Free cinema tickets?! What?! Ain’t no such thing as a free lunch!

Well as it turns out maybe there is…! Here’s how it works:

* At FMUK (here) you get a code
* You use that code to get a print out – it will act as ticket(s) for a special preview screening
* On the day, just take that printout to the cinema – an usher will direct you to your screen
* Enjoy the film!

Hang on a minute – there’s gotta be a catch! Where’s the catch?! Is this legal?!

No catch. Perfectly legal. Endorsed by the film distributors, in fact. It boosts their ticket sales through word-of-mouth advertising, you see…

* If you liked the film, you’ll probably recommend it to friends, right?
* A good proportion of them will end up paying to see the film once it is released
* The distributors make money, you get to see a film before it’s released for free. Win win.

Here’s a gif to sum up the whole process:

Okay, well what about this site right here? “FMUK”…do the distributors pay you?

Nope, we’re non-profit – run by volunteers. What we want is a nice place to chillax, talking about films or anything really! All we ask is that you join in! It’s great fun!

Where do I start?

These are the main agencies which offer the free tickets. Your first step is to sign up to them (free) at their websites.

* SeeFilmFirst and Tell Ten offer the most tickets. You might have seen their codes in magazines, and newspapers, etc. But the tickets go quick – you really need to try a code as soon as you hear it. On the other hand, a code may become active again at a later date, so it might be worth trying a code daily if you’re particularly interested in a particular screening. They also produce different codes for the same screenings usually.
* Screenbookings, run by the Times, provides tickets for a new film every month (approx). Tickets are made available from midnight on the live date (we’ll know this date and the name of the film a week or two before). Fortunately, there are usually several tickets available in each location and their bookings system is probably the best of the lot, so you should be able to get tickets throughout the day. You will need a passcode to claim tickets. Try ‘skyperks’ first – if there are no tickets left for this code, there should be another one made available to readers of the Times and therefore us.
* Momentum is the preview screenings wing of Momentum films. Not so many tickets, but worth checking once in a while…

How do I then get to see a film?

When preview screenings become available, you might receive a code in your email which you can use to redeem tickets on the relevant website. Just type it in and follow the on-screen instructions to claim tickets. You’ll usually get two tickets for each screening. If you want to swap them you’ll need to change the booked name by email.
They’re usually print-outs. Be sure to read all the text on the print-out. Take it to your cinema (advice: turn up 30 mins early) and skip the box-office, going to where tickets are usually checked. You’ll be guided to your screen as you usually would for a paid cinema trip.

And that’s it. There’s rarely any adverts, you get the film usually on the dot of the specified time, and you might even receive goodies upon leaving! Like I said, win-win!

Seefilmfirst rarely send me codes, and when they do the tickets have all been taken! How do I make sure I get tickets?

That’s where we come in. Seefilmfirst provide a wonderful service but not a completely satisfactory or efficient one. You may have noticed that there are lots of empty seats at screenings despite the fact that your tickets were very hard to come by. That’s because many if not most first-timers (having discovered the service through a code in a magazine, for example) do not realise that by failing to attend they are wasting seats that many others would very much want. FMUK strives to make sure that tickets are allocated to those who will actually attend screenings. We share codes so that people familiar with the system can get tickets for and attend as many screenings as they like. We also have a Swap system (really lacking from seefilmfirst and tellten) whereby if you missed out on tickets you can request some from kind fellow members. For more information on how to use FMUK, read this article.

We hope you enjoy many great films for free for many years to come!

AYBG, admin of FMUK.