Going to the movies is a great option for a first date, date night for couples, fun with friends, or even just seeing the latest movie that you can’t wait for and want to see in a fantastic environment.
Finding the average price of a movie ticket allows you to determine how out of bounds the prices are at your local theatre or even shop around to find the lowest prices.
How Much is the Average Price of a Movie Ticket?
The average movie ticket price for an adult is $12.09 in the United States. The price range for theaters like AMC, Regal, Cinemark and Harkins all fall in the range of $11 to $14 per ticket.
The highest average cost for a 4DX movie would be $25.50 for a regular weekend or weeknight movie.
Related: Average Concert Ticket Price
| Average Movie Ticket Price | $12.09 |
| Lowest Average Movie Ticket Price | $9.16 |
| Highest Average Movie Ticket Price | $25.50 |
Average Movie Ticket Price by Theater
Some of the movie theater chains offer good discounts for military and even students, and the cost for small chains like Harkins reflects the smaller distribution of their movie theatre locations.
If you’ve got multiple movie theatres in your city, you’ll likely see some cheaper prices based on the size of the chain, the location of the theatre, and what type of movie experience you’re interested in being part of.
Once you start adding special video, audio, and physical features, the average price for a movie theatre ticket goes up. Some movie theatres may only offer more advanced features rather than having a cheaper regular movie theatre.
AMC Theatres Tickets
AMC Theatres, formerly known as American Movie Theaters, is the world’s largest movie theater chain. Based in Kansas, it was founded in 1920 and has the biggest share of the US market. They have over 900 locations across the USA and the average price of tickets is $11.59 for weekdays and $14.69 for weekends.
| Weekday | Weekend | Matinee | |
| Adult | $11.59 | $14.69 | 25-30% off |
| Child | $8.59 | $11.69 | 25-30% off |
| Senior (60+) | $10.09 | $13.19 | 25-30% off |
Related: AMC Stubs Rewards Program (Free movie tickets)
Regal Cinemas Tickets
Regal Cinemas is an American movie theater chain with over 7,200 screens in 549 locations. The company is operated by Cineworld, and its three main brands are Regal Cinemas, United Artists Theatres, and Edwards Theatres. Regal Cinemas average ticket price is $11.75 for weekdays and $13.98 for weekends.
| Weekday | Weekend | Matinee | |
| Adult | $11.75 | $13.98 | $11.75 |
| Child | $10.50 | $10.80 | $10.50 |
| Senior (60+) | $10.80 | $10.80 | $10.80 |
Related: Regal Cinemas Rewards Program (Free Movies, Discounts, & More)
Cinemark Theatres Tickets
Cinemark, also known as CineMark, is an American cinema chain that started in 1984. It has over 700 locations in the US, Mexico, and Taiwan. It is the largest cinema chain in Brazil. The average ticket is $13.75 for weekdays and $14.75 for weekends.
| Weekday | Weekend | Matinee | |
| Adult | $13.75 | $14.75 | $13.25 |
| Child | $9.50 | $11.50 | $9.75 |
| Senior (60+) | $9.50 | $11.50 | $9.75 |
Harkins Theatres Tickets
Harkins Theatres is a cinema chain with locations in the US. The company currently has 33 theaters with a total of 501 screens. The average ticket price is $9 for weekdays and $10.50 for weekends.
| Weekday | Weekend | Matinee | |
| Adult | $9.00 | $10.50 | $8.00 |
| Child | $6.50 | $8.00 | $6.50 |
| Senior (60+) | $7.50 | $9.00 | $7.50 |
Average Cost Of Movie Tickets Per Theater Type
Movie theatres come in various technologies and costs; the more costly the movie screen is to implement and buy movies for will determine what a movie theater will charge on average for each experience.
| Theater Type | Average Price |
| UltraAVX | $16.50 |
| UltraAVX 3D | $18.50 |
| IMAX 3D | $19.99 |
| 4DX | $25.50 |
| Drive-In | $10.14 |
| ScreenX | $19.50 |
UltraAVX
The average price of an UltraAVX movie ticket is around $16.50; it’s often the next step after a standard movie theatre ticket with bigger screens and better quality audio and video.
The price is minimally more than a regular movie, but you’re just getting a better quality screen and audio, so often, it’s not an ideal theater-type to get the best bang for your buck.
UltraAVX 3D
The average cost of an UltraAVX 3D movie theatre ticket is around $18.50, a few dollars more than a standard UltraAVX movie experience.
These offer excellent quality viewing experiences, but if you’re not excited about 3D technology, then the price is much better than a regular ticket.
IMAX 3D
IMAX is the biggest screen but not necessarily the best quality; you’re paying an average price of $19.99 for an IMAX 3D movie.
It’s an almost impressive experience, and only 4DX is more experience or offers more interaction with the movie.
4DX
4DX generally gets added on top of an UltraAVX 3D movie screen and provides interaction with the audience through moving the seats in relation to what’s happening in the movie. The average price for 4DX is $25.50.
So if you’re watching somebody drive a car, then the seats will move in relation to the car being driven in the movie.
Drive-In
Drive-In movies are just that; you drive your car into a field and get some headphones so you can hear the movie. It allows you to stay in the comfort of your car, but the quality of viewing may not be as amazing as you’d hope.
The average price for a drive-in movie ticket is $10.14. These aren’t as common anymore with most people wanting a better viewing experience, but this does offer a unique movie theater experience that some people may enjoy once.
ScreenX
ScreenX is the next generation of movie theatres; it offers a 270-degree wraparound screen so that you’re not limited by just watching the movie ahead of you. The average cost for a ScreenX viewing experience is $19.50.
The experience is exchanged through bigger screens, but they’re new and not available in many cities. You also don’t have the opportunity to watch 3D movies of 4DX chairs.
Multiplex
Multiplex movie theatres don’t offer specific technology; they’re a movie theater that has a range of movie screens available and often in a variety of technology to capture as much revenue and customers as possible.
The average price for a multiplex movie theater will be based on what type of movie screens are available.
Average Cost Of Movie Ticket By State
The average cost of a movie ticket by the state doesn’t hold any surprises; the more dense the state population is, the higher the prices, but also some of the smaller states population-wise are also expensive because it costs more money to recoup the costs of bringing a movie in.
New York has the most expensive movie theater tickets, and the prices go even higher when you start adding 3D, UltraAVX, and IMAX 3D.
Kansas has the cheapest average ticket price for movies at $8.15, but there are many other states in a similar range of around $8 – $9 per ticket in a regular movie theater.
| Alabama | $9.84 |
| Alaska | 10.83 |
| Arizona | $9.58 |
| Arkansas | $10.42 |
| California | $15.22 |
| Colorado | $10.80 |
| Connecticut | $10.89 |
| Delaware | $12.33 |
| District of Columbia | $11.07 |
| Florida | $11.47 |
| Georgia | $12.63 |
| Hawaii | $10.52 |
| Idaho | $10.57 |
| Illinois | $10.76 |
| Indiana | $10.23 |
| Iowa | $10.13 |
| Kansas | $8.52 |
| Kentucky | $10.15 |
| Louisiana | $10.24 |
| Maine | $9.89 |
| Maryland | $12.34 |
| Massachusetts | $12.33 |
| Michigan | $10.16 |
| Minnesota | $9.32 |
| Mississippi | $10.31 |
| Missouri | $9.72 |
| Montana | $9.44 |
| Nebraska | $8.15 |