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Free film in July

BFI and the National Lottery is offering people the chance to head to the cinema for free in July as part of its Escapes programme.

This month’s film, available to see at 124 locations across the UK, is Sunny Dancer, with the free screenings taking place on the 27th and 28th of July.

Booking is as simple as could be – just head over to the site, select your nearest cinema and book your seats. There are screenings from as far south as Newlyn in Cornwall all the way to Orkney in Scotland and you can search by postcode to find your nearest one.

2-4-1 via Meerkat Movies for £1

One of the most popular cinema deals is Meerkat Movies. Once a week you can access a code to get buy-one-get-one-free tickets on a Tuesday or Wednesday. You can use this deal at most UK cinemas all year (though not Everyman or Curzon). 

You get access through buying an insurance policy via Compare the Market, but we’ve got a hack that’ll get you access for just £1 each year.

Free tickets via your bank

Vue/ODEON: six tickets via Lloyds 

You can get six free ODEON or Vue tickets if you open a Club Lloyds bank account. You’ll need to deposit £2,000 into the account each month to avoid a fee, but that’s easily done.

At Vue cinemas, your vouchers also entitle you to half price popcorn. At ODEON cinemas, you can redeem your vouchers at ODEON Kids Screenings, which come with a free kids-size popcorn per ticket.

Vue: free Vue ticket via £7 Monzo Perks

You can claim a free, standard ticket at any Vue in the UK every month. You can upgrade to a VIP, 3D, recliner or IMAX ticket but you’ll pay an extra fee.

You’ll need to use the code before the end of each calendar month, but it can be for a screening at a later date. Monzo Perks costs £7 per month and comes with a range of money saving benefits, including an annual Railcard and weekly Greggs freebies.

Cashback on cinema gift cards

Whether you’re buying a full price ticket, or stacking with other offers featured on this page, you’ll save a little by using a discounted gift card.

Some of these are special offers at retailers like Tesco or Amazon where you save when you buy. When these are available we’ll share them as featured deals.

Others will learn you cashback on your gift card purchase, and these tend to run all year around via these apps:

• Cheddar
• HyperJar
• Jam Doughnut

Up to 40% off via other memberships

There’s a good chance you can save up to 40% on cinema tickets via an existing membership or account – and if not, you could sign up as a new customer. 

The likes of Tastecard, Mastercard and Lidl offer you access to a service called Cinema Society which sells reduced tickets for ODEON, Vue, Picturehouse, Showcase, Cineworld, Empire and other independent cinemas. 

This can be a good way to save, but watch out as you might find your local cinema is cheaper itself when you buy direct! Or some of the other deals we’ve shared on this page could also work out better value.

In some cases you’ll need to pay for the initial membership, but others are free. Though you can find these in a number of places (check any work perk schemes for instance), here’s some of the more common ones you might have access to.

Available for free with other accounts:

• Lidl Plus app (access via member perks)
• Priceless from Mastercard
• Santander (access via Santander Boosts)

Included with paid membership:

• Tastecard or Gourmet Society membership
• Kids Pass

Other top cinema deals

We’ve listed more offers, both specific to the different chains and across different cinemas, below, but these ones in particular are worth a look:

• Everyman: 2-4-1 Wednesday with Times+
• Escapes: free film preview tickets

ODEON: discounts and points via ODEON Extras

Deal expiry: Ongoing offer

Sign up for free to ODEON Extras scheme to earn points and other savings. You’ll get the following:

• Tickets from £4.50 every Monday
• A birthday treat (possibly a large popcorn and drink combo)
• 500 points on joining
• 25 points for every £1 spent

If you watch two films in three consecutive months you’ll get a free upgrade to ODEON Extras Plus. You’ll need to make another two visits every six months to keep at this level. Extras Plus will get you more and is still free:

• 50 points for every £1 spent
• 10% off tickets when you book online
• An improved birthday treat
• Invites to member screenings
• Large popcorn for the price of a medium

You’ll need to earn a few points before you can use them. You’ll be able to swap as follows:

• 5,000 points for a £5 food and drink voucher
• 7,000 points for a standard seat ticket
• 10,000 points for recliner seat ticket

So you’ll need to spend £280 to claim that free standard ticket on the base level Extras membership! If a ticket costs £10, that’ll be 14 tickets.

Points will expire 24 months after they’re earned, so don’t forget to use them.

