Peter Jackson's long-awaited film "The Hobbit" is finally in theaters today.

If you're not completely sold on the "Lord of the Rings" prequel, there are other reasons to head to theaters:

1. The Previews

Not only will the new "Man of Steel" trailer air (which will look and sound more epic on the big screen), but "Star Trek" fans can also look forward to the first full trailer from next summer's "Into Darkness."

2. The First Nine Minutes of "Star Trek: Into Darkness"

Technically, you can watch the previews online; however, only about 500 IMAX theaters will show the first few minutes of next year's "Star Trek" sequel ahead of the film.

(Here's a full list of theaters showing the extended preview.)

3. Eye-popping 48 Frames Per Second

"The Hobbit" will be the first film to experiment with showing a movie at an unprecedented 48 frames per second.

Normally, films are shown at half that rate, 24 frames per second. We're hoping the effect isn't a brutal assault on our brains and eyeballs and will just deliver a crisper, sharper image.

SEE ALSO: James Cameron swears "Avatar" was completely his idea ... but then admits it's a retelling of "Pocahontas" >

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As part of our new partnership with CareerBuilder.com, each week we'll feature one of the awesome jobs advertised on the Business Insider jobs board.

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A "Metropolis" movie poster hailed as the most valuable one sheet in the world was auctioned by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Los Angeles on Thursday for $1.2 million.

Ralph DeLuca's bid beat out three other collectors to claim the prize he compares to Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa. He says he got a deal, too.

"I was expecting to pay $1.5 to 1.6 million at least," DeLuca told TheWrap hours after making the purchase. "Had this been a proper auction, the Metropolis alone would have been bought for $1.6 million."

Fortunately for his wallet, that was not the case.

Previous owner Kenneth Schacter bought the German artwork for Fritz Lang's 1927 science-fiction film in 2005 for a record $690,000, but had to give it up after filling for bankruptcy.

Also read: World's Most Valuable Movie Poster Could Sell for $1M

Thursday's exchange was expected to produce a new record poster price tag, however, the rare movie memorabilia came bundled with several other classic posters for films such as "King Kong" and "The Invisible Man," so the sale did not qualify. 

There's a good chance a future sale will, though. DeLuca, who also lays claim to owning the largest movie photo collection, believes "the greatest movie poster in the world" would sell for two million dollars.

If he decides to give it up, that is. 

Since there are only three other surviving copies of the particular piece designed by German artist Heinz Schulz-Neudamm -- one rumored to belong to Leonardo DiCaprio, one to the Museum of Modern Art and the other to the Austrian National Library museum -- it would be hard to give up the poster. But DeLuca's not ruling out the possibility.

"I'm not saying I would never sell it," he said when asked about his plans for the vintage design. "Someone could make me an offer I couldn't refuse."

SEE ALSO: See The Posters Stanley Kubrick Rejected For 'The Shining,' Designed By Saul Bass

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It may have taken Adele ten minutes to record the awesome "Skyfall" theme song; however, it's taking her more than a month to register her baby. 

The Sun reports the singer failed to register her son in the 42-day legal deadline. 

As a result, the singer could be fined up to $1,606.

A source told told the paper it's most likely an oversight on the couple's part.

If the singer fails to register her son – who's name hasn't been released to the public – she'll begin to get warning letters, followed by a fine to the registrar after three months.

SEE ALSO: James Cameron swears he didn't rip off "Avatar," but then basically says it's a retelling of Pocahontas >

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Latin singer-superstar Jenni Rivera and six others died in a plane crash Sunday after their private plane went down shortly after takeoff outside of Monterrey, Mexico.

While Rivera's fans and family have expressed their devastation, they will now be forced to relive the tragedy as two Mexican police officers have been arrested after officials say they stole items from the plane crash site. 

"According to government officials, at least one of the cops is suspected of leaking crash scene photographs to the media," reports TMZ. "Including shots of body parts and personal documents."

Leaked footage from the scene has quickly spread across the Internet, showing mangled body parts "including a severed foot with painted toenails," reports TMZ, adding "the video hasn't been confirmed to be authentic, but the Rivera family believes it's real based on the items shown in the video, as well as the remains."

