By PATRICK MULLEN
Living in New York City can be a pain sometimes. It is so expensive to do just about anything that a Fordham student needs to put him or herself on some kind of budget. A good deal of knowledge can carry someone a long way. Take movies, for example: if someone does not know what they are doing, they could end up spending almost twenty dollars on a single movie ticket. This is made even worse considering the cost of transportation to get to the theater.
There are ways to get around this, of course. Based on my experience, the cheapest way to see a movie is to go early on a weekend. As inconvenient as this may sound, it really makes a great deal of sense. If one chooses to take the Metro North, a City Ticket on the weekend is significantly cheaper than a peak or an off-peak ticket during the week. If you go to an AMC theater, which there are a good deal of in Manhattan alone, tickets for a showing before noon are only $7 (11 for a 3D film). There is an AMC theater in Times Square not too far from Grand Central Station, as well. There is also an AMC theater just a few blocks north of the Lincoln Center campus, which can be quite convenient if the timing of the show complies.
To compare, an afternoon showing at an AMC theater is $14 ($18 for a 3D film). If you go to a film before noon, you will spend about half the money as much as you would in the afternoon or evening.
Of course, there are other theaters in Manhattan. If you are looking to see a less mainstream film or a movie that has not gotten wide release, there are a number of other options. Village East Cinema, for instance, located on 2nd Avenue and 12th Street, offers $6 tickets for anything before noon, while it is $13.50 for anything in the weekend afternoon or evening. This is a tad bit cheaper than AMC, but it is also considerably harder to get to, as a long subway ride will be required.
This information gives you plenty of options for seeing movies in the city. I would naturally recommend going to an 11:30 AM showing to save money and not have to wake up incredibly early, but do with this information what you will. Be smart, and you will save money.
