It's all about the theatre... the stuff we had in the 80s and 90s just wouldn't cut it anymore for the prices they charge now. But when you have the right balance... things are good. It really helps having a ton of competition too. We have 9 theatres and nearly 100 screens within 20mins of me.

- Theatres with reserved seating - really a must unless you are going during the day on a weekeday
- Theatres with powered recliners - a big plus
- Theatres with hot food - a big plus
- Theatres like Alamo Drafthouse with in theatre serving - jackpot

Here Alamo theatres have in theatre food for reasonable prices (about on par with a TGIF, chilis or something), have reserved seating, beer/liquor, and decent theatres for only $12/person. Plus, they are really strict on talking/phones and WILL throw people out.

If you buy tickets in advance from a number of sources, you can usually get tickets like regal for ~8-9 dollars. They've really boosted the upcharges for 3d or imax tho :/

I would have considered Moviepass (did this week even) - but the inability to buy ahead on fandago and needing to make another trip to the theatre to buy advance tickets kind of defeats it for me.