Rivera's remains from the crash site were identified by family this week, but DNA tests are still pending.

Investigators initially found personal items belonging to some of the plane crash victims in the homes of the alleged crooked cops — ages 23 and 24.

And, according to New York Daily News, "The Nuevo Leon state government says authorities found images of the scene on the smartphone of one of the officers, while trying to determine how the Mexican media got photographs of the secured site."

A rep for the Mexican Consulate in L.A. tells TMZ: "We have over 2,000,000 police officers [in Mexico], and unfortunately some of these officers have been corrupt in the past, but we cannot generalize that the whole force is corrupt."

The rep adds, "Mexico has been working very hard to make their citizens and tourists safe, however it is not fair to judge the whole tree based upon a few bad apples."

The 43-year-old superstar's family is reportedly "outraged" that the gruesome footage is on the internet  and want it wiped from the web immediately.

SEE ALSO: Adele may be fined for failing to register her baby in the UK >

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For the last year or so, the digital industry has convinced itself that the traditional Internet is going away and that the future is all about mobile.

And the industry is right about one thing: Mobile is certainly where the growth is.

There are still about 5 billion "feature phones" in the world, and all of them will eventually be smartphones. And mobile tablet sales are growing like crazy.

The growth of mobile is also extending "digital prime time" and allowing everyone to stay connected during their commutes, weekends, workouts, and bedtimes. That's very helpful for content, communications, and commerce companies that orient themselves to take advantage of mobile. And it's also obviously helpful for mobile software and gadget makers.

But the explosion of mobile growth has given rise to some myths. These have already claimed the lives of some startups and incinerated hundreds of millions of dollars of poorly invested capital.

What are these myths?

Here are the two big ones:

• The future will be mobile ONLY. No one will have any need for laptops or desktops anymore this story goes. We'll all just use tablets and smartphones. And "fixed Internet" content, communications, and commerce companies will be replaced by "mobile" versions.
• All companies should design for mobile FIRST, treating the desktop Internet as, at best, an afterthought.  Those archaic keyboard-operated "big screens," this theory goes, will be replaced by small touch screens. And all advertisers, content, communications, and commerce companies need to radically change their focus to reflect this.

Anyone who believes either of these stories should look at the picture below.

This picture is a picture of the Business Insider newsroom, with the BI tech team in the foreground.

The BI news team includes some of the most aggressive "early adopters" of new technology on the planet. These folks are completely digital. Anytime a cool new gadget or tool comes out, they buy it immediately and incorporate it into their lives. They own smartphones and tablets. They're in the 20s and early 30s--card-carrying members of the "digital generation." In short, they're as digitally connected as anyone gets.

So, how much "mobile" do you see in that photo?

Not a whole lot (if any).

Why not?

Because, like many "knowledge workers," the members of the BI editorial team spend 8-12 hours a day in an office.

And they'll be damned if they're going to spend all that time squinting at tiny mobile screens.

The US smartphone market is already more than 55% penetrated. Most of the "knowledge workers" in the US--the folks who create and consume news and information, communicate digitally, and shop digitally (and make most of the country's income) already have smartphones. And within another year or two, they will also have tablets.

But these tablets and smartphones will not suddenly cause all knowledge workers to jettison bigger screens and "go mobile." They'll just enable these consumers and professionals to stay actively connected for a full 18 hours a day, instead of 8-12.

Yes, in the process, these mobile devices may cannibalize some desktop-based big screen Internet usage, but, for most companies, not a whole lot. Mostly, they'll just increase overall usage. And they will enable consumers to interact with their favorite digital brands and services for all of their waking hours instead of just their hours at work.

These "mobile" users, moreover, won't want to interact with their favorite brands and services ONLY on mobile, or even necessarily MOSTLY on mobile (It depends on the service: Mobile music, for example, is huge, as are some mobile games). They'll want to interact with them everywhere.

So the idea that most companies should reorient their entire businesses around "Mobile only" or "mobile first" seems misguided, at best.

Mobile is a huge global growth story, and companies should obviously think about how to take advantage of that.

