a. Online e-Ticketing Sites

Gofobo - http://www.gofobo.com
The largest single destination for promotional movie screenings in the United States and Canada. While tickets are often available for download by any visitor, they typically require an RSVP code from a promotional partner. Follow the links on the landing page to find which partner they are working with and see how to obtain RSVP codes. It will typically be with the local partners listed below, many of which will require you to join their membership or VIP clubs. Also, make sure your personal information is up to date and then opt-in to receive additional emails from gofobo as they often send out emails with exclusive invitations to movie screenings in your area.

FilmMetro - http://www.FilmMetro.com
A large e-ticketing site and social network of people who have attended movie screenings. Tickets are posted daily and those monitoring the site are often the first to snatch them up. When tickets are released at a date in the future, the site will display a countdown clock showing you exactly when to return to the site (Typically around midnight). Make sure to click refresh quickly as the time runs out as they have a large community and everyone is eager to get those tickets. Tickets have often been known to be downloaded within the first 5-10 seconds for popular movies. While most of the tickets are available for the general public, make sure your personal information on the site is accurate as movie screening information is often emailed to people who meet certain demographics.

Movie-View - http://www.Movie-View.com
Movie-View is owned by NRG, which is the largest entertainment research company. Signing up for this will often mean that while you may receive emails or phone calls, you will often need to be in personal contact with a recruiter outside a theater. They are looking to recruits certain types of audiences (example, Women 18-40) and if you fit those criteria, they will often approach you regarding the screening and if you would like to attend. Recruiters are paid for each person that meets the demo requirements and shows up to the screening. If it’s something you are interested in attend, kindly accept their information and follow any instructions given to claim the tickets.

The Screening Exchange - http://www.TheScreeningExchange.com
The second largest company that sets up research screenings for the studios. They have screenings across the country, but most frequently in Los Angeles and New York. Make sure all personal information is accurate when signing up as this is used to target films that are targeted towards your demographic. Research screenings have strict restrictions on attendance and there stands a good chance to be turned away if you fall outside that category. Once you have been selected, the screening exchange will often reach out to people via an automated voice mail message with specific instructions on how to RSVP if they wish to attend. The voice mail is typically very quick and you’ll need to be fast to write down their instructions on how to attend.

b. Local Media

Radio: One of the most common ways to get movie screening tickets is from local radio stations. You can typically win tickets if you're the 10th caller or if you receive tickets via giveaways at one of their special events. Sometimes they'll have a stack of passes to give out when they take the giant van out to the popular retailers, special events or festivals. Radio stations co-sponsor the majority of advance promotional screenings, but it can take a while to actually get passes by listening to win or following the prize van. A more trusted method is to look for their online contests instead. Most radio stations will have an online VIP or members area where they offer incentives to people who sign up. Especially with the rise of electronic ticketing, often these people are selected via email or on the site to receive. If you’re set on attending movie screenings, it would be wise to sign up and check with these sites on a weekly basis.

The radio industry has consolidated itself into a handful of corporate owners. This may be bad for competition, but it does make searching for local radio stations easier. Try researching Clear Channel and CBS Radio. Most stations owned by these companies have contest pages, some of which are valuable screening resources. Then use the Radio Locator (http://www.radio-locator.com/) or any search engine to find other destinations on the dial. Look for free listener clubs that offer exclusive contests, and join. Note that Clear Channel will have national contests that appear for all their radio stations. Many stations will show the same national stuff over and over, so try to distinguish and focus on the stations that keep fresh local offers. Also, in general, stations that follow a public radio or religious format don't have contests. In other words, a radio station can have a Donations page or a Contests page, but not both. That's just the way it works.

TIP: Its typically best to check back sometime between Tuesday-Thursday as the screenings promotions are typically set up during the work week and seldom fall on the weekends. Checking during the week will give you the best opportunity to be the first one to grab tickets. This is helpful especially if it’s a popular movie and tickets are expected to go quickly.

Print: Local newspapers are usually a great place to look for free movie screening promotions. Both daily and weekly editions can have advertisements in the entertainment section. Also try your local newspapers, of the daily or weekly variety. Often, the newspaper will show noticed of free screenings, but you will have to register with their online website or send in an email requesting to attend. Sometimes it can save you time to just check the website first and skip the subscription.

Consult the Association of Alternative News Weeklies (http://aan.org/alternative/Aan/NewsweeklyDirectory) to see if your city has a weekly paper that might offer movie screenings. These are the so-called trendy publications that appear in colorful boxes along city sidewalks. Once you find one, scan the entertainment section for screening announcements and look for instructions on how to claim the tickets. Often it can require heading over to the corporate office to pick up tickets. It can also be typical for a paper that arrives in the mid-week to direct people to a Friday event or a local business to pick up tickets. It’s also becoming more acceptable to claim tickets online, which is a big time saver.

If you live in a college town, also consider searching for the print or electronic version of their campus papers.

TV: While not as common as print promotions, most cities will have local TV stations that have broadcast or online contests. Visit the city section below to see a list of the most popular websites for your local TV stations, and check for promotions, events, or contests. If you want to look further, a simple search for "[Name of City] TV" should help ensure you have them all. Look for the local affiliates of the networks -- ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, the CW, and MyNetwork TV -- but don't forget about the independently owned stations in your viewing area. Make sure to sign up for any membership or VIP clubs they may offer and always indicate you are interested in and enjoy movies.

Magazines: Several national entertainment related magazines will often advertise movie screenings or contest to win tickets. If you’ve searched the other method, looking through magazines are worth a look.