ODEON: two tickets for £8 for Vodafone customers (+£1 booking fee)

Deal expiry: Ongoing offer

If you’re a Vodafone customer then you can get two ODEON cinema tickets every week with VeryMe Rewards. You can do this once each week for any film showing at any time.

Two standard tickets will cost £8, while two Luxe tickets cost £13.

You can also get four standard for £16 and four Luxe for £26.

The voucher can only be used on the same screening, so you couldn’t use it for one ticket at two screenings for example.

You’ll need to pay an additional £1 booking fee when using the voucher on the ODEON website, though this covers the whole booking. If you use it at the box office you won’t pay this extra charge.

To get it, you just need to tap on ‘Rewards’ in the Vodafone app and claim the offer.

If you don’t have Vodafone this hack could get you access to the various offers.

ODEON: cheaper online tickets

Deal expiry: Ongoing offer

If you book online ahead of your trip rather than buying tickets upon arrival then you get cheaper cinema tickets at ODEON. 

You’ll get charged a £1 booking fee online (included in the price you see), so check that special offers aren’t better at the box office.

Vue: free tickets via Club Perks

Vue have launched a new reward scheme called Club Vue. Each time you buy a ticket you’ll get a stamp, and once you have 10 stamps you’ll get a free ticket. There are also ‘bonus treats’, so something to look out for.

You need to download the Club Vue app and join the free Vue Member scheme.

There’s only one stamp per booking, so you might want to book multiple seats separately. You’ll also only get the stamp if you book in advance on the app or website, and not via the box office.

The free ticket is for a standard 2D showing, so won’t work for 3D or other premium tickets though you can pay extra to upgrade. You’ve three months to use the free ticket once it’s been issued, and you can use it online or in person.

This appears to work with free tickets too, such as those from Lloyds Bank or Vitality, so you might not even need to spend anything to get a stamp.

Vue: two free tickets for Sky Cinema customers

Deal expiry: Ongoing offer

If you’ve got Sky Cinema, you can get two free standard Vue cinema tickets every month. The tickets can be used at any Vue cinema in the UK or Ireland, at any time Sunday – Thursday.

You’ll need the MySky app to get access to this offer, where you’ll find a code to use online and a QR code to use in the cinema. 

There’s a limit to how many free tickets Sky gives out each month, so you may need to get in early.

Vue: two tickets for £9 with O2 and Virgin Media

If you’re a broadband customer with O2 or Virgin Media you can use the O2 Priority app for discounted tickets.

You can get two Vue tickets for £9 every week or four for £18 to use on any day, at any Vue location.

There’s also 20% off food and drinks.

You can get a new code at 10am each Monday and it’s valid until Sunday of the same week. You can only take advantage once a month.

If you don’t have O2 Priority, this hack can give it to you for £10 every six months.

Cineworld: £5 Tesco tickets all May

Turn £2.50 in Clubcard vouchers into a £5 2D cinema ticket any day in May.

How to redeem:

1. Exchange your chosen voucher value (for example, £2.50 in Clubcard vouchers to receive a £5 2D ticket).
2. You’ll receive two emails from Tesco:
   1. A confirmation email
   2. A second email containing your Reward Partner voucher code
3. Visit the Cineworld website.
4. Select your film and preferred time
5. You’ll be presented with multiple ticket options.
6. Select “Clubcard – £5.00” and choose the number of tickets.
7. Choose your seats.
8. Select “Tesco Clubcard Partner Code”.
9. Enter your voucher code – the full or partial ticket value will be deducted, depending on the amount you originally exchanged.
10. Proceed to payment to complete your booking.

The £5 deal is on Cineworld’s standard 2D tickets.

Clubcard members can also get a special drink and popcorn deal while at the cinema, letting them buy a drink and popcorn combo at a discounted price.

The deal runs until the end of May, after which you can still use the Tesco Tuesdays deal to get £5 tickets with your Clubcard points (more details below).

Cineworld: £5 Tesco Tuesdays

Each Tuesday you can use a Tesco Clubcard Cineworld voucher that’ll cost you £2.50 in points for a £5 ticket.

You can get up to four 2D tickets with the offer, and it includes the booking fee. You need to pick “Clubcard ticket” when booking on the Cineworld website.

If you don’t have enough points to transfer, you can transfer a portion into vouchers and pay the difference for the ticket. You’ll need at least 50p in Clubcard points.

Cineworld/Picturehouse: £3 tickets via Three+

Deal expiry: Ongoing offer

Every week, Three+ customers can nab a code for a discounted ticket to use Friday to Sunday. Codes are available from Monday. It’s for 2D screenings only, though you can pay to upgrade.

