The expensive time of my movie year

Movies are expensive these days -- but not usually for me.

Yes, I did have to pay something like $160 for me and my two sons to watch Avatar: Fire and Ash last week, which is in AUD, and which also includes snacks. That was going to happen in a 3D viewing anyway, but adding to that, we were out of town, so my critics card would not have worked. (And it's not really fair to count money spent on the tickets for other people.)

Normally, though, theater tickets are "cheap as" -- to use the Australian phrasing -- due to the aforementioned critics card, which allows me free entry. It's hard to get cheaper than free. 

But when a bunch of must-see rentals get stacked up and all have to be watched within a short period of time? That's when things get expensive.

And because I've already watched most of the movies that I want to see that are available for me on streaming -- we'll see if I fit in an F1 viewing before next Thursday -- it's gotten expensive since the start of the year. 

Let's go back to Christmas. Since Christmas, I've watched and spent the following, with the currency listed afterward. (I buy things both through U.S. iTunes and through Australian Amazon, so two different currencies. AUD is usually about 60% of the value of USD.) I've watched these:

12/26 - The Long Walk - $6.99 AUD
1/1 - Him - $6.99 AUD
1/5 - Sorry, Baby - $6.99 AUD
1/7 - The Smashing Machine - $6.99 AUD
1/8 - It Was Just an Accident - $9.99 USD
1/9 - The Naked Gun - $6.99 AUD
1/10 - On Becoming a Guinea Fowl - $5.99 USD
1/10 - One Battle After Another (second viewing) - $6.99 AUD
1/10 - Splitsville - $6.99 AUD
1/12 - Twinless - $5.99 USD

And yes I finally saw Twinless! (See here.) 

The one thing I haven't had to do -- yet, anyway -- is splurge for the $19.99 USD premium rental. That usually happens in my final few days, when I've waited as long as I can wait for the rental price to go down but I just have to have the movie -- usually a movie released late in the year in the U.S. that has not yet been released in Australia.

The most expensive I've gone so far is the $9.99 USD rental of It Was Just an Accident, which is why that movie gets the art for this post. That was my "best get" of the season so far and best reminder why my U.S. iTunes subscription has such value to me. The movie doesn't even come out here until January 29th. And that viewing certainly paid off, as the movie became an instant contender.

Just because I have been shelling out so much money, by my standards, I'm looking to find a way to add some movies without money. And hey! I can do that by going to the theater! There are a number of things that came out on Boxing Day here that interest me, such as The Housemaid, Song Sung Blue and Rental Family, and I might see one of them today after work.

Then there are also a few lesser priorities available on streamers. For some reason, though, I just can't seem to pull the trigger on F1.