By Mike Sauve
Demanding discounts everywhere they go, Ryerson students are making the most of their movie-going opportunities.
In November RyeSAC began offering student tickets to Famous Players movies for only $9. However last week, Famous Players announced that, for a limited time, it was lowering ticket prices across the board to $9.95 from $13.95. The RyeSAC discount isn’t quite as substantial as before, but, “still, a dollar’s a dollar,” said RyeSAC events co-ordinator Jeff Zoeller.
Now, Ryerson students can also obtain Cineplex Odeon tickets for $8.50 from RyeSAC. Zoeller had heard of corporate rates that groups like CAA were getting from Famous Players and thought “why not RyeSAC?”
RyeSAC ordered 1000 tickets at a bulk rate on a trial basis. Since then, Ryerson students have been flocking to the movies, and Zoeller is busy ordering another 1000 tickets.
“We tried movie nights at Oakham House in the past, but students want the big screen experience. This seemed like a great way to get students out to the movies.”
If you can’t scrape the $9 together, perhaps you’d prefer the competitive $4.25 ticket that Rainbow Market Cinema offers Ryerson students.
Tim Smy, the general manager of Rainbow Market Cinema is used to seeing Ryerson students flood into his cozy cinema to see the hottest new movie.
Factoring in all the discounts available, it’s now possible for Ryerson students to catch a movie for under $10–every night of the week.
Student Movie Guide: The biggest, cheapest and closest movie theatres for Ryerson students.
Where:Paramount Famous Players?, 259 Richmond St. W. $$: $9 when you get your ticket at RyeSAC’s member services office, $9.95 otherwise.
Number of screens: 14 What we say: There’s a giant escalator. Not coincidentally, snacks for a small family will cost around $30. It’s the full-blown corporate movie-going experience. But the IMAX Theatre is pretty impressive.
What’s Usually Playing: With 14 screens, every big movie is fair game for Famous Players. This is the place to go to see films like Elektra, or Assault On Precinct 13.
What’s Weird: Employees aren’t just employees, but “players” and are required to be “on-screen” whenever they’re in contact with customers. Surprisingly, $6.85 an hour is motivation enough for these 14-year-olds to pledge their undying allegiances to Famous Players. It must be the “orientation videos” employees have to watch.
Where: Rainbow Market Square, 80 Front St. E $$: $4.25 (with Ryerson discount or before 7 p.m.)
Number of Screens: Six
What We Say: This is a cozy little theatre. There is a piano in the front lobby and art for sale on the walls. Combine the pleasant atmosphere with the pocket change it will cost you to get in and you’re looking at a major competitor for your movie-going dollars.
What’s Usually Playing: With only five theatres, the Rainbow needs to be selective. They focus on blockbusters, but understand their market and also give long runs to films like Fahrenheit 9/11 and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.
What’s Weird: A couple of weeks before Christmas, a young girl sat down at the lobby piano and played a few bars of Jingle Bells. Everyone smiled and looked happy. Then another moviegoer sat down and banged out a professional-sounding piece of classical music. No one looked as impressed with this show-off.
Where: Carlton Cinemas, 20 Carlton St.
$$: $10 in the evening, $6 on Tuesdays and in the afternoons. Always $8.50 from RyeSAC.
Number of Screens: Nine, with 934 total seats.
What We Say: During the day, the Carlton’s theatres double as classrooms for Ryerson. Stick around after class to check out some hard-to-find flicks.
What’s Playing: “If it’s in limited release, subtitled, or filmed in grainy black and white, odds are it’ll be playing at the Carlton,” according to their profile on Toronto.com. Movies like Don McKellar’s Childstar play here.
What’s Weird: Despite being a relatively small theatre, they have a licensed bar in the lobby. Oh, and you didn’t hear it from me, but it’s easy to theatre hop and see multiple films for the price of one.
Where: Cineplex Odeon Varsity, 55 Bloor St. W.
$$: $13.95 for the regular theatre, $16.95 for VIP. Regular theatre always $8.50 from RyeSAC.
Number of Screens: Eight screens, 1944 seats. There is a separate VIP theatre with an additional four screens and 137 seats. What we say: Come early and catch up on your reading at the Indigo downstairs. What’s Playing: All the mainstream fare with some smaller movies like Bad Education and Hotel Rwanda.
What’s Weird: Only $3 extra to become a VIP? That doesn’t say “very important” to me.
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