Before closing out the work week and enjoying a much-needed weekend, we looked at the online movie ticket service Hollywood. At first glance, we were semi-overwhelmed at all of the features and links littering their intro page. How would we ever see it all? Luckily, Star Reviews has an affinity for getting the details, so we tread through Hollywood’s waters. See what we surfed across here.
What’s New with Hollywood.com Movie Ticket Website?
- TV shows, DVD releases, and celebrity gossip articles
- Create and display your own Fan Site for your favorite Hollywood celeb.
- Contest announcements for big releases.
Star Reviews Favorite Hollywood.com Feature:
Movie Calendar - Visitors can easily browse a list of new releases making it into theaters on opening nights. Plus, with the click of a mouse you can find brand new releases for any month you desire, mapping out ‘Must See’s’ before they hit the silver screen.
Hollywood Features:
- Buy tickets through partner Movietickets.com
- Browse show times for theaters all over the country
- Watch trailers and read detailed cast and credit information
- Latest movie news
- Movie premiere photo galleries
- Movie newsletter
- Celeb birthdays
- Cool contests with prize packs
Navigating the Hollywood website:
We thought the Hollywood website interface was a little busy, but was still pretty user-friendly. If you don’t mind scrolling through images and text, you’ll feel right at home on this site. One feature we found groundbreaking was their scrolling entertainment toolbar, reminiscent of television news stations. What a great idea! There is also a fun, top 100 celebrity drop down menu, with information, news and photos of all featured celebs. You can search for movie times in the convenient search boxes or you can opt to use links in the left side margin. One thing we didn’t love: lots of ads. One ad even had scurrying tarantulas in it, which frankly, freaked us out.
Theater & Ticket Availability:
We thought the movie ticket purchasing process was a little more difficult through this site. Though we were still taken to Movietickets.com for the umpteenth time, when searching for movies using the same search criteria, not all of the Movietickets.com options appeared at on Hollywood. In fact, finding a theater became a bit frustrating. In most cases, you’d be better off going directly to Movietickets.com. This was a little disappointing to Star Reviews, as we demand convenience, a great selection and the lowest prices.
Getting your tickets on Hollywood:
When selecting a movie on Hollywood, use the pull down menu or enter your zip code. After you enter your information, you’ll see the results for the current day or from whichever date you please. You can check show times and buy tickets up to 10 days in advance.
Not all of the theaters which turn up in the results allow you to buy movie tickets online. Only the show times listed in red can be clicked on for purchase. When you do click on a time, however, you’ll be redirected to Movietickets.com, where you can place your order.
From the MovieTickets.com site, you’ll need to enter the specifics of your order, including the exact number of tickets you want and your credit card number. After you review your order, you’ll submit it and receive confirmation of your order, including printing or pick-up information. It’s all pretty straightforward and even a novice Web surfer can figure this out.
Hollywood.com Movie Ticket Pricing:
Hollywood doesn’t charge anything for browsing through or using their movie-dominated site. If you decide to purchase tickets through Movietickets.com, however, you will be charged for the price of the ticket plus a convenience charge. Both amounts are determined by the specific theaters, but the average convenience fee is $1 extra per ticket, a normal cost when purchasing your tickets online.
Customer Support:
Hollywood did not provide any type of customer service for online movie ticket buyers and the only contact information we saw were emails for ‘Advertising.’ The only “Support” link on the site was for help setting up a Fan Site, not buying tickets. The web site did not even include FAQ’s or an online question submission form. Telephone support is absent as well. We recommend utilizing the Movietickets.com customer support for any inquiries you may have.
Upside:
Provides plenty of content movie lovers may find interesting. Movie calendar lets movie fans plan their schedules far in advance.
Downside:
No customer support is available. Finding theaters that sell tickets online can be frustrating. The site offers nothing really new or unique for visitors.
Summary:
Hollywood offers anyone interested in movies a great, feature-filled website. Although, we must remind you, you cannot purchase movie tickets directly through this site, as they’re partnered with Movietickets.com as well. We really enjoyed the scrolling entertainment news, celebrity birthdays, convenient movie calendars, and all kinds of video spotlight features. While you cannot avoid spending the average $1 convenience charge on each movie ticket you purchase through their partner’s site, it’s worth it if you hate waiting in line. There really wasn’t any customer support available on this site, so if you have any questions, you might have to visit Movietickets.com for their services.