What Is A Matinee Movie? (Everything To Know)

Heading to the movie theaters is a great way to spend a rainy afternoon.

You will be able to catch up on all of the latest acting and enjoy some really great storylines.

However, some people have the entire day to fill, and going to the movies at a time other than at night could be a great choice.

If this describes you, let’s take a look at what a matinee movie is and how it could help you find something to do a bit earlier in the day.

What Is A Matinee Movie?

A matinee movie is one that is played in the early afternoon and sometimes even in the morning.

Most people assume that going to the movies is going to be an event that happens at night.

However, the matinee movie is something to do while the sun is still up.

Many people love the matinee movie when it is a rainy day or the temperature is quite warm.

The matinee movie gives you a chance to get out of the house early in the day and still feel entertained.

With a matinee movie, you are going to be able to enjoy lower pricing as well.

These movies tend to be priced slightly lower than a prime-time movie offered in the evening.

Since many people have work, they won’t be able to attend movies at this time of day, so the movie theater purposely lowers pricing to help increase the attendance at these movies.

Matinee movies got their name from the French word matin, which means morning.

This is something that not all movie theaters will offer, but you may want to take advantage of this if your local theater does have the option.

What Are Matinee Times?

All around the country, there are many different types of movie theaters.

Some of these movie theaters are smaller, lesser-known brands and others are going to be large-scale operations that you can find across the entire country.

Since so many of these movie theaters are independently operated, the times for the movies will vary.

One thing that you can count on is that the matinee movies are going to be much earlier in the day.

The matinee times at most movie theaters are going to be between 9 am and 12.

There will be another period later in the day, between 3:30 and 6:30, when another matinee will likely be showing.

The times are also going to vary based on how busy the movie theater is.

If the area does quite a few matinee showings, they may increase the total number of showings in a day and change the times up a bit.

Overall, you can plan on going to your matinee sometime before or after you eat your lunch.

Most nighttime movie showings are going to be after you eat dinner.

Your local movie theater may not offer a matinee showing.

This is common in areas where movies are not as popular, or the town is smaller with not enough of a population to support the matinee showing of a film.

In addition, don’t be surprised if you hear the word matinee mentioned in the theater industry as well.

Movies are not the only thing that can be seen as a matinee.

Many people see a matinee showing of a Broadway show or theater production.

Don’t assume that the only matinee showings that will be available are movies.

Why Are Matinees Cheaper?

When you are trying to figure out why the matinees are cheaper, you can think about airline tickets or even hotel rooms.

Sometimes there is a time in a business where it makes more sense to have people there than to have the theater empty.

Let’s say the matinee is the same price as the prime-time movie showing, and people are paying $15.00 per ticket.

Maybe ten people will come to the movie at this price because they would rather just wait and watch the movie during prime time.

This means that the total revenue for the theater was $150 for that showing.

Now let’s say the price of the matinee is lowered to $5, and 100 people show up to watch the movie.

The revenue went from $150 to $500, and those seats were always there waiting to be used.

In addition, movie theaters know that many of these people are going to buy food and drink when they come to the movies as well.

Do you think they would rather have 100 people buy snacks or five people?

The reason the matinee pricing is so much better is that theaters want to get more and more people through the door.

In addition, if people have a good experience at the matinee, they are going to want to come back for future movies at all different times.

The better the experience that the movie theater can create, the higher the chance of building a relationship with a long-term customer.

What Is The Cheapest Day To Go To The Cinema?

If you want to go to a movie and spend quite a bit less money, then you really need to consider going early in the day and on a weekday.

The movies that are shown on Monday through Thursday are going to be considerably lower in price than those that are directed towards the end of the week.

The reason behind this is that most people will be stuck at work and unable to go to the movies.

Therefore, the movie theater wants to fill up the empty seats, so they lower the pricing and let those with a day off enjoy the slow times at the movie theater.

If you are going to the movie theater with a large group or a bunch of kids, it makes sense to go to a matinee showing.

The movies end up being quieter, more relaxing, and you can get the best seat in the house because they are usually quite empty.

Chances are you may like the experience of going to a movie at this time of day enough that you want to watch all of your movies at the matinee showings.

How To Save Money At The Movies

If you are interested in matinee movies, chances are you are looking to try and save a bit of money at the movies.

Going to the matinee is not the only way to save money at the movies.

If you are someone who enjoys the experience of seeing the latest and greatest films, follow these tips to help make your next trip to the movies a bit more enjoyable.

1. Don’t Go To 3D Movie

There is no longer one type of movie that you can go to.

A 3D movie is something that will make you feel as though you are actually at the event and part of all of the action that is going on in the movie.

The type of technology that was required to put a movie like this together is very advanced.

Therefore, the pricing of these movies is quite high.

If you’re interested in saving money at the movies, it is good to skip something like the 3D feature.

You won’t enjoy your time quite as much if the movie is not good and you have spent a ton of money on the tickets because of the 3D functionality.

2. Drive-Ins Are Cheaper

If you have a drive-in movie theater in your area, you may want to check the pricing.

Since these movie theaters don’t have to do all that much to clean up after you when you watch a movie, you may find that the overall pricing is a bit cheaper.

Drive-ins tend to lower the cost, and you may only pay one price for all of the people who are in the car.

Drive-in movie theaters are hard to find, and you may end up having to drive quite a while to get to one.

Try and balance the cost of the drive with the price of the admission and determine which is going to make more sense.

3. Don’t Do IMAX

IMAX theaters are another premium experience that you can attend.

These theaters offer an excellent viewing and audio experience and some really great seating as well.

In order to offer this more premium experience, IMAX theaters tend to charge quite a bit more money.

If you can give up on the premium experience, you may be able to save a lot of money and see more movies.

IMAX features should be saved for special occasions, not your week in and week out movie watching.

4. Eat Before You Go

This tip is really an expert-level tip.

If you are going to go to a movie, go have a meal before you get to the movies.

Having a big meal before the movie will mean that you are not getting hungry as you are sitting there watching.

Of course, decreasing your hunger means that you are going to be less likely to need all the snacks, soda, and candy that the movie theater tries to sell.

When you can keep the costs down on these extras, the total that you pay for the overall experience goes way down.

Most people who attend quite a lot of movies are going to tell you that the majority of the costs are related to the extras and not the movie ticket.

Think of the real reason you are going to a movie.

Are you going to watch a new release, or are you going for the snacks?

If you are going for snacks, it may make sense to purchase snacks from the grocery store and then watch a movie at home.

You will spend quite a bit less money.

You can get an entire box full of microwave popcorn for a fraction of the price of one small popcorn in the theater.

The more you can control your snacking and your spending once you are in the theater, the cheaper the experience will be.

For those who see a lot of movies, it’s wise to learn to control your movie theater spending.

If you happen to go to the movies once a year for a special occasion, then, by all means, take advantage of a bit of classic movie theater popcorn.