Movies on the Cheap in Wichita

Movie deals, free movies, and discounts at movie theaters in Wichita.

Looking for cheap movies in Wichita? You’ve come to the right place! Below are all the options I know of right now for movie ticket discounts , inexpensive movie theater options in Wichita, cheap or free movie nights, film festivals, concessions deals, and streaming movies or DVDs.

We’ll start with a list discount movie events happening this week. If you don’t see something you like there, keep reading for an overview of great ways to save at local Wichita movie theaters.

Current Discount Movie Events in Wichita

Friday, August 14, 2020

Our options used to be pretty limited, but with the arrival of new theaters, like Regal and the AMC Northrock 14, those of us who live in Wichita still have some great entertainment options!

Related articles:

8 Superstar Ways to Save at Regal Cinemas

Ways to Save at the new AMC Northrock 14

Another trend seems to be the growing number of movie discount passes that are actually available to us here that used to only be available in bigger cities. We’ll cover some of those, along with movie streaming services, free movies to rent or borrow, discounts at local Wichita movie theaters, and film festivals or other events where you might be able to score some terrific ticket deals (like FREE, in one case).

Discounts at Movie Theaters around Wichita

Movie Machine

Located inside Towne West Mall, Movie Machine is one of Wichita’s few remaining discount movie theaters. Cash only. Tickets are just $5.72 before 6 p.m. every day; $7.72 after 6 p.m. Child (3-11) and Senior (60+) tickets are $5.72 for all showtimes. Regal Crown Club members earn discounts on concessions and sometimes movie admission too.

Northrock 14 Theater

See the Northrock AMC theater article for more ways to save. Ticket Tuesday $5 movie tickets and $5 concession combo for members of the loyalty program (even the FREE version of the loyalty program). This is for first-run movies and is a great deal!

Old Town Warren Theater

The The Warren Theatre Grille in Old Town offers $5 movie tickets on first-run movies all day on Wednesdays, excluding Director’s Suite seating and Sony Pictures films. These are usually packed, so get your tickets early in the day. A reader told us these $5 movie nights are still available, but only if you’re signed up for the (free) Regal Crown Club.

Derby Plaza Theaters

Showing first-run movies, the Plaza Theater in Derby also has slightly lower ticket prices. Tickets are $8.50  for teens & adults ($3 surcharge for 3D movies), $6 for senior citizens and children 12 and under  ($3 surcharge for 3D movies); matinees before 6 p.m. are $6 ($9 for 3D movies). Summer deal $2 for family-friendly movies at 10:30 a.m. most Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays May 31 to August 4, 1300 N. Nelson Dr., Derby, 316-789-0114

Starlite Drive In

The Starlite is saved! Whew. It’s now back up and running for the 2019 season. Per-person prices are cheaper, too. Starlite shows double- and triple-features on weekend nights in the spring and fall, and will go back to every night once summer really starts in earnest. (Usually around the time kids get out of school in mid-May.)  Per-person prices are $7 for ages 12 and older, $3 for ages 3 to 11 and free for ages 2 and younger,  (316) 524-2424.

Warren East

See the Regal Cinemas article for more ways to save. $7.22 before 6 p.m. After 6 p.m. $7.22 for kids and seniors, and $10.22 for teenagers and adults.  The price is higher for 3D films or the fancy theaters with recliner seating, 11611 E. 13th St., Wichita, 316-691-9700

Warren West

See the Regal Cinemas article for more ways to save.  $7.22 before 6 p.m. After 6 p.m. $7.22 for kids and seniors, and $10.22 for teenagers and adults. $3 more for 3D films; IMAX prices are $9 to $16,  9150 W. 21st St., Wichita, (316) 691-9700

Sensory-friendly screenings are held on the second and fourth Saturday of each month. The “My-Way Matinee” screenings feature lower sound and brighter lights, and begin at 10:30 a.m. for the discounted rate of $6.50

