This is One Thing, a column with tips on how to live.
I have always loved going to the movies: the chance to really dial in on what’s in front of me, to shut off my phone, to enjoy a perfect combo of popcorn and Diet Coke. I’m lucky enough to live in a city with endless offerings, of both new releases and repertory screenings of otherwise hard-to-find classics. Yet, “movie tickets are too expensive” is the common cry these days, and in many cases I can’t refute it. I, too, have felt the tug on my purse strings as ticket prices have soared.
I knew that some of the theaters I frequented offered membership programs with the promise of lower ticket prices in exchange for an annual fee, but still, I was hesitant. Would I be able to commit? Would I be able to prioritize one theater over the others? Would a membership go unused, my money wasted?
These questions lingered in my head, immobilizing me from taking further action, until about a year ago, when I found myself at the holiday market at Metrograph. I noticed they were offering their annual membership for 40 percent off its usual $50 price. That meant only $30 got me a year’s worth of $10 movie tickets, access to exclusive events with luminaries like Susan Seidelman and Sofia Coppola, and 10 percent off at their commissary and bookstore. Considering that nonmember tickets were $17, and I would only have to see a handful of movies throughout the year for the membership to pay for itself, it felt like a no-brainer.
It turns out that all of my fears about wasting my money on a membership were for naught. The more I went to Metrograph, the more I wanted to keep going back, knowing that a $10 movie ticket was basically the most rewarding thing I could get for that amount of money. My membership gave me plans on a night when I didn’t have any, exposure to movies I wouldn’t have heard of otherwise, and an easy suggestion for group outings with friends and a go-to date idea. (And while I’m not saying this is the No. 1 reason to join some sort of arts institution, like a movie theater or museum, it does give the impression that you are impossibly highbrow and cultured—so it is up there.) All in all, still a great deal at the full price.
In New York (or really, any city), few places you love can be taken for granted. Giving my money to Metrograph is an investment in the future of a venue I hope will be around for a long time to come, my money now (an albeit small!) offset against an incoming administration actively hostile toward arts funding. But I can’t be too sanctimonious, because do you remember the part about $10 movie tickets?
There are a number of independent theaters in other cities with similar offerings. Chain theaters like Alamo, AMC, and Regal also have their own memberships, and in this day and age of films going straight to streaming, they practically feel like cultural institutions unto themselves. Another thing about movie memberships: they make a great last-minute gift. Get one for yourself—and one for a pal.