But, for most companies, "mobile only" and "mobile first" should be seen for what they are: Myths.

SEE ALSO: The Future Of Mobile [Slides]

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Hannah Spears — Britney Spears' 8-week-old Yorkshire terrier — made her Twitter debut on November 26 with one simple word:

The human Spears also introduced the pup via her own Twitter account to her nearly 22.5 million followers, writing, "I want you all to meet my new little baby girl @hannahspears <3"

Since then, the cute mutt whose personal bio reads "I'm Britney's B*tch," has amassed nearly 26,000 Twitter followers and counting, while she only follows five people — all from the Spears camp.

But despite her small size, Hannah has a big bite when it comes to her tweets.

First of all, she's a press hound.

And a princess:

But she's not always ladylike:

She has celebrity friends:

But there's one famous pup she has yet to befriend:

Now meet Boo, the even more viral pet belonging to a Facebook employee >

SEE ALSO: How a stray cat befriended Demi Moore at Art Basel before flying home on Kanye West's jet with the Hilton sisters >

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A woman ducked in during a segment of this morning's local NBC 4 New York to share she's Jay-Z's long lost sister.

Watch the NBC 4 reporter get videobombed below:

SEE ALSO: Three reasons to see "The Hobbit" today that have nothing to do with the film >

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As details continue to emerge about the shooting at a Newtown, Connecticut school this morning, many are taking to Twitter to piece together the senseless act which claimed at least 25 lives.

The tragic shooting has also sparked another conversation.

In addition to sending their prayers, celebrities ranging from Kourtney Kardashian to director Damon Lindelof are voicing their opinions on the necessity for some form of gun control.

Here's what they have to say:

SEE ALSO: The latest news on the shooting as it develops >

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Why are news networks interviewing terrified children?

It's a question many are asking after the horrific school shooting in Newtown, Conn. that killed at least 20 children and perhaps seven adults. The entire country is in shock, network news reporters included -- but that's no excuse for interviewing small children who may be badly traumatized.

"One of the many tragedies to come out of Friday's mass shooting in Connecticut," wrote The Atlantic Wire's Rebecca Greenfield, "is the way information has actually come out of it."

Everyone is looking for someone to vent their anger on in a situation like this, and reporters who interview kids are an easy target. We should remember that they're just trying to do their jobs.

But in this area, they're doing their jobs badly.

The fact is, there's almost never a journalistic reason to interview kids, especially those that are likely in shock. Children don't tend to be the most eloquent witnesses. And they aren't supposed to be. They're children.

But especially today it feels bizarre, exploitive, and just plain stupid to put microphones in the faces of young witnesses, even if their parents -- also likely to be in shock -- agree to interviews in the moment. It's dramatic, sure. But protecting them from further stress and trauma should take precedence over drama.

Police have no choice but to interview traumatized children as they try to solve crimes. But NBC, CNN, and Fox News -- all of which interviewed small children today -- aren't going to crack the case. All they're doing is filling airtime.

Speaking to reporters, Connecticut state police Lt. Paul Vance specifically asked reporters not to bother victims' families. Police always ask this in these situations, and reporters always ignore them.

But they do their best to be sensitive.

"Per the NBC News policies and guidelines, our journalists are instructed to use caution when contacting minors as sources -- particularly when discussing sensitive topics such as witnessing a violent crime -- and seek to obtain the permission of the parents," an NBC News spokeswoman told TheWrap.

But are these minor sources providing any useful information? No. Today, their memories are a jumble of "boom" sounds and teachers saying to huddle in the corner. They tell us nothing about what actually happened that we couldn't guess.

And many of the children, hopefully, don't even know all that happened: Many rescuers at the scene wisely told children to close their eyes, so they wouldn't see and remember the bloodshed around them.

And really: We, the viewers, can manage to wait a few hours for police to reconstruct the killings for us, if, for some reason, we really need a moment-by-moment account of what happened.

Take this useless exchange with Fox News anchor Jenna Lee and an 8-year-old third-grader we won't name. Fox News did use her name, which almost guarantees that other networks will besiege her with requests to again relive the shooting.

