Skip To Content

    How To Stop Wasting Money At Movie Theaters And See Awesome Stuff For Cheap

    The average ticket price shot up big time this year, and it's not stopping. Ryan Gosling, Jake Johnson, and Olivia Wilde are here to help.

    The National Association of Theater Owners made public this week what anyone who has meandered over to Fandango or a multiplex already knows: A movie ticket has become really freaking expensive.

    The trade group that represents theaters revealed that the average price of two hours or so in their dark rooms has shot up to $8.38, a big 40-cent increase over last year. If you're in a major city, you're actually salivating over the idea of paying eight and change to see a flick; an average movie ticket in New York City, for example, is around $13.50 — and $21.50 for an Imax 3D movie. There are cheaper baseball game tickets, especially if you're a Mets fan.

    There are lots of reasons for the spike: from 3D movies to declines in actual ticket sales (maybe they're related?). More important, however, is how you can avoid feeling like pirates just jumped out of a kiosk and plundered the gold hidden inside your wallet.

    The answer is Video on Demand. Given that major theaters are clogged with big blockbusters, there isn't a ton of room for the smart, silly, and experimental movies you'd have likely seen on more big screens just a few years ago. So, distributors are releasing more and more films on demand to everyone at the same time as they put them in a few theaters (and sometimes, way before); in 2012, the number of movies that played simultaneously in theaters and homes hit nearly 70.

    A rental on iTunes is just $7 at most, and you can invite as many people over as you'd like. Plus, the popcorn is way cheaper and less buttery. Here's a list of some of excellent new movies you can watch on demand this summer, whether they're in your town or not.

    1. Drinking Buddies

    View this video on YouTube

    Starring: Jake Johnson, Olivia Wilde, Anna Kendrick, Ron Livingston, Jason Sudeikis

    Directed by: Joe Swanberg

    The Skinny: Jake Johnson and Olivia Wilde work at a brewery. Johnson is dating Anna Kendrick, but maybe he's into Wilde, who might be returning the feelings? Improvised, hilarious, and heartfelt, the movie just came out on VOD.

    2. Only God Forgives

    View this video on YouTube

    Starring: Ryan Gosling, Kristin Scott Thomas, Vithaya Pansringarm

    Directed by: Nicolas Winding Refn

    The Skinny: Julian, a drug smuggler thriving in Bangkok's criminal underworld, sees his life get even more complicated when his mother compels him to find and kill whoever is responsible for his brother's recent death. Many critics disliked this movie, but your wise guide here at BuzzFeed thinks it's one of the funniest of the year.

    3. Greetings From Tim Buckley

    View this video on YouTube

    Starring: Penn Badgley, Imogen Poots

    Directed by: Dan Algrant

    The Skinny: A look at a few days in the early journey of Jeff Buckley, who visits New York to perform at a tribute concert to a dad he barely knew.

    4. The Iceman

    View this video on YouTube

    Starring: Michael Shannon, Winona Ryder, Ray Liotta, Chris Evans

    Directed by: Ariel Vromen

    The Skinny: A biopic about the famed mafia hitman Richard Kluklinski, who claimed to have killed over 100 people.

    5. Black Rock

    View this video on YouTube

    Starring: Kate Aselton, Lake Bell, Kate Bosworth

    Directed by: Kate Aselton

    The Skinny: Three friends head to an island for a weekend, where they're greeted by three killers.

    6. The English Teacher

    View this video on YouTube

    Starring: Julianne Moore, Michael Angarano, Nathan Lane, Lily Collins, Greg Kinnear

    Directed by: Craig Zisk

    The Skinny: An English teacher begins an affair with a former student and tries to bring his writing to life.

    7. We Steal Secrets: The Story Of WikiLeaks

    View this video on YouTube

    Directed by: Alex Gibney

    The Skinny: A look at Julian Assange, Bradley Manning, and the fight over leaking U.S. government documents.

    8. Shadow Dancer

    View this video on YouTube

    Starring: Clive Owen, Andrea Riseborough

    Directed by: James Marsh

    The Skinny: Set in 1990s Belfast, an active member of the Irish Republican Army becomes an informant for MI5 in order to protect her son's welfare.

    9. Dirty Wars

    10. Rapture-Palooza

    View this video on YouTube

    Starring: Anna Kendrick, Craig Robinson, Ken Jeong, Rob Corddry, John Francis Daley

    Directed by: Paul Middleditch

    The Skinny: Two teens battle their way through a religious apocalypse on a mission to defeat the Antichrist.

    11. Downloaded

    View this video on YouTube

    Starring: Alex Winter

    Directed by: Alex Winter

    The Skinny: A documentary about the rise and fall of Napster.

    12. Byzantium

    View this video on YouTube

    Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Gemma Arterton

    Directed by: Neil Jordan

    The Skinny: Residents of a coastal town learn — with deathly consequences — the secret shared by the two mysterious women who have sought shelter at a local resort.

    13. A Band Called Death

    View this video on YouTube

    Directed by: Mark Christopher Covino, Jeff Howlett

    The Skinny: A documentary on the 1970s punk trio Death, and their new-found popularity decades after they disbanded.

    14. The Look of Love

    View this video on YouTube

    Starring: Steve Coogan, Imogen Poots, Anna Friel, Simon Bird

    Directed by: Michael Winterbottom

    The Skinny: The life of Paul Raymond, the controversial entrepreneur who became Britain's richest man.

    15. Crystal Fairy

    View this video on YouTube

    Starring: Michael Cera, Gaby Hoffmann, The Silva Brothers

    Directed by: Sebastian Silva

    The Skinny: As Jamie travels in Chile, he invites an eccentric woman to join his group's quest to score a fabled hallucinogen, a move that finds him at odds with his new companion, until they drink the magic brew on a beach at the edge of the desert.

    16. Dealin' With Idiots

    View this video on YouTube

    Starring: Jeff Garlin, Richard Kind, Bob Odenkirk, JB Smoove

    Directed by: Jeff Garlin

    The Skinny: Faced with the absurd competitiveness surrounding his son's youth league baseball team, a famous comedian decides to get to know the colorful parents and coaches of the team better in an attempt to find the inspiration for his next movie.

    17. The Hunt

    View this video on YouTube

    Starring: Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Bo Larsen, Annika Wedderkopp

    Directed by: Thomas Vinterberg

    The Skinny: A teacher lives a lonely life, all the while struggling over his son's custody. His life slowly gets better as he finds love and receives good news from his son, but his new luck is about to be brutally shattered by an innocent little lie.

    18. Europa Report

    View this video on YouTube

    Starring: Sharlto Copley, Michael Nyqvist, Embeth Davidtz

    Directed by: Sebastián Cordero

    The Skinny: An international crew of astronauts undertakes a privately funded mission to search for life on Jupiter's fourth largest moon.

    19. Lovelace

    View this video on YouTube

    Starring: Amanda Seyfried, Peter Sarsgaard, James Franco, Juno Temple, Hank Azaria, Adam Brody, Sharon Stone

    Directed by: Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman

    The Skinny: Story of Linda Lovelace, who is used and abused by the porn industry at the behest of her coercive husband, before taking control of her life.

    *Out August 9