By In the moviegoing doldrums of August, both 2022 and 2023 saw big upticks thanks to the National Cinema Day initiative – a one-day event when U.S. theaters sell deeply discounted tickets.
2022’s version drew in 8.1 million admissions, with 2023’s taking in 8.5 million. Other countries also participated and are doing so again this weekend in countries like Australia and the United Kingdom.
The United States however? No plans are in place for any such day now or anytime in the near future. Speaking with IndieWire, the National Association of Theater Owners (the other NATO) and their Cinema Foundation arm, which organises the event, said in a statement:
“Currently, we are exploring all opportunities to expand the program, but conversations with all of the parties are ongoing and no decisions have been made on the details.”
The trade has gone into the issues that have caused this. Part of the problem was the day proved a bit too popular – 2023’s sudden swell of patrons reportedly strained staff and facilities to the point that police evacuation was required at cinemas in multiple cities over unruly crowds.
The other complication has been that there’s been no shortage of releases of late – something that wasn’t true in August 2022 and 2023. The event requires distributors to waive certain minimum ticket price clauses – something they’re less inclined to do with new releases in the marketplace.
They’re also less likely to promote the event as it’s essentially acknowledging that ticket prices are too high. Additionally NATO has seen some key executive changes that may have seen some of its support fizzle.
For now though, should it come back some dates that are reportedly being looked at for the next one include early November, December, and next year’s Super Bowl weekend.
The post National Cinema Day Skips U.S. This Month appeared first on Dark Horizons.
