Go on a Tuesday or Wednesday and tickets are 50% off at AMC (and maybe other theaters). While still not cheap, that gets you down to $16.49 for an imax showing at the metreon AMC and $9.49 for a standard screen.
AMC also has their A List thing which is $27/month (here in NYC) while a regular evening ticket is ~$24. It's a stupidly good deal if you go to even two movies a month.
Despite what everyone here always says I haven't noticed a substantial difference in service or the audience quality since pre-COVID. Remember, even in the early 90's Seinfeld had an entire B-plot about disruptive movie-goers. This isn't new.
The one thing that's annoying is the commercials, but AMC even tells you how long those are now, and with reserved seats, you can just show up near the end of them.
