Over the past two years, exhibitors and studios partnered on a special promotion called National Cinema Day, selling deeply discounted tickets on one day to boost moviegoing at a time when attendance flags at the end of the summer. In 2022, the first NCD took place on Saturday, September 3rd, two days before the Labor Day holiday.
Ticket prices were set at an amazingly low $3, resulting in 8.1 million sold on that single day. In 2023, NCD happened on Sunday, August 27th, on the weekend before Labor Day. Tickets were priced at $4, with 8.8 million sold. These unusual events generated thousands of news articles and on-site broadcasts from local and national broadcasters.
Exhibitors were mostly pleased with the result, helping lure customers back to the theatre after the COVID-19 pandemic had interrupted the habit of moviegoing for many consumers. It also allowed theatres to profit from concessions sales, with many customers feeling they had a few extra dollars in their pockets after benefitting from the low price of tickets.
However, the financials for studios were not that obvious. Their percentage share of a deeply discounted ticket did not add up to a huge number. Moreover, studios were reluctant to release any significant new movie on a weekend that included National Cinema Day, fearing that it would drive down the overall gross for a movie on its all-important opening weekend.
While it has not yet happened this year, there is still a chance that another National Cinema Day will be scheduled at some point, perhaps next year in February on the Saturday before the NFL’s Superbowl Sunday, which is usually the lowest-grossing weekend of the year. Because of this, studios are already hesitant to open any important new movie on that weekend.