Note how many times during the interview Lee asks the girl how she is feeling -- not for facts, but for a look inside her terrified mind.

Asked what happened, the girl described hearing "bangs of gunshotting." The girl said her teacher locked the door, and told children to go to a corner.

How did she feel, Lee asked the girl, who was on the phone. To the networks' credit, the girl's mother was also on the call.

"I felt scared and everybody was like shaking," the girl said. The girl said the police knocked on the door, and her teacher told the children to go outside.

"I bet you were pretty happy to see your mom when she came to pick you up," Lee said.

"Yeah," said the child.

Lee asked if the school has practice drills. (Why? Is this really the time to question if the school had enough drills? And is an eight-year-old the person to ask?)

"Um, not really, we just practiced like doing fire drills and if the fire drill [happens] we just go outside," the child explained.

Then her mother offered some second-hand information about someone who may have died.

"How did it feel when you saw your mom?" Lee asked yet again.

"Really happy," said the child.

Why, exactly, do we need to know, just hours after the shooting, how it "feels" to be in the middle of one? Is there anyone who can't figure that out?

Moments after the interview with the girl, Lee spoke to an excellent source: State Rep. John Frey, who has a niece and nephew who attend the school. Used to talking with the media, he was able to pass on what the children saw and heard more capably than a child ever could, without putting a child through the stress of a live interview.

The Fox News interview was by no means more egregiously unnecessary than any other media interviews with children Friday. The New York Times offered this baffling and needless account from a 9-year-old boy:

“We were in the gym, and I heard really loud bangs. ... We thought that someone was knocking something over. And we heard yelling, and we heard gunshots. We heard lots of gunshots. We heard someone say, 'Put your hands up.' I heard, 'Don’t shoot.' We had to go into the closet in the gym. Then someone came and told us to run down the hallway. There were police at every door. There were lots of people crying and screaming.'"

The Times did press the boy for details, apparently, on who said what. We don't blame them.

At least that child had the buffer of print, and wasn't subjected to a live interview. And the Times didn't use his name.

But it shouldn't have interviewed him in the first place.

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Just in time for the holidays we're giving you have a chance to win an iPad mini.  Become a newsletter subscriber now and you'll have a chance to win Apple's latest tablet.  If you're the lucky winner you will have all of these great features at your finger tips and can stock up on our favorite iPad mini apps.  Click below to enter and to start receiving one or more of our newsletters to keep up to date with the news you need to know.

Entry deadline is December 21.

As a newsletter subscriber, you'll get daily updates and alerts on topics that matter most to you. You must subscribe to at least one newsletter to be eligible, so if you have not already, be sure to choose one or more newsletters before submitting your entry.

CLICK HERE TO ENTER >

On or before December 21, 2012, we'll announce the lucky winner.

You must be a legal resident of the U.S. and a newsletter subscriber to win.

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What does it really mean to be a desirable woman?

Is it solely about a pretty face or a career accomplishment? Is it about having perfect proportions or about being "wife material"?

Start with #99 >

You answered these questions by voting in our annual Top 99. And judging from your responses and those of our staff, one thing is clear: Desirability isn't any one of these things, but all of them.

You chose women who represent the complete package of beauty, brains, ambition and charm. And we think you chose wisely.

From young up-and-comers to Top 99 vets, here are the women who make all our hearts skip a collective beat.

More From AskMen:

A Very Sexy Reason To Look Forward To 2013

The Best Books Of The Year

Meet Hip Hop's Next Generation

99: Bérénice Marlohe

Why is Bérénice Marlohe # 99?

While your average Joe probably doesn’t know all that much about this French beauty, he will before long. For years, Bérénice, who was born and raised in Paris, was cast only in small roles on French TV. And then 2012 happened. That year, Bérénice was cast alongside Daniel Craig as Séverine, the newest Bond girl, in the 23rd installment of the James Bond series, Skyfall. On the heels of Skyfall’s success, Bérénice was recently cast as the star of director Terrence Malick’s upcoming film, an as-yet-untitled project that will feature such A-listers as Natalie Portman, Ryan Gosling and Christian Bale.

