The many features players can find in Stardew Valley are what make the game magical and fun to play. From planting your first tree to getting to Ginger Island for the first time and finding all the different hiding spots for the Golden Walnuts. Learning more about Mr. Qi and his quests is yet another unique experience. However, especially for those brave souls playing without a guide, discovering the Stardew Valley movie theater is a great moment.
However, there are many different reasons why the Stardew Valley movie theater exists. It’s just that players often open the theatre and barely ever visit it again. This is unfortunate because the theater has a few different and useful features such as watching movies, purchasing snacks, and playing the crane game.
So we wrote this guide to highlight all the different uses of a Stardew Valley movie theater. We’ll go in-depth about why the movie theater is there, how to unlock it, and the infamous crane game you can play there. Keep reading to find out more!
Why do you need a Movie Theater in Stardew Valley?
Just like pretty much anything else in the game, you don’t really need a movie theater in Stardew Valley. However, it’ll definitely give you more things to do in the game and may even improve your experience.
For example, the Stardew Valley movie theater is good if you want to get the full experience of the game and explore everything ConcernedApe has to offer in his game. Additionally, you may find bonding with villagers easier using the movie theater. All you have to do is make sure to take them to see a movie they actually like. We’ll explain more about that later.
Finally, you should get a Stardew Valley movie theater simply because the crane game is very fun. In addition to the various prizes you can get from it, it remains one of the unique things about Stardew Valley and requires some planning to be able to play the game itself. If you’re looking to read more about the crane game, we’ve included the most important details below!
The Crane Game inside the Movie Theater
When the player enters the movie theater for the first time, they will always see a man standing at the crane game, playing it. Because of this, it’s impossible to play the game.
However, after that first encounter and before watching a movie, there is a 25% chance the crane game is occupied. This leaves a 75% chance window for the player to play and enjoy the crane game.
For 500g, you can play the game and receive a prize afterward if you win. It operates just like a real-life crane game and is equally as frustrating at times. The player gets 3 chances to grab a prize from the pool and only has 15 seconds to attempt to grab it. Note that winning a prize on the first or second try doesn’t end the game, which lets you receive three prizes per game.
The prizes are randomized each time you pay the 500g fee. Some of them can even depend on the season you’re playing in. For example, playing it in the winter gives a small chance of the Tree of the Winter Star spawning. On the other hand, playing in the spring has a chance of spawning the Lawn Flamingo prize.
Some prizes also depend on the movie playing in the theater at the time, such as a Wumbus statue for when Wumbus is playing. Finally, there are prizes the player can receive at any time, such as the small Junimo plush.
Movie Ticket prices Stardew Valley
Movie ticket prices are set for every movie that plays in the Stardew Valley movie theater. Additionally, if the player is purchasing a second movie ticket to offer to a villager, there is no discount on the price. Finally, if all the players purchase a ticket to a movie, the movie theater doesn’t offer a discount either.
Purchasing a movie ticket costs 1000g, and the player can enter the movie theater at any point after purchasing the ticket before the start of a movie. Note that not entering the movie theater on the day you purchased the ticket does not cancel the ticket. This means you can purchase a ticket and enter the theater on any day of the week of any year and still be able to see the movie.
However, if you gift a ticket to a villager, you must enter the theater on the same day you gift the ticket. Otherwise, the ticket will become void and the villager will forget about it. This does not cost any friendship points.
What do you need to unlock the Stardew Valley movie theater?
If you take the Joja route, obtaining the Stardew Valley movie theater is more or less simple. After you’ve purchased all the other community upgrades, you can unlock the movie theater for 500,000g. This turns the Joja warehouse into a movie theater. Like everything else in the Joja route, this is simple at face value although it’s a bit harder to earn all the money necessary for it.
However, if you take the community center route, you can unlock it using a method that may or may not seem slightly more complicated. It requires the player to have already restored the community center. The night before the first rainy or stormy day after that is when the player will get a cutscene of lightning striking the doors of the abandoned JojaMart, opening it.
Inside, the player will find the Missing Bundle, which they must complete by bringing all the components. The components of the Missing Bundle are a bit harder to find and turn in. This includes Silver or better quality Wine, Dinosaur Mayonnaise, a Prismatic Shard, 5 Gold quality Ancient Fruits, Gold or better quality Void Salmon, and Caviar. Upon completing the Missing Bundle, the player unlocks the movie theater, and the Junimos will build it the following night.
All 8 Stardew Valley movies + how they affect friendships with NPCs
We’ve already mentioned that the movie theater is a great way to improve your relationship with some of the NPCs in Stardew Valley. Each NPC has a different preference, so make sure you take them to the right movie!
Below, you can find each movie with a list of the NPCs that love, like, or dislike the movie.
