But for me, the biggest season of movies is generally the fall (in reality, the biggest season of the movies for me is always-we are currently in the 39th week of the year and I have seen 35 movies in theaters...pretty much one a week). This is when the bulk of studios' awards contenders come out, and when I need to pick the best times/dates to go to the movies. I thought it would be fun to share my favorite-to-least favorite days to go to the movies, and why. We're going to mix-it-up a bit and instead of counting down we are going to count up, starting with my favorite day of the week, Thursday.
1. Thursday
While other aspects on this list may come-and-go, Thursday has been my favorite day of the week to go to the movies pretty much since I started going to the movies regularly by myself in college. I almost always go to the movies solo (while I love to go with friends-and-family, with the exception of my brother who lives far away, none of them go with the frequency I do and so more they are just part of my habit than a regular indulger of it). Thursdays are fabulous for three reasons. First, it's a good, quiet night to go to the movies. There's very few rambunctious crowds, and the people that are there are generally pretty serious moviegoers. Second, it's a great start to the weekend. Going to the movies always feels (to me) like something relaxing, something to be enjoyed & that is part of a "non-work" moment. Doing that on a Thursday night so that you get a taste of the weekend before it officially hits Friday after work is a delight. And finally, Thursday is frequently the last day you might be able to see a certain movie in theaters, and you'd be surprised what fun audiences you get the last day a movie is in theaters, the people who have waited-and-waited, and then are there for the final moment a movie gets to spend in its intended glory before it becomes something you casually catch on TV or through a rental.
Sunday is, conversely, a good capper on the weekend. By Sunday, the Scaries have set in for many of us (the concept of the Sunday Scaries is one of my favorite discussed phenomena of the past couple of years, and I am wholeheartedly someone who experiences that as the new work week approaches). As someone whose happy place is the movie theater, getting to go with a quiet Sunday crowd (especially for a matinee-I'm not as wild about Sunday evening movies cause I want to be closer to home so that I feel like I can watch TV and, say, do the laundry or the dishes so I get one last weekend project off of the list) gives me a sense of "there's always a place to go home" and it sends off a weekend. This is also generally the day that I see new releases. As a rule, I don't see movies on opening night, but I do try to see most major movies opening weekend as I am deeply anti-spoiler; this is when that happens.
3. Saturday
That being said if I'm going to rate one of the major days of the week over the others, I am very much about Saturday over Friday as a "traditional" night to go to the movies. I will own that in the past ten years, as the world has become a little less communal and a little less safe, that I don't frequently go into crowds (Covid, gun violence, & a general growth in inconsideration toward your fellow human have made being surrounded by strangers less inviting). However, I love a crowded movie theater with a good audience. This past year, some of the best experiences I had were with large crowds. The rush of the planes in Top Gun, the people actively wincing when the dinosaurs jump scare you in Jurassic World, the grinning faces as Hogwarts approaches in Fantastic Beasts...these were only possible because I saw these movies in packed theaters. And nearly all of my best crowded movie nights were on Saturday's.
4. Monday
Okay, this is an unconventional belief, but I think Monday's are an underrated day to go to the movies. Here's the deal-by Monday evening, your stress level is already high. You are feeling both the pressures of a new week (and how much you weren't ready for that new week to start), and you're also a little bit overwhelmed by the fact that you didn't get "enough" done this weekend. But you're also not all that productive because you're exhausted from the day & knowing you've gotta do this for four more days. So why not have sort of an afterglow affect from the weekend to help you power through by going to a movie? I will own that Monday is not my favorite night to go partially because of that stress (I just want the week to get over as soon as possible), but has increasingly become one of my favorite nights to go to the cinema because it's quiet & you get a way to indulge on a day you're already a bit anguished. Plus, Monday nights in my experience are some of the least crowded at the theaters so you get your pick of seats & if you go to the movies you don't have to worry about cooking!
Growing up, Tuesday was my favorite night to go to the movies because my mom would take my brother & I every Tuesday since it was my dad's golf night and because it was discount night at the theater (side note-I got to see so many movies this way that I wouldn't have otherwise seen and I would love to recreate this at some point one year where I required myself to see a new movie every week because I think it would push me to see some films that I might otherwise skip, and I recommend you considerate it too). Tuesdays are actually discount movie nights in most theater chains still, even if the reason that this became a trend is no longer a thing. Essentially, new movies came out on DVD on Tuesday nights so people were most likely to rent movies on Tuesdays, and this was a way for theaters to compete; while movies do still get released on Tuesday's on DVD (if you go to Target or Wal-Mart, this is generally when you'll find new releases for physical media), the lack of brick-and-mortar rental places mean they are no longer competition for theaters. I like the discount aspect of it, but I'll be honest-since I'm an AMC Plus (humble brag) member, I generally skip discount night because it's way more crowded than I want, and it tends to have some of the worst behaved audiences, though, not the worst behaved audiences...
6. Friday
...because they would come into the theater on Fridays. Friday is great for a movie experience. Going to a midnight showing of the latest Marvel or DC film can be a blast, and in a world where social media dominates conversation, the best way to avoid spoilers is to see your favorites right away. But Friday night movies are oftentimes as much of a disappointment as they are a great experience. Friday audiences tend to skew less-seasoned in terms of their clientele (you get people who are there who don't go to the movies as frequently) and so you get less "good movie theater" etiquette, with people talking, on their phones, and disrespecting the Nicole Kidman ad in front of the film. I'm all about a crowded theatrical experience-I love people laughing, crying, smiling, & screaming along with the movie, as that's the whole point of going, getting to share the big-screen together. But the second your cell phone or your mouth starts going off, all that disappears. And Friday's that seems to happen the most often.
7. Wednesday
That being said, I still like the crowded theatrical experience even if it a game of roulette, which is why I posit that Wednesday is the worst day of the week to go to the movies. Wednesday never has crowds, it's true, but it's also kind of dull. You don't get the cinephile rush of a Thursday, you don't get the exhausted happiness of a Monday audience...there's nothing special about a Wednesday. Plus, there's no reprieve or identity with it. Unlike Thursday or Monday, there's no connection to the weekend-you might have made it past hump day, but you're still buttressed by two work days on either end. And you also don't have the discount aspect of Tuesday where at least you're saving money. In general, quite frankly, Wednesday is the day I almost never go to the theaters, and usually is the day during the week when I'll either catch up on TV at home, or just not watch anything because I'm just counting the hours until Friday at 5 PM.
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