Durham, NC - While Hollywood's biggest stars are vying for Oscar gold this Sunday, Duke employees can save some green at the theater.

With savings from PERQS, Duke's employee discount program, faculty and staff can save up to $3 off the cost of a regular adult ticket for use at any time with two different theater groups. It's something that Debbie Gressel enjoys - being able to see evening movies at matinee prices.

"I'll buy 10 tickets every month or two because I want to purchase as many as I can get," said Gressel, a staff assistant in the Duke Division of Plastic, Maxillofacial, and Oral Surgery. "Last Christmas, I even bought 50 tickets and gave everybody in my family movie passes, a big tin of popcorn and candy."

Even though Gressel enjoys going with her son, Christian, to the Regal theaters at Raleigh's Brier Creek Commons, she said she likes giving away tickets just as much. For Valentine's Day, she gave her sister, brother and their spouses cards with discount tickets inside.

"I'll always have movie passes in my wallet," she said. "It's a neat little gift because movies can be so expensive."

Discount tickets can be purchased through PERQS for theaters within these groups:

• Regal Entertainment Group, which has theater complexes in Raleigh, Apex, Garner and Chapel Hill, offers tickets for $6.50 or $7.50. The $6.50 tickets are not accepted during the first 12 days of new releases.
• For Southpoint Cinemas in Durham and the Stone Theatres in Fayetteville and Myrtle Beach, S.C., Duke faculty and staff can purchase $7 tickets, which are valid any time, or $6 tickets, which are valid only after the first 14 days of a new release. Both tickets do not include the extra cost of 3D glasses necessary for 3D features. These tickets will no longer be valid at Southpoint after 2012.

Faculty and staff can purchase up to 10 tickets at a time on Thursdays at the Staff and Family Programs office on the second floor of 705 Broad St. from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., or on Fridays from the Medical Center Human Resources office in room 1527 of the Blue Zone of Duke South, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 to 5 p.m. Only cash is accepted.

Find more information about the discount movie tickets and dozens of other Duke discounts at the PERQS website.