The Brave Little Sapling
Loves it: Caroline, Dwarf, Jas, Penny, Sandy, Vincent
Likes it: Abigail, Alex, Clint, Demetrius, Elliott, Emily, Evelyn, George, Gus, Haley, Harvey, Jodi, Kent, Leah, Leo, Lewis, Marnie, Maru, Pam, Pierre, Robin, Sam, Willy
Dislikes it: Krobus, Linus, Sebastian, Shane, Wizard
Journey of the Prairie King: The Motion Picture
Loves it: Caroline, Dwarf, Jas, Robin, Sandy, Vincent
Likes it: Abigail, Alex, Clint, Demetrius, Emily, Evelyn, Gus, Jodi, Kent, Leo, Lewis, Marnie, Maru, Pam, Penny, Pierre, Sam, Sebastian, Shane, Willy
Dislikes it: Elliott, George, Haley, Harvey, Krobus, Leah, Linus, Wizard
Mysterium
Loves it: Abigail, Dwarf, Elliott, Leah, Sandy, Sebastian, Wizard
Likes it: Alex, Caroline, Clint, Demetrius, Haley, Jodi, Krobus, Leo, Marnie, Maru, Pam, Pierre, Robin, Sam, Shane, Willy
Dislikes it: Emily, Evelyn, George, Gus, Harvey, Jas, Kent, Lewis, Linus, Penny, Vincent
The Miracle at Coldstar Ranch
Loves it: Dwarf, Emily, Evelyn, Gus, Harvey, Marnie, Sandy
Likes it: Alex, Caroline, Clint, Elliott, George, Haley, Jas, Jodi, Kent, Leah, Leo, Lewis, Maru, Pam, Penny, Pierre, Robin, Willy
Dislikes it: Abigail, Demetrius, Krobus, Linus, Sam, Sebastian, Shane, Vincent, Wizard
Natural Wonders: Exploring Our Vibrant World
Loves it: Demetrius, Dwarf, Jas, Leo, Lewis, Maru, Sandy
Likes it: Abigail, Caroline, Clint, Elliott, Emily, Evelyn, George, Gus, Haley, Harvey, Jodi, Kent, Leah, Marnie, Pam, Penny, Pierre, Robin, Sam, Sebastian, Shane, Willy
Dislikes it: Alex, Krobus, Linus, Vincent, Wizard
Wumbus
Loves it: Alex, Demetrius, Dwarf, Gus, Jas, Maru, Pierre, Sam, Sandy, Shane, Vincent
Likes it: Abigail, Clint, Elliott, Emily, Evelyn, George, Harvey, Jodi, Kent, Leah, Leo, Lewis, Marnie, Pam, Penny, Robin, Sebastian, Willy
Dislikes it: Caroline, Haley, Krobus, Linus, Wizard
It Howls In The Rain
Loves it: Abigail, Alex, Dwarf, Sandy, Sebastian, Shane
Likes it: Caroline, Clint, Demetrius, Gus, Haley, Jodi, Leo, Marnie, Maru, Pam, Pierre, Robin, Sam, Willy
Dislikes it: Elliott, Emily, Evelyn, George, Harvey, Jas, Kent, Krobus, Leah, Lewis, Linus, Penny, Vincent, Wizard
The Zuzu City Express
Loves it: Dwarf, Evelyn, George, Harvey, Jodi, Sandy
Likes it: Alex, Caroline, Elliott, Emily, Gus, Haley, Jas, Kent, Leah, Leo, Lewis, Marnie, Maru, Pam, Penny, Pierre, Robin, Willy
Dislikes it: Abigail, Clint, Demetrius, Krobus, Linus, Sam, Sebastian, Shane, Vincent, Wizard
Inviting a villager to a movie they love nets you 200 friendship points, while taking them to a movie they like gives 100 friendship points. There is no punishment for taking an NPC to a movie they dislike.
What’s the Movie Schedule?
The movies operate on a 2-year cycle based on the season when the player unlocks the movie theater. Four movies will play during the first year cycle, after which the other four movies will play during the second year cycle.
The movies that play during the first year cycle are The Brave Little Sapling, Journey of the Prairie King: The Motion Picture, Mysterium, and The Miracle at Coldstar Ranch. On the other hand, the movies that play during the second year cycle are Natural Wonders: Exploring Our Vibrant World, Wumbus, It Howls In The Rain, and The Zuzu City Express.
The order in which they are named represents the season the movie plays in, starting from Spring and ending with Winter of their respective year.
Foods and drinks at a Stardew Valley theater + how they affect friendships with NPCs
There is a choice of 24 different foods and drinks at the Stardew Valley movie theater. Villagers have different preferences for all of them.
Giving an NPC a snack they love earns 50 friendship points, while a snack they love earns 25 friendship points. Similar to the movies, giving a guest a snack they dislike will not harm the relationship between the player and the NPC.
Note that the concession counter only offers five random snacks at a time. You will usually find one loved snack, two liked snacks, and one disliked snack for a certain NPC.