Picturehouse Central and Picturehouse Fulham Road are excluded. You’ll pay a booking fee to redeem the code online, but it’s free to use in the foyer.

Cineworld: 2 for £10 via First Direct

First Direct account holders can claim two tickets for a tenner every week. You need to sign up for the free First Direct Perks scheme to access the deal.

Picturehouse: Happy Mondays

All day, every Monday (excluding bank holidays) you can watch any film at a discounted rate at every single Picturehouse. 

The most you’ll pay for a standard ticket on Happy Monday is £8.20, or £10.20 at Picturehouse Central.

Everyman: 2-4-1 Wednesday with Times+

If you subscribe to The Times, you’ll be able to get two-for-one tickets at Everyman on Wednesdays. You can get a one month free trial or £3 for 3 months then it’s a pricey £26 a month. 

Showcase: 10% back via Insider scheme

Showcase Insider is a free loyalty program. Members earn 10% of spend back on ticket, snack and drink purchases to use on future visits. 

Members also get discounted admission tickets, sometimes as low as £4.99 on Saver Mondays.

Escapes: free film preview tickets

With Cinematik, you can get free tickets to select films for free. Each month, a film is voted to be screened, and you can book to see it on a specific day. You can book a maximum of one ticket per screening. You also have the option to reserve an additional ticket for a guest, which they’ll need to confirm separately via a shareable invite link.

The cinemas taking part are mainly local independent ones, but there are Picturehouse and Reel cinemas included. There’s a full list of all participating cinemas on the Cinematik website.

Mubi Go: free ticket every week

Deal expiry: Ongoing offer

Mubi is an online streaming service. For £11.99 a month you get a classic, world cinema or art-house flick to watch, with the curated selection adding a new film every day.

For an extra £7 per month you also get a free cinema ticket every week via the Mubi Go service. There’s a 7-day free trial and if you sign up for an annual membership, you’ll save 33%.

You typically won’t be able to watch blockbusters, instead there’s a specific new film every week. You can go to see that film once, and another film choice will be given the following week. 

With many of the films being smaller, they’ll have limited releases, so if you don’t live in a big city there’s a good chance you won’t be able to take advantage every week as not all the films will be shown at all cinemas.

Vitality: free ODEON/Vue ticket each month

Deal expiry: Ongoing offer

If you’ve got a Vitality membership, usually offered as a healthcare perk with employers, then you can nab yourself a free Vue or ODEON ticket once each month.

You now need to get a four-week streak, where you earn at least 12 points each week. You can then claim the free ticket in the app.

Enter your code on the cinema’s website when booking your tickets.

Fever: discounts at Vue, Cineworld & ODEON

You can buy a ticket from £5.60 to use for movies at Vue, Cineworld or ODEON with the entertainment site Fever.

The actual price you’ll pay varies by location. If you have a larger town or city close by, you could get a better discount by choosing a cinema there instead. 

You can also use a refer-a-friend link to save £4.

Again, do check you can’t get a ticket for less via a different offer before buying.

Here’s what you need to know about getting discounted tickets with Fever:

ODEON: you can get a standard 2D ticket at select cinemas in the UK. It’s not valid at Luxe locations or the Islington Luxe & Dine. If you want to upgrade to IMAX, 3D or recliner seats, you’ll have to pay extra. 

You can use the voucher online via the ODEON website or app, but there’s a £1 fee per ticket. You can also redeem the voucher at cinema kiosks – but not at the box office. The voucher can’t be used for special screenings or events and can’t be combined with other offers.

Vue: you can get a ticket for a film either online or via the Box Office. Each voucher is only valid once and if you cancel your booking, you won’t get it back. 

It’s not valid for premieres, special events or things like Mini Mornings or Scene screenings. With a Super Saver voucher, you can book general 2D seating, while VIP vouchers give more options, including recliners and 3D screenings (with an upgrade fee). 

Cineworld: you can get a ticket for any standard 2D film, but if you want to upgrade to 3D, IMAX or 4DX you’ll have to pay extra (plus the cost of 3D glasses if needed). If you’re booking online, there’s a small fee added.

You can’t use this ticket for Event Cinema, special screenings, Movies for Juniors or ViP seats though, so check before booking.