Upscale - http://www.upscalemagazine.com/portal/
Entertainment Weekly - http://www.ew.com/ew
Giant Magazine - http://giant.blackplanet.com/
Hollywood Life - http://www.hollywoodlife.net/
Premiere - http://www.premiere.com/
Variety - http://www.variety.com/
The Hollywood Reporter - http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/index.jsp

Film festivals, societies or clubs: Another possibility is to register as a member of a local film festival. Most festivals are typically concerned about bringing indie films into the marketplace, which is good for independent films, but you will rarely get offers for the summer blockbusters. Another great idea is to join or begin film societies or clubs in your area. These can be a group of people who talk or love a certain movie genre. Often established groups will be able to offer screening tickets to their members, but many times this will be done via email, snail mail, or RSVP list.

c. Online Forums
While there are many online forums that discuss movie screenings, you will get the best information by going to either FatWallet.com or SlickDeals.net and search for movie screenings. Each site has a running bulletin board where registered members can post screenings they've heard about. But you don't have to register to know what's going on; just scroll the last few pages to read the most recent offerings, or search for your city.

d. Online Aggregators
There are several sites that attempt to combine most of the movie screening information on the internet and place into a single place. Be careful in this distinction as many of these sites pretend to be official sponsors of the screenings, but are not. The ones that are successful simply highlight links to the sites that provide tickets. They are useful tools that allow others to quickly find screenings located in their area.

The Movie Outsider - http://themovieoutsider.blogspot.com/2007/01/atlanta.html
By far, the best and most in-depth site regarding movie screenings and where to get tickets for a variety of cities. A blog by nature, this site does an excellent job or separating content by cities. The author states, “The main reason I started this Advanced Screenings Guide is because the Internet had a big gaping hole that existing aggregators have failed to fill. Aggregators find the offers of other sites and compile them into one place that's easy to follow. They should only provide the links to these sites and not pretend to be the sponsor of any screenings.”

Free Movie Screenings – http://www.FreeMovieScreenings.net
Boston-based Free Movie Screenings has a section for various cities that does not get updated very often, but can still be handy. This site does not host screenings but does provide information that is often a great first place to look for screenings.

iScreenings – http://www.iScreenings.com
Run out of Southern California, iScreenings utilizes the RSS feeds from several websites to combine it into a easy to sort webpage. They also seem to monitor the forums, but are not always very consistent. The site has city-by-city forums, which could become an asset with enough user participation.

Wild About Movies – http://www.WildAboutMovies.com
Wild About Movies, abbreviated WAM has been one of the original sites for finding information and locations for movie screenings. Founded in 2004 and currently listed as the top result under Google for “Movie Screenings”, WAM asks that you fill out a registration form for each movie you’d like to attend. If you are selected, you’ll receive information and/or tickets for the screening.

Consumer Warning: Many people who have relied on WAM for movie screening tickets have encounter problems at the event. After looking into a variety of sources, it appears that over the course of time, WAM began to offer tickets to certain movie screenings while the tickets were never officially approved by the studio. The end result was that many of the WAM movie-goers would arrive at the theater only to be turned away because their tickets weren’t valid. Sources in the entertainment industry have stated that several studios have filed lawsuits against Wild About Movies. Since the reports of the lawsuits first appeared, the site has been much quieter regarding movie screenings. This being said, WAM does seem to be legitimate when linking to an external provider and is still one of the top sources for information about movie screenings. Just make sure to use this site at your own risk and make sure to verify the authenticity for any movie screening tickets provided directly from WAM.

43KIX.com – http://www.43kix.com/mobile
Optimized for mobile web browsing, this mobile entertainment portal offers information on a variety of movie screenings across the country. They are also known for sending text messages with updates for events and screenings in your area. To subscribe, simply text the word SUBSCRIBE and your ZIP CODE to 43549. You will receive updates via text messages for entertainment related events and screenings in your area. The service is free, but standard text message rates for your carrier may apply. If you want to unsubscribe from their service, simply text STOP to 43549. The service is very popular and most subscribers rave about it as they are often the first to get the news about movie screenings, events and celebrity sightings in their area.

Retail Me Not – http://www.RetailMeNot.com
With the rise of e-ticketing, amazing community driven coupon sites like RetailMeNot have become great places for people to easily share and exchange RSVP codes for screening tickets with other movie goers. No membership is required to use this site. If you receive an RSVP code to attend a screening, simply enter the code and website onto RetailMeNot. Other community members will be able to try out the code and if valid, will vote it up. The end result is a quick and easy way to share resources for movie screenings. Expect this site to become a huge resource for movie screening as code based ticketing becomes more popular.

e. Studio Websites
Most studios have their own internal lists and databases. Signing up for their VIP or membership area is often a surefire way to hear about movie screenings and upcoming events. Here is a list of the top studios that have been known to offer movie screenings.

Fox Searchlight - http://www.foxsearchlight.com/index.php
Warner Bros. - http://www.warnerbros.com/
Paramount - http://www.paramount.com/paramount.php
Fox - http://www.foxmovies.com/
Disney - http://disney.go.com/index
Sony - http://www.sonypictures.com/
Dreamworks - http://www.dreamworks.com/
Focus Features - http://www.filminfocus.com/focusfeatures/
Lionsgate - http://lionsgate.com
MGM - http://www.mgm.com/
Miramax - http://miramax.com/home.html
Regent Releasing - http://www.regentreleasing.com/
The Weinstein Company - http://weinsteinco.com/

f. Public Relation Firms
Sometimes a middleman or PR firm will provide provide screenings in multiple cities. When they do, those links become accessible to the public, but until then, only the press or registered members can navigate the site.

Janet Wainright PR - http://www.janetwainwright.com/filmclub.htm
Grace Hill Media - http://www.gracehillmedia.com/signup/
Film PR - http://filmpr.com/familychristian/events/events/main