98: Kim Kardashian

Why is Kim Kardashian # 98?

Kim Kardashian, the reigning queen of reality television, certainly had a productive—and lucrative—2012. Kim, the hotter half of KimYe, recently signed a new three-year deal with E! that will keep the Kardashians on the network through their series’ ninth season. The deal is worth an estimated $50 million. As further proof that Kim knows how to get paid, earlier in 2012, she launched two fragrances and a clothing line.

97: Charlize Theron

Why is Charlize Theron # 97?

Statuesque South African beauty Charlize Theron had a wildly productive 2012. Over the past year, Charlize starred in two blockbuster films, Prometheus and Snow White & the Huntsman, both of which were massive hits. And 2013 looks like it’s set to be another banner year for this actress. Aside from starring with Tom Hardy in the Mad Max reboot, Charlize may reprise her role as the beautiful but mentally challenged Rita Leeds on the highly anticipated Netflix-only Arrested Development revival.

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I saw the new Les Misérables film this week. It was rather like being hit by a truck, which then kept reversing and ploughing resolutely forward again.

Generally, I prefer my musical politics a tad more Nixon in China. Still, the decision to shoot the numbers largely in single shots means the singers are forced to act, not simply bawl X Factor-style. Brit Eddie Redmayne is revealed to boast not just cheekbones, but a sterling tenor, too, the old hoofer, and Sacha Baron Cohen will be wasted if he is not booked for panto next Christmas.

I'm not sure how it's going to play in the US, though. For a start, the bromance is subdued for a nation that brought us Top Gun's bros riding bros' tails.

Moreover, the various poxes, STDs, boils and not just British but also French teeth are likely to inspire hysteria in the neurotically sanitised US of A. And this before the male leads spend several scenes literally covered in shit. Still, it will serve to confirm everything Yanks feel about contemporary Europe.

This article originally appeared on guardian.co.uk

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James Cameron almost worked on a film called "E.T."

While going through Cameron's 45-page sworn declaration defending his ownership of the "Avatar" property, the director revealed he had the idea to write a film of the same name as Steven Spielberg's 1982 hit.

"In 1980 or 1981, I wrote notes and an initial treatment for a science fiction story that I initially called “E.T.,” meaning extraterrestrial, a commonly used term in science fiction literature. As I was writing it, I found out that Steven Spielberg was making a film called “E.T. The Extraterrestrial,” so I promptly changed the title of my story."

The film would have been far from the extraterrestrial tale we know today. 

According to Cameron, his "E.T." would have followed humans in search of resources on another planet after Earth became all but inhabitable.

Spielberg's version quickly prompted Cameron to change the title of his film to "Mother."

Though the film never made it past the initial writing stages, it did serve as partial inspiration for Cameron's "Avatar."

This isn't the first time Cameron nearly bested Spielberg on the rights to the same film. 

In another odd coincidence, Cameron also considered bringing the adaptation of Michael Crichton's "Jurassic Park" to the big screen, too.

In September, Cameron told The Huffington Post both he and Spielberg tried to get the rights to the book at the same time but Spielberg beat him to the punch.

SEE ALSO: Hollywood's 10 Most Overpaid Actors >

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Who was Geronimo? For white Americans, he was the most feared and hated Indian warrior of his time – the epitome of the merciless savage bent on slaughtering them and their families.

Later, as the US came to terms with its harsh treatment of Native Americans, the Apache leader would emerge as a different figure: the noble hero fighting to defend his land, people and way of life.

A new book strips away both simple perceptions. The figure who emerges is a complex one: a spiritual warrior, who converted to Christianity before he died, with a deep and abiding hatred of Mexicans rather than Americans, and who was capable of great brutality.

Geronimo is the latest book by Robert Utley, one of the greatest contemporary writers on the American west and author of an acclaimed 1993 biography of the Sioux chief Sitting Bull.

The new book captures a life full of drama and surprise. Those who associate Geronimo with prowess in fighting may be shocked to learn that his birth name was Goyahkla: One Who Yawns – hardly a moniker that presages a career defined by guerrilla warfare.