Kids tickets from £2.49

Most of the big chains have deals where you can get cheaper kids or family tickets. Here’s our roundup of what’s on offer:

ODEON: £2.75 per ticket – you’ll get the same cheap price for both adults and kids at weekends and school holidays.

ODEON: Family ticket – you can get adult tickets at child prices for the same film. You’ll see the option at check out for an adult and child combo ticket.

Vue: tickets for £2.49 – Vue Mighty Mornings are kids screenings on Saturday and Sunday mornings at 10am and every day of the school holidays.

Cineworld: from £2.50 – kids and adults pay the same price via Movies for Juniors.

Picturehouse: from £3.30 per ticket – kids’ Club screenings are shown every Saturday morning and prices depend on the cinema you visit. There’s also preschool specials, exclusively for preschool children and the adult goes for free. With the family ticket option, adults only pay kids prices. It’s for four people, at least two must be under 15 (e.g. two adults and two kids or one adult and three kids).

Over 60s tickets from £3.50

ODEON, Cineworld and Picturehouse have cheaper tickets for over 60s (Vue don’t have anything on offer at the moment). Here’s our roundup of the deals:

ODEON: from £3.50 per ticket – ODEON Silvers has screenings during quieter times of the day with a selection of new releases or classic films. Tickets with standard seats are £3.50 when you book as a myODEON member online and £4.50 in-cinema. Standard seats are £4.00 when you book online as a guest and £5.00 in cinema. The price includes tea, coffee and biscuits, served before the film.

Cineworld: tickets for £4.50 – CineSeniors runs every Wednesday and you also get complimentary hot drinks and biscuits.

Picturehouse: discounted tickets – Silver Screen is a free-to-join club for over-60s. Members get a free tea or coffee at Silver Screen shows. 

ODEON myLimitless: from £14.99 a month

Deal expiry: Ongoing offer

ODEON myLimitless is an annual membership that allows you to see as many films as you like in ODEON cinemas. You pay £14.99 per month or £17.99 for myLimitless Plus, which also gets you ODEON Luxe, seat upgrades and screen upgrades. 

If you go via a cashback site, you could cut the cost even more. With TopCashback you can get up to £4.25 of the price back on your first payment. Plus, you could get a welcome bonus offer.

ODEON sometimes offer discounts on annual membership, and we’ll share them here when they run.

Cineworld Unlimited Card: from £10.99 a month

Deal expiry: Ongoing offer

If you frequently go to a Cineworld, its Unlimited Card lets you go as much as you want (2D only). The minimum subscription is 3 months and starts at £10.99 a month, going up to £21.90. 

Each cinema is bracketed into a group – the amount you pay depends on the group your cinema falls in. The Cineworld website has a full list of which cinemas are in which groups. 

• Group 1 cinemas – £10.99 a month
• Group 2 cinemas – £16.99 a month
• Group 3 cinemas – £19.40 a month
• Group 4 cinemas – £21.90 a month

Members are also invited to preview screenings and get 10% off food and drink. If you continue your subscription for a second year, membership then includes 3D films and the food discount goes up to 25%. 

There’s also a referral scheme where you get an extra month for free if you get a mate to sign up.

We’ll share any discounts on membership here when they’re available.

Take a friend for free from 23 January to 12 February

If you’re a Cineworld Unlimited member and were registered by 20 January 2026, you can take a friend for free until 12 February.

The free ticket can be a 2D ticket only at any Cineworld cinemas.

Picturehouse: free tickets and £3 off with memberships

Picturehouse memberships give you free tickets and discounts at any Picturehouse cinema. The free tickets are sometimes restricted to your member cinema so it’s best to save them for the weekends when prices go up.

There’s two tiers of membership – Member and Member Plus. The Member option gives you five free tickets and costs between £57 and £97 per year depending on the member cinema you join. 

Member Plus gives you an extra card so you can split the costs with a mate or family member. You’ll get ten free tickets and it costs between £100 and £170 per year. 

After the freebies you’ll also get £3 off our further tickets.

Members also get a 10% discount on food and drink, free previews, no online booking fees and occasional other freebies.

At certain points in the year there are discounts on memberships, and we’ll share them here if they’re any good.

Everyman Memberships

There are a few options here, though the basic one (i.e. cheapest) allows you to take a friend for free on Mondays. You also get six free tickets for the £89 cost.

The next level up costs £325 a year, and comes with 24 free tickets. After this you can spend £680 and get unlimited tickets for two for a year.

