Movie Screenings free or early?

Snake2715

Snake2715

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Ok,

I have heard talk of certain theatres doing free or early Thursday screenings for upcoming movies.

Does anyone know more info about this?


I would love to get in to a movie before its release. Free or whatever.
 
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In Dallas, almost every new release is pre-screened I don't go to many but they usually give passes out before hand and then on the showing night it is realy first come first in. A lot of people show up for these things so you have to get in line really early!!
 
Movies generally have to be pre-screened so there are no screw-ups when they actually run the reel for paying customers. I guess it depends on the company and theatre, but in my experiance usually this is a perk for employees and managers. The theatre I worked at didn't have the pre-screenings open to the public, however employees were generally allowed to take a friend or family member.
 
I used to get FREE movie passes all the time for movies when I used to DJ at a bar. The radio station that was promoting the club night would give away passes to movies. Usually 2 people per pass. It would be on someday during the week (usually Tuesday or Wed) before the Friday of the official release date. The catch was it was always for one certain theatre....usually far away from me.
 
Yeah, I sat through free screening of

Jason X
Eight Legged Freaks
Reign of Fire

(nto great....but some would say BAD)

I enjoyed the schlock though
 
i got mailed free passes to kill bill vol. 2. sometimes they put an ad in the paper, that they'll give away the tickets at some supermarket, an hour away, to the theater, an hour and a half away
 
There's a variety of screenings they do. I'm a film critic in Kansas City, so I get most of the passes...but sometimes they'll do multiple screenings of a movie to build word of mouth...like in our market, they did at least six Without A Paddle screenings before release to try and build buzz around it.

There's the press screenings, where only members of the press are invited...oftentimes those are during the day.

And then there's the normal screenings, which are normally the week of release on either Mondays or Tuesdays (so that critics can get stuff to print by deadline)...sometimes Wednesdays and occasionally on Thursdays for films they don't want to make available for review on the first week. Tickets to these are given away through radio stations or local businesses most times...and they always overbook. It's best to get there about 45 minutes before the movie starts as a courtesy, because the screening reps normally open the theater about 30 minutes before the start. You get better seats that way too. Just keep an eye out in your local mass market paper...they normally have the ad where you can send in for a chance to win tickets.
 
Go to the movie theater on a monday or so and ask if they are doing any screenings that week. If they are, most places can give you the tickets in advance (for free), and you are set.
 
[quote name='bowsernieb']...like in our market, they did at least six Without A Paddle screenings before release to try and build buzz around it. [/quote]

Did it work? The trailers looked just awful.
 
Just saw a free screening last night of Team America.

It may have been the funniest movie I've ever seen.

I would quote some lines, but then they would get censored, and they wouldn't be funny anymore.

You can get tickets from the Village Voice, hanging outside a theater, or the Free Forum on Fatwallet, which has a great thread.
 
Definately. I managed 2 of the local theatres for three years before going to work for the bank. Depending on when the movie comes in from the distributor (usually 2-3 days prior to the release date), the movie is built up (some still use a reel by reel, but very few as most use the platter system). All of the reels of film are built and spliced together to form one giant movie, and thus put on the platter. The purpose of screening them is so that the person who built the film can make sure it was built properly (no bad splices to cause frame jumps, all the reels in order, etc etc). Of course, many theatre employees are invited to watch it too ( I guess as an employment benefit).

Best bet is this: Become friends with any theatre employee, and you'll see movies before they come out for free.. unless the management of that theatre are asshole about it. I used to let employees bring 2 or 3 or even more friends along, as long as nobody did anything out of line.
 
In Saint Louis Park MN they have had two free screenings in a row. Last week was Shall we Dance and this week was Team America. The theatre was no where near full, so if you live nearby keep an eye out for upcoming shows.

I know last weeks show they gave away tickets at hollywood video, and this week they gave them away at the theater. So you never know. I also got some swag. (a couple of team america T-shirts, wristbands, and bumper stickers) if anyones interested. The shirt is way to big for my wife.
 
I got to see the first Shrek 6 weeks before it came out. Yeah, that was ages ago. The fact that's a highlight that I still mention is just pathetic.
 
I have a friend who gets a lot of hookups for free swag from a lot of entertainment industry types and I've been able to get to see free screenings of The Rundown, I Robot, Bourne Supremacy, and Harold & Kumar along w/ a Q&A session w/ the stars of the movies for the Rundown (The Rock aka Dwayne Johnson) and Harold & Kumar (John Cho and Kal Penn). Anyway, I'm not bragging but pointing out the best ways to see free movies is A) befriend someone in the entertainment industry or B) download the screener off a torrent site. But the 2nd option is definitely more illegal than the 1st.
 
I used to work at a movie theatre for about 3 months. Almost every time we got new movies ( usually Tuesday or Wednesday ) we'd always throw screening parties! Free popcorn, drinks and everything. It was awesome. So i would definately say there are perks to working at a theatre.
 
When they would do them in Little Rock when I lived there they would show the preview along with another movie that had been out for a while. So you would pay to see one movie but get to see two
 
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