But then the Geronimo who emerges from the book is full of contradictions. He was a man who prized family life, yet showed no remorse in killing other people's families. He was seen as a leader of the Apaches, yet had many Apache enemies and was feared by other Native American tribes.

Geronimo was tireless in resisting the Mexican and US forces, but on his frequent breakouts from the reservation his major achievement was often to run rings around his enemy without actually fighting. Indeed, in the last two years of his freedom, as the US army chased him through the desert mountains of the Mexican province of Sonora, he never actually engaged with his pursuers.

"He ran the US army ragged in Sonora's Sierra Madre and never even fought a skirmish, much less a battle," Utley said. "This awareness led to my conclusion that Geronimo's true greatness as a fighting Apache was not in fighting a war but in avoiding war."

For those who seek to admire Geronimo as a defender of his way of life, accounts of his brutality will be difficult reading. A review of the book on the Daily Beast website even suggested that Geronimo might have been something like the Osama bin Laden of his day. Certainly he grew up in a culture that celebrated the raiding and murder of non-Apaches – whether whites or Mexicans or other tribes.

"Raid seems inadequate to describe what happened when a town, ranch, freight train or traveller was victimised," Utley writes. "Besides plunder, raiders butchered people, often in the most brutal fashion. Thirty years of such barbaric slaughter, often involving torture and mutilation, form a major characteristic of Geronimo's persona."

But Utley is equally unflinching when describing tragedies that befell Geronimo, who lost his first wife, mother and three children to a brutal massacre by Mexicans. "I had lost all," Geronimo wrote in his own autobiography. In agony, he vowed revenge on all Mexicans and nursed a virulent hatred of them for the rest of his life.

But he did not spend much of his later life fighting for his people or trying to preserve his lifestyle. Surrendering in 1886, he spent the next 23 years in US custody of one sort or another, under guard even as an old man who had cashed in on his notoriety to earn a living as something akin to a circus attraction. While a prisoner in Arizona, Geronimo carved his name on walking sticks to sell as dollar souvenirs to tourists.

At his last home, in Oklahoma, he appeared regularly in wild west shows and even attended the massive Louisiana Purchase Exposition in 1904 in St Louis. He dressed up in Apache clothing, donned a traditional bonnet, posed for photographs and sold handicrafts.

In 1903, Geronimo was baptised into the Dutch Reformed Church, bringing many other Apaches with him and attending weekly services until he died – though a fondness for drinking and gambling disturbed church officials. He died of pneumonia in 1909 after falling from his horse and lying injured on the ground throughout a freezing night.

Such an ignominious end sums up a life marked by triumphs as much as defeats, acts of generosity as much as acts of cruelty. He was both brutal and brutalised – a loving family man responsible for the murder of many families. He was deeply committed to his native religion, but turned later to Jesus.

So, villain or hero? "The legend is easier to believe than the complex and contradictory character Geronimo really was," Utley said.

This article originally appeared on guardian.co.uk

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Celebrities such as Lady Gaga and Leonardo DiCaprio are investing in tech companies as they aim to conquer Silicon Valley.

We look at some of the big movers and shakers in the growing world of celebrity tech.

Will.i.am

Will.i.am has become the latest celebrity to release his own brand of technology products, with a range of iPhone accessories that go on sale this month.

His consumer electronics and app venture i.am+ includes the foto.sosho range transforms the iPhone into a 14 megapixel camera.

Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga has invested in several technology start-up companies in recent times including music sharing platform Turntable FM and celebrity social media site Backplane.

Kanye West is another celeb who has invested in Turntable FM.

Usain Bolt

Usain Bolt has put his name to another tech savy celebrity technology brand in the form of Ludacris' Soul headphones.

The Olympian has joined the increasing number of celebs to endorse audio devices.

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Probably the perfect way to handle the "cold open" of SNL after the Sandy Hook shooting. The New York Children's Chorus singing Silent Night (via Deadspin).

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When he's not planning your next favorite reality TV show, VH1's President, Tom Calderone has his ear to the ground listening to great music all year.

Calderone is also busy planning events like VH1's Divas supershow, celebrating the best women in music, which airs tonight at 9 p.m. ET.

