‘Barbie’ tickets go for US$4 with movie theatres trying to fill seats

TICKETS to Barbie, Oppenheimer and other new Hollywood films will cost just US$4 on Sunday (Aug 27) as the theatre industry once again offers its National Cinema Day event. The seats go on sale Monday.

The promotion, which cost US$3 a ticket last year, is designed to encourage theatregoing as the industry struggles to recover from the global pandemic. More than 3,000 venues in the US and Canada will be offering the discounted tickets, even on the normally pricier large screens, according to the Cinema Foundation, a non-profit started by the National Association of Theatre Owners.

Chains, including AMC Entertainment Holdings, are under pressure from the rise in online video options and a smaller slate of releases from studios.

Box office revenue in the US and Canada is expected to be about US$9 billion this year, according to industry projections. Before the pandemic, it regularly topped US$11 billion.

The end of summer is typically a slow time for the industry. Films opening nationwide next weekend include Sony Group’s Gran Turismo, a car racing picture, and Golda, a biography of the former Israeli prime minister starring Helen Mirren. BLOOMBERG