Movie distributors want to create ‘buzz’ for their movie.
They want people talking about it and making comments on social media about how great it is. They want bloggers to start writing about it. They need to build excitement about the movie – before – it comes out.
So what they do is offer free pre-screenings.
To Get Tickets, Speed and a Bit of Luck are Essential
Free tickets are usually offered on a first-come first-serve or drawing basis, and often scheduled for the Monday or Tuesday before a Friday premiere.
If you are quick enough or selected in the drawing, you usually have the ability to select up to two tickets. You print them out and take them to the theater. There’s no need to take them to the ticket box. You just head straight in to the theater and show your printout on the way in.
The trick to getting into free pre-screenings is to get alerts when a free pre-screening is available, and then jump on it fast.
The most useful site I have found for free screenings is advancescreenings.com It’s free to sign up for and you can click on the ‘get email alerts’ link at the top of their site to get alerts.
When you get an alert, you will need to respond quickly to get tickets. They often have codes from different outlets, so you might have to click through a few hoops and find one that has tickets available.
Another site that can help you find free pre-screenings is gofobo.com. This site lists screenings and sometimes has sweepstakes for them. Other times you’ll get a code through Advanced Screenings and be able to use it for tickets through GoFoBo. It’s worth signing up for a GoFoBo account ahead of time so you don’t have to do that when in a hurry to get tickets.
Be aware that you do have to go into this with a bit of a gaming mentality. I’ve gotten into most of the movies that I’ve tried to get into, but there’s no guarantee.
Get There Early, They May Overbook
Even with a pass, it’s best to get to the theater an hour to 45 minutes before the show starts. There will be a line, and if the movie is expected to be popular, it very well may be overbooked. If you get there too late, they may run out of seats before you get in.
TIP: It’s handy to have a partner that can hit the concession stand as you hold the spot in line!
There are often announcements before the pre-screening starts. Expect a very stern warning about not recording any of the movie.