The Boeing Dome Theater and Planetarium

inside Exploration Place costs $5 per person plus tax. The prices for kids 3 to 11 are $3 and for seniors 65 and older is $4. That’s actually a pretty good deal for an interesting dome-theater experience. Admission to the museum is not required. (316) 660-0600

The Orpheum Theater

The Orpheum in downtown Wichita shows fun classic movies each month. Tickets are $7 for adults or $6 for military, students, and seniors. 200 N. Broadway, Wichita, 316-263-0884

Fox Theatre in Hutchinson

The FOX Film Series pass is a great deal on first-run movies.  Individual tickets are usually $4 per person or purchase a voucher of 10 tickets for $36, including five free popcorns. Passes aren’t movie-specific and don’t expire, so you can redeem your punches at any regular film series movie (including future seasons). During summers, kids’ movies are offered 2 p.m. Wednesdays and 9 a.m. Fridays. Tickets for kids’ movies are $4 each, or purchase a voucher of 8 tickets for $16, 620-663-1981 (updated)

The Augusta Historic Theatre

shows first-run movies on Fridays and Saturdays . The theater is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Tickets are $6 for ages 3 and older. $8 for 3D movies. Even the concessions are priced reasonably here! 523 State Street, Augusta, (316) 775-3661 for more info.

The Newton Fox Theater

This is now the home of a church. It does apparently still show movies occasionally, but I don’t have information about the schedule.

Morningstar Community Church

This church, which is in the old Palace Theater east-Wichita location, has resumed its free family movie night. On the first Friday of most months, families are invited to enjoy a free movie on the church’s big screen at 7 p.m. Refreshments are available for 50¢ each. WayFM sponsors the movie night,  11010 E. Kellogg Dr., Wichita, (316) 682-6545 (updated)

Film Festivals and Events in Wichita

• Tallgrass Film Festival Wichita’s annual film festival has free and budget friendly options. For the kiddos, check out Smallgrass, usually held in January at Exploration Place. GreenGrass focuses on environmental films that are part of the festival.
• Academy Award Shorts Each February, the Wichita Public Library sponsors screenings of short films nominated for an Oscar. These films are shown at the Warren, The Orpheum, and at Wichita branch library locations. Admission to the Academy Awards Short Film screenings is free.

Online Ticket Discounts

MoviePass

MoviePass has gotten a lot of attention, but comes with mixed reviews. Wichita does have theaters that accept MoviePass now, so you might want to consider whether it will be worth the $9.95 per month price tag. If you go to more than one movie per month, it might be worth it — as long as the exclusions and technical hiccups don’t prevent you from using it.

Update re. Movie Pass: It seems that MoviePass is no longer unlimited. The service now includes only four movies per month and is bill quarterly (about $30). It might still be a deal for those who go to the movies weekly and don’t have any interest in 3-D. (MoviePass is 2-D only.)

Regal and AMC theaters both have some theaters that participate in MoviePass, but before you buy you’ll want to make sure you know exactly which ones those are (it may change).

Fandango

Fandango began as a discount movie pass you could buy online and redeem at select theaters; the only problem was, we didn’t have any theaters in Wichita that would accept it. Now it’s more of an online ticketing service, but it still does frequent promotions that will save you money. And now Wichitans can benefit from those promotions, because both Regal and AMC reportedly accept Fandango tickets.

I say “reportedly” only because I haven’t had an opportunity to try them out for myself yet. If you have successfully used Fandango tickets at our new local theaters, please let us know about your experience!

Fandango discounts can sometimes be found at Groupon. Other discounts and free movie passes might come with special promotions. In particular, Red Robin used to offer a free Fandango movie pass when you purchased special gift cards, and I also remember that there was a free movie packaged with some kids’ cereal or other food product. So keep an eye out for those.

MovieTickets.com

MovieTickets.com was the one online ticketing option accepted by the Warren Theaters. Unfortunately, they didn’t usually come with a discount. If and when I see discounts from them, I’ll definitely let you know.