As we prepare to usher in a new year, Calderone shared with Business Insider his personal top 15 albums of 2012.

Listed in alphabetical order: 

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The tech industry cheerleads the displacement and reconfiguration of huge institutions like the music industry and telecoms. The arms industry shares many of the attributes of those industries, and is poised for fundamental change that is much like the changes they have experienced. If the product of the arms industry were not arms, the inevitable upheaval would be anticipated and prophesied with glee by the usual pundits (this website included).

It’s not, because the general availability of weapons is not something we as a community can agree on as an unmitigated good. For that matter, even free speech and assembly are by no means goals universally agreed upon. But advances in technology are providing all of these things, regardless of the preferences of any one group.

Click here to read more >

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With a run-time of just under three hours, Peter Jackson does his best to ensure moviegoers get their money’s worth when they pay to see The Hobbit in theaters this weekend.

Even so, after factoring in kids, concessions and rising ticket prices, heading to the movie theater can be a serious hit to your wallet. But we all know there are some new releases so epically awesome, you simply can’t wait to watch them on Netflix in order to save money.

So whether you’re taking the entire family out for a night at the movies, or planning to hit the theaters solo, knowing where to get the best movie ticket deals can help take some of the financial strain off seeing new releases like The Hobbit. As it turns out, Costco may be the key to realizing the greatest savings.

Buy Movie Tickets at Costco?

The National Association of Theatre Owners recently reported that the average cost of a movie ticket in the third quarter of 2012 was $7.78, down from a record-high $8.12 the previous quarter. I’ll admit, those prices seem like a steal to me, as my local AMC charges $11.50 for regular admission!

Luckily, we can all turn to warehouse club Costco for a break on ticket prices. This discount retailer accomplishes more than supplying households across the nation with 10-years’ worth of yellow mustard and toilet paper — Costco also sells bulk discount movie tickets (typically in four-packs), which allow shoppers to enjoy a couple bucks off the price of each entry.

Even so, a small deal is better than no deal at all. Sally Treadwell told us she enjoys the modest discount, and having generic movie tickets on hand for her kids also helps make life a bit simpler. “For instance, one daughter’s history class went to see Lincoln, and since I wouldn’t expect her to pay for that out of her allowance (she usually has to pay for her own tickets — that’s what an allowance is for!), I could just hand a ticket over,” she explains.

Plus, when combined with other deals, the discounted Costco tickets are that much sweeter. Treadwell discovered that her family can buy discounted popcorn and drinks by showing an AARP membership card at some theaters. “We haven’t bought popcorn for ages because the price is so ludicrous, but now we’ve found that there are some compensations for being so damn old.”

However, some may wonder whether a discount of $2-$3 per ticket is really worth the Costco membership fee and notoriously crowded parking lots and lines.

Self-proclaimed Costco enthusiast, Joel Gross, admits that even though the prices on Costco tickets have gone up recently, he still sees them as a deal: “It works out to around $8.50 a movie, that I can go see anytime, even opening day. A normal ticket at the theater costs $11.50, so it’s practically a no-brainer.”

However, the key is to make buying discounted movie tickets part of your regular Costco routine. “I just pick up a package or two while I am doing my normal Costco run,” says Gross. “Saving money is almost always worth it, and definitely worth it in this instance.”

Drawbacks to Costco Discount Movie Tickets

Call me spoiled, but if I splurge on a night at the movies, I prefer to go to my local Arclight where I can watch from an oversized chair, with plenty of legroom and a cocktail, if I so choose. However, only the handful of theaters mentioned above actually provide tickets at Costco. Moviegoers may have to compromise on their theaters of choice in order to enjoy the discount.

Additionally, releases in IMAX or 3D, as well as special showings and premieres, will require an additional surcharge. The same is true for New York residents, according to the Costco website.

Of course, beggars can’t be choosers — if you don’t want to pay full price to watch a movie in theaters, don’t expect the full amenities. And if you’re not a Costco member, or prefer a different theater, remember that buying tickets at Costco is just one of the many ways to save money at the movies.

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