33.00 Edgars Club** 13.50 24.50 Edgars Club 3D** 33.00 38.00
* Only discounted on Tuesdays
** Discount applies for 2 tickets booked on the same card.
By looking at these, Vitality at Ster-Kinekor Junction is the cheapest but this requires Vitality membership on a Discovery Medical Aid plan so is not available to everyone.
The next best option is Ster-Kinekor Movie Club on a Tuesday, which is even cheaper than Vitality for 3D movies on a Tuesday. The Movie Club is free to join and when watching any movies the owner earns Movie Moola that they can later use towards a ticket.
I found it surprising that Nu Metro overall is actually more expensive than Ster-Kinekor, even the Ster-Kinekor Classic cinemas, for most shows. The Clicks discount is the only thing that makes it a more budget-friendly option on non-Wednesdays.
The Edgars Card Ster-Kinekor prices appear to be good too but it requires membership to the Edgars Club but this paid membership club and in my opinion based on the costs I could find are not worth the cost of reduced movie pricves unless you already have an Edgars account.