For example, AT&T customers can get two-for-one movie tickets on Tuesdays through MovieTickets.com. And sometimes you can get free perks like the soundtrack for a movie, or a poster, when you buy tickets through them.

Free Movie Screenings

Here’s another option for seeing free movies in Wichita that may open up for us again soon. Years ago, you could sometimes get passes for free screenings at Northrock 14. When that theater closed, so did the possibility of freebies.

The top place to find free movie screenings is Gofobo. Sign up for a free account to get notified of screenings in our area. Another option, AdvanceScreenings.com, offers a similar service. I’ll tell you, though – free screenings in Wichita have been rare. That may change now that there is some competition in town. (We can hope!)

If there’s a particular movie you’re hearing about, you can always go directly to the studio website to see if they have any advance screenings in Wichita. I have a feeling it’s a long shot, but it’s only a few taps on your phone to find out. For example, you can search for a screening of Lionsgate movies here.

Whenever you find a free screening in Wichita, be prepared to show up early and stand in line. The idea of them is to fill the theater, so they often give out more free passes than there are seats available. Almost 100% of the time, seating is first-come, first-served.

Movie Streaming Services

Not exactly the theater experience unless you have a nice home theater setup (and you still have to pop your own popcorn), but online streaming services are a frugal movie buff’s dream. For the cost of one movie ticket, you can have a month’s worth of movie watching for as many people as will fit on your couch. And you don’t have to remember to return it the next day. (If you’re really young, that’s what we had to do back in the day when we rented DVDs. 🙂 )

Here are the most popular – and my favorite – movie streaming options:

Amazon Prime 

If I had to choose just one service to keep, it would be Amazon Prime. The movie and tv streaming options included with Prime are extensive, and if you want to rent a movie or subscribe to a particular channel for a while, it’s easy to do.

Plus, with Prime, you get all the other benefits like free 2-day shipping, free Prime reading on your Kindle-equipped device (I use FREE Kindle Reading App on my phone), and a plethora of other perks like unlimited photo storage.
You can see if Amazon Prime is right for you with a free 30-day trial.

Netflix

Usually the first stop for anyone ditching cable or trying out their new Chromecaster, Amazon Fire Stick, or Roku, Netflix is the grandpa of streaming movies. It’s cheap, too, at $8 to $14 per month.

The difference in price depends on which Netflix plan you choose. The cheapest option (Basic tier at $7.99 per month) is great if you only need it for one television or device, but two people can watch at the same time (on two different devices) with the Standard tier, which is $10.99 per month.

Netflix has just added a Premium tier as well, with Ultra HD available and four different devices at one time. The Premier tier is $13.99 per month.

Vudu

The perfect alternative to renting videos at a kiosk or store. One of the things Vudu has going for it is that it’s not a subscription service. Once you sign up (for free) you can browse their selection of streaming movies and rent or buy whatever you want. Movies are usually available on Vudu the same day they’re out on DVD too, so you don’t have to wait long. The prices here are not bad at all, and they now have some free TV shows and movies as well.

Movies to Rent or Borrow

The Wichita Public Library

Check out free movies with your library card. They have an extensive collection at the new Advanced Learning Library!

Redbox Kiosks 

Most DVDs are $1.20 and most BluRay discs rent for $1.50. If you sign up for text alerts, you’ll get frequent discount codes that are good for one use. But you have to be fast – text discounts are usually only good the same day you receive them. Redbox kiosks are available at most Wichita Dillons, Walgreens, and McDonalds.

Family Video

The regular rental price is what you’d expect at Family Video, but you can still find good deals. They have a section of free movies for kids, and they sell pre-watched videos at real bargain-basement prices. If you want to extend your rental a few days, the upcharge is really reasonable. (Family Video rents video games too.)

Current Discount Movie Events in Wichita

Friday, August 14, 2020

Thursday, August 20, 2020