Not many people know this, but Amazon releases movies to movie theaters. And with a new program called Amazon Prime Premiere, Prime members can now get free movie tickets and concessions at the cinema.
New since September 2023, Amazon Prime Premiere is a special program exclusive to Prime members. (It’s included with Prime membership). With Prime Premiere, Prime members can get early screenings of new movies coming to Prime Video. Plus, you can get some freebies, like a free snack or drink.
So how does this work, and why should you care? Let’s dig into what exactly Prime Premiere is below, and how you can take advantage of its benefits.
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What is Amazon Prime Premiere?
Think of Prime Premiere as a special benefit that’s already included with your Prime membership. With Prime Premiere, any Prime member has early access to Amazon movies and series. All you have to do is reserve your tickets ahead of time and check in to your theater by 7 p.m. the night of the show. These shows are typically one night only.
Reservations open a week before the showing and they do sell out. That said, try to grab a ticket as soon as the reservation portal opens.
Here’s how it works:
- Head to the Prime Premiere homepage and click the “reserve tickets” button.
- Choose your preferred theater location and showtime.
- Sign into your Amazon account.
- Choose how many tickets you’d like. (Though you only get two max.)
- Download your tickets.
- Make sure to check in at the theater before the 7 p.m. showtime.
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Amazon Prime Premiere also gives attendees $10-$12 in free snacks.
Moviegoers get a small popcorn and a small soda or water included with every ticket. But in case you forgot, a movie theater “small” is still pretty big. A small popcorn generally costs between $5 – $7, and a small soda is about $5. So you’re saving around $10 to $12 on snacks per person. Not bad.
Also: We’ve heard that Amazon also has the occasional giveaway for Prime Premiere attendees. If you’ve won anything, let us know. They keep these prizes under wraps pretty well.
Get tickets for films like Foe, Bottoms, Candy Cane Lane, and more.
Prime Premiere is constantly adding new films and events to its roster. Generally, you can count on one or two movies or series premieres every month. To see a full selection of currently available and upcoming films, check the Prime Premiere coming soon tab. Here are the films you can look forward to:
- Candy Cane Lane, ticket reservations open on Nov. 17 for a Nov. 29 show (starring Eddie Murphy)
- Foe, released Oct. 6 with showings still available at select theaters (starring Saoirse Ronan)
- Bottoms, released Aug. 25 with showings still available at select theaters
Previous showings include:
- The Burial, Oct. 11 (starring Jamie Foxx & Tommy Lee Jones)
What happens if you miss a Prime Premiere showing?
If you don’t have a participating theater nearby, are unable to attend, or weren’t able to get tickets, you can still stream the movie at home. Prime Premiere screenings happen a few days before the film releases on Prime Video. For example, The Burial was in theaters for one day only on Oct. 11. It then was available to stream two days later on Oct. 13.
If you get tickets and later find out you can’t attend, Amazon wants you to return them on Prime Premiere’s homepage.
Other Important Prime Premiere Info
- You can only get a max of two tickets per Prime account. Even if you have a Prime Household with several children listed, you can still only bring one guest with you. Sadly, Prime doesn’t have a babysitting service (yet).
- Seats are first come, first served, and latecomers will not be admitted. Check-in begins at 6:15 p.m. and the showtime is at 7 p.m., so try to beat the crowd by arriving as close to that check-in time as possible.
- Only select theaters participate in Prime Premiere. If you’re in a rural area or a smaller city, you may have a hard time finding local options. Here in rural Texas, my closest participating location was 60 miles away. But even a metro area like Boise, Idaho hasn’t had any showings yet. They’re mostly in major metropolitan areas. There’s no central list, either.
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