The average price of movie tickets hit a record high of $10.53 in 2022, according to the Cinema Foundation’s inaugural State of the Industry report released Thursday. The foundation is a nonprofit arm of the National Association of Theater Owners.
NATO, which traditionally tracks movie ticket prices on a quarterly and annual basis, had not done so since the start of the pandemic. In 2019, the last year for which a statistic was provided, the average ticket price was $9.16. No average was given for 2020 or 2021.
Adjusting for inflation, the Cinema Foundation notes that the cost of going to the movies in 2022 was actually lower than in 2019 ($10.58) and 1971 ($11.92).
The general tone of the report was optimistic as the exhibition industry emerged from the COVID-19 crisis, although it revealed that the number of movie theater screens in the United States had fallen from 41,172 in 2019 to 39,007 in 2022, a decrease of 5.3%. In the United States and Canada, the number of North American screens fell from 44,283 to 42,063 screens, a narrower loss of 5%.
The loss was offset by overseas growth. The number of cinema screens increased from 200,949 to 212,590, a jump of 5.8%.
The Cinema Foundation report says 107 movies are set to hit 2,000 theaters or more this year, up dramatically from 71 in 2022 and down only somewhat from 112 in 2019.
The report also detailed the importance of cinema versus streaming, the dangers of piracy when a movie arrives home early, consumer sentiment about the theater experience, and innovations and opportunities in the industry in the future.
“Data and research are the essential tools we use to advance cinematic innovations,” said Jackie Brenneman, President of the Cinema Foundation. “What we have discovered from our multiple research partners is that the future of the cinematic experience looks bright and that a number of new opportunities exist for both exhibitors and studios. ”
During a conference call with the press, Brenneman and Patrick Corcoran of NATO said it was impossible to know if all the screens lost in the United States were due to the pandemic.
“While many expected massive theater closures due to the pandemic, the number of screens fell by only 5.25%. It remains to be seen how many of these closures are permanent and how many will reopen under new ownership,” the report adds.
Brenneman also repeatedly pointed out that the health of the box office recovery was tied to the number of large-scale Hollywood studio releases.
“The box office, film by film, rebounded to 2019 levels, limited only by the number of large-scale releases in the market. The number of wide releases in 2023 is more than 40% higher than in 2022 and is approaching the number of wide releases in 2019,” the report states. “Cinema remains affordable, with today’s average ticket price – despite a clear trend among audiences towards premium formats – costing less than the inflation-adjusted average ticket price in 1971.”
Among other key findings, the Cinema Foundation also found that viewers place a higher value on movies they know are theatrically released for the first time. They also want to see more diverse genres on the marquee, with comedy, action/thriller, horror, drama and romance among the five most in demand. And the report noted how the two Top Gun : Maverick et Elvis owe much of their success to older moviegoers.
The report also found that consumers are willing to pay a higher price for alternative content and new big-screen experiences, and that longer theatrical release windows help delay the piracy spikes that occur when a movie debuts at home.
After being brought to its knees by the pandemic, 2022 was the year the industry got back on its feet, according to the Motion Picture Foundation.
“Streaming is an important part of a film’s distribution plan, but it does not replace theaters which remain essential in the cinematic ecosystem. We’ve learned that there can’t be billion dollar movies without theaters. Without billion-dollar films, there can’t be $200 million budgets. Movies just aren’t as majestic or compelling if they haven’t been opened in a movie theater. That’s why, after the failure of day and date releases (which cannibalized theater and streaming revenue), studios, including those who sent their entire slates (Warner Bros.) on simultaneous release, quickly changed and announced that their films would open ‘in theaters only,’ the report concludes.
“There are still significant issues that need to be addressed, particularly with the poor performance of major dramas at the end of 2022, but these issues will be resolved with theaters as a key part of the solution,” the report concluded. “An increase in movie supply – greatly reduced by COVID – should go a long way to solving some of the problems.”
National Film Days, organized by the Film Foundation around the world, have also paid off, with 60% of participants saying it has made them more likely to return to their movie-going habits.
