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How to Use Google to Find Movie Showtimes, Find Theaters, and Reserve Your Tickets
Many internet users already know how to go to their movie theater’s website and see what movies they are currently showing and what the showtimes are. However, there is an easier way! Google has an index of pretty much every theater in the United States together with what movies they are currently showing and at what times.
One way to access this database is to type in the name of a movie that you want to see, then type in your location. For example, you can type in the name of the movie, and just the name of your city if you live in a large city. If your city is a little bit smaller, you may want to add a comma after the city name and type in the state.
You can also just type in the name of the movie and the ZIP code for your city. Google automatically finds theaters that are within a reasonable distance so that you can see the available alternatives.
Another method is to type in the name of the movie followed by your state. This only works for some of the smaller and less-populated states. As you can see below, it works for the smallest state by land area, Rhode Island.
Find All the Theaters Playing a Certain Movie
If you do a search for The Incredible Hulk, Seattle and then click on the name of the movie, you will be directed to a page similar to the one below:
From this screen, you can see all of the theaters that are playing The Incredible Hulk in the Seattle area.
How to Reserve Your Seat Without Standing In Line
You may notice that some of the showtimes are clickable (the ones that are blue and underlined). When you click on one of these links, it will transfer you to a website that allows you to purchase your movie tickets online.
This allows you to save your time by not having to go to the theater beforehand to get your tickets if you know the movie will be sold out.
Not Sure What Movie to See?
If all you know is that you want to spend approximately two hours of your time in a dark room full of strangers watching something on a screen, then simply type in movies [insert your city name, or ZIP code here]. You can see an example of this below.
For example, if I type in movies, traverse city, mi Google will show me a list of all of the movies that are playing in all of the theaters in Traverse City, MI.
You may notice that the title of the results, Showtimes for Traverse City, MI, is a clickable link. If you click on it, Google will show you all of the movies that are playing in Traverse City at any movie theater.
From this screen, Google makes it easy to hone in on any movie that sounds interesting. In the upper right hand corner, Google allows you to sort the listings by the following attributes:
- Theater Distance
- Movie Popularity
- Movie Rating
- Movie Title
Once you’ve done that, you can then click on the reviews to the left of the movie title to read what others think of the movie. Be careful though, they may contain spoilers that could potentially ruin the movie for you.
Google also tells you the running time of the movie, the rating, the genre, and allows you to view the movie trailer online. In addition, Google provides a link to the IMDb, which stands for the Internet Movie Database.
Getting to the Theater
After the title of the movie theater, Google displays the address. If you’re not sure where the address is located, Google provides a handy Map link that will allow you to view a map of where the theater is located. Optionally, you can enter your address and Google will give you driving directions.
Enjoy your movie!
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