Curzon Membership

For £65 (£50 concessions) you can get an annual “Classic” membership. This comes with five credits to use for free tickets or at home streams. You can use the credit to buy tickets for yourself and guests. There’s a further 20% discount for you and a guest on other tickets. You’ll also get 10% off drinks and snacks.

If you go to a Curzon a lot, there is a £285 “Cult” option. This annual membership gives you five free credits a week. Use them all and it’s just £1.10 a ticket! You can’t use the credits to get a ticket for a guest. If you want to pay monthly it’s £25 a month, but you’re still tied in for 12 months.

The Cult + membership doubles down with 10 free tickets a week (which are valid for events such as theatre and ballet screenings) and an additional cardholder. It comes in at £850 a year.

25% off MyLimitless (ended)

Odeon is running it’s New Year Sale already, offering 25% off its annual subscription. It’s £139, usually £186. Limitless Plus is reduced to £164, usually £219.

This makes it just over £11.50 per month, so if you’re a regular cinema-goer, it could be well worth it.

You can only get this when you buy a whole year upfront between 22 December 2025 and 31 January 2026.

Vue: two tickets for £9.50 (not currently running)

Groupon is offering two tickets for £9.50 or five for £22 to use at Vue.

You can only use them to book online, though you can use them across multiple visits if you want.

You’ll need to pay £2 extra to use in London or recliner seats. Here’s the full list of where this applies:

Vue Basingstoke Festival Place | Vue Bolton | Vue Bristol Cribbs | Vue Bromley | Vue Cheshire Oaks | Vue Croydon Grants | Vue Croydon Purley Way | Vue Cwmbran | Vue Edinburgh Ocean | Vue Edinburgh Omni | Vue Eltham | Vue Exeter | Vue Finchley North | Vue Finchley Road | Vue Fulham Broadway | Vue Glasgow St Enoch | Vue Harrow | Vue Hartlepool | Vue Islington | Vue Leeds Kirkstall | Vue Leeds Light | Vue Manchester Printworks | Vue Manchester Red | Vue Newcastle UL | Vue Norwich | Vue Northampton | Vue Piccadilly | Vue Plymouth | Vue Poole | Vue Portsmouth | Vue Preston | Vue Shepherds Bush | Vue Southport | Vue Swindon | Vue Thanet | Vue Watford | Vue West End | Vue Westfield | Vue Westfield Stratford | Vue Wood Green | Vue York

Tickets last until 20 November 2025.

Cineworld: 25% off Cineworld Unlimited (ended)

You can currently get 25% off a new Cineworld Unlimited subscription if you use the code UNLIMITED25 between 30 June and 13 July 2025. The price of a membership depends on the cinema that you’re signing up for and your subscription period.

You’ll also get 10% off snacks and 25% off at partner restaurants.

ODEON: 15% off gift cards at Tesco (ended)

Deal expiry: 10 August 2025

Tesco is selling Odeon gift cards with a 15% discount. You can use these to pay as normal for any ticket, including those which are discounted, such as using Meerkat Movies or the two for £10 voucher via Amazon Prime.

ODEON: 20% off gift cards at Tesco – expired

Deal expiry: 22 December

Get 20% off ODEON e-giftcards from Tesco until 22 December. The discount applies to e-giftcards valued between £5 and £25. These e-giftcards are valid for two years.

Vue: tickets from £4 each with Wowcher (expired)

Deal expiry: 14 May 2025

You can buy bundles of Vue tickets on Wowcher, either two, five or ten, and you’ll get them at a much lower price. Two tickets cost £9.50 – making it £4.75 a ticket. For five tickets, you’ll spend £22 (£4.40 per ticket), and ten tickets cost £40, making it £4 per ticket.

You can use the tickets for Standard 2D screenings, sitting in super saver seats.

You’ll have til 18 May to use the tickets, but check that your cinema is listed, as there are some exclusions, and some cinemas will charge you a £2 surcharge when redeeming it – check this list in “The Fine Print”.

To get it, go to Wowcher and search “Vue” to find the offer.

Cineworld: two tickets for £12.95 with Wowcher (expired)

Deal expiry: 31 March 2025 (though may be extended)

You can buy two Standard Cineworld tickets on Wowcher for £12, plus a £0.95 booking fee when booking the tickets.

You’ll have til 31 March to use the tickets, but check that your cinema is listed, as there are some exclusions. There’s an uplift fee for things like 3D screenings or IMAX. And be aware that you need to use them both at the same time.

To get it, go to Wowcher and search “Cineworld” to find the offer.