Movie ticket prices hit record levels in the second quarter of 2017.
It cost consumers an average of $8.95 a ticket during the three-month period ending in June. That’s a 1.2% hike over the previous quarter and a 2.5% increase from the prior-year period.
It’s shaping up to be a very expensive year for movie-going. Tickets in the first quarter of 2017 cost an average of $8.84, which also established a new high-water mark for the industry.
Moviegoers in New York, Los Angeles, and other major cities may look at $8.95 as a relative bargain. Theater tickets routinely cost upwards of $10 in metropolitan areas, but the figures are culled from across the country. They are calculated by the National Association of Theatre Owners, the exhibition industry’s lobbying arm.
The group notes that part of the reason for the price hike has to do with the number of films that were showcased in 3D, Imax, and other premium formats. Those extra features come with higher costs. “Wonder Woman,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales,” “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” and “The Fate of the Furious” accounted for 46% of the box office during the quarter. All were shown extensively in 3D and other premium formats.
