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Movie Tickets Cost Just 3 at Many Theaters This Weekend | Money

September 28, 2022

38 3 minutes read

Movie Tickets Cost Just 3 at Many Theaters This Weekend | Money

How much is for a movie ticket

If you want to catch the hottest blockbusters of the summer or, more importantly, cool off in the complimentary air conditioning, you’re in luck: a one-day deal on $3 movie tickets is coming to a theater near you. from you this business day weekend.

The ticket offer is part of a National Movie Day promotion announced Sunday by the Movie Theater Foundation, a new nonprofit arm of the National Association of Movie Theater Owners. With the goal of boosting movie attendance in the streaming age, it allows moviegoers to enjoy a discounted ticket limited to $3 on Saturday, September 1. 3, in more than 3,000 participating theaters.

And yes, major franchises like AMC and Regal Cinemas are included.

“We wanted to do something to celebrate moviegoing,” Jackie Brenneman, president of the Cinema Foundation, said in a press release. “We’re doing it by offering a ‘thank you’ to the moviegoers who made this summer possible and by offering an added incentive for those who haven’t returned yet.”

The $3 movie ticket promotion is a cheap weekend of entertainment for Americans, many of whom have been sacrificing recreation budgets to make ends meet amid soaring inflation. see the national film day site for more details.

the pandemic fight for movie theaters

The covid-19 pandemic, along with the rise in home streaming, has hit movie theaters particularly hard. Box office grosses in the country fell to a 40-year low of about $2.2 billion in 2020, a dramatic drop of 81.4% from $11.32 billion a year earlier, according to data from box office mojo , a site that tracks box office receipts.

For theaters small and large, casualties have been high: Bloomberg counted 630 locally owned and franchised theaters that were still closed as of December 2021 with no set reopening date. Results from a January Gallup poll found that 61% of Americans surveyed did not visit a movie theater in 2021.

In another big blow to the entertainment business, the Wall Street Journal reported last week that Cineworld, the industry’s second-largest theater operator and owner of the actual theaters, announced it may file for bankruptcy protection from the chapter 11 in the usa uu. in the midst of a tidal wave of debt. (That doesn’t mean it’s the end: Chapter 11 bankruptcy allows businesses to reorganize, retain assets, continue to operate, and borrow new money with court approval, but that’s not a good sign.) /p>

And while the movie industry has made steady strides in 2022 with blockbusters like Top Gun: Maverick and Jurassic World Domination, the numbers are still a far cry from pre-pandemic years. Analysts told The Hollywood Reporter that domestic box office receipts could exceed $7.5 billion this year, which would only add up to about 70% of recorded 2019 receipts.

what’s happening with movie ticket prices

The average cost of a movie ticket has more than doubled in recent years, from $4.35 in 1995 to $9.17 today, according to an analysis by thenumbers.com, a database on line that provides financial analysis of the film industry.

Ticket prices have stagnated in recent years as movie theaters across the country struggle to stay open. in 2018, the average ticket was around $9.11. since 2020, the average ticket price has remained constant at $9.17.

Although deeply discounted tickets are expected to lure consumers into theaters on Saturday, the long-term recovery of in-person movie viewing is uncertain. The most popular in-home streaming services range from about $5.99 per month for basic plans to about $79.99 per month for premium packages with live TV, so it’s not surprising that consumers are increasingly opting to stay in their homes. living rooms with countless viewing options (not to mention the option to press pause to go to the bathroom).

In any case, at a maximum of $3 per ticket, the National Movie Day promotion is a bargain you probably won’t see again for some time. The last time movie tickets were close to $3, according to data from the Theater Owners Association, was around 1982.