A night at the movies: Alternative theater experiences in Syracuse

Updated: Monday, Oct. 9 at 11:42 p.m.

The thing to do in junior high was get dropped off at the mall with your friends before sneaking into the latest R-rated romantic comedy. Debates would be had over whether “Friends with Benefits” was superior to “No Strings Attached” — which, six years later, it still is.

Going to the movies was a regular occurrence in the old days, and you were dropping maybe $5 or $6 on a ticket. But going to the movies wasn’t nearly as expensive then as it is now. Instead of shelling out $12 for a ticket to sit in a crusty theater you can just spend $5 to get Spotify and watch movies on Hulu. The streaming services recently launched a combined plan for students. When students sign up for Spotify Premium, they can also stream movies and television shows on Hulu.

As poor college students, making a trip to the movies is just not as feasible as it used to be. Luckily, Syracuse offers several viewing and price alternatives that make going to the movies fun and affordable again.

A standard evening ticket at the Regal Theater in Destiny USA rings in around $13 — that’s worth a few drinks at DJ’s. Play your cards right and you could score unrestricted Regal Super Saver tickets for $9.50 at the Schine Box Office offers. It’s not the biggest discount in the world, but the bonus is you just trade in the ticket voucher for the movie you want to see when you get to the theater.

Several miles past Destiny USA sits Movie Tavern, a premium theater that also doubles as a bar and restaurant. All of the seats are luxury leather recliners, and at the push of a button on the armrest a waiter will come take your cocktail and dinner order mid-movie. While the menu is a little pricey, actual tickets are no more expensive than Regal’s, and they even offer a student discount of $10.50. Dinner and a movie, anyone?

And still, if regular movies aren’t your thing, the Museum of Science and Technology in Armory Square offers the only domed IMAX screen in New York. Domed IMAX, or OmniMax, screens offer a fully immersive viewing experience, with a 180-degree horizontal field of view and a 125-degree vertical field of view. To be projected onto an OmniMax screen, movies have to be filmed with special fisheye lens cameras. This panoramic view lends itself well to nature documentaries, especially those with flying or underwater scenes, and the technology behind the screen is a feat in itself. Approximately 60 of these theatres exist on Earth, and a ticket to experience this rings in at only $10.

Now, if you’re truly strapped for cash or are too busy pinching pennies for spring break, there are even some free options. During warmer weather, the Everson Museum of Art projects movies onto the facade of the museum. The schedule rotates through the classics, and always culminates in early September with the Urban Cinematheque Art and Culture Fair. This past month, “Get Out” played while food trucks and local artists worked tables around the museum.

Since the warmer weather is starting to pass, there is still hope for a free movie somewhere. University Union offers free movies in Gifford Auditorium every weekend. Potentially the best part about a UU screening, aside from the film itself, is that you can simply walk to the auditorium in your pajamas from your dorm and order Grubhub to the screening.

At Movie Tavern, the best part is ordering a glass of pinot to your seat in the middle of “It.” Or you can soak in some science at the MOST’s Omnimax screen. That beats Netflix on your 11-inch MacBook by a long shot.

Lilly Stuecklen is a senior television, radio and film major. She can be reached at lsstueck@syr.edu. and followed on Twitter @Stuecks.

This post has been updated for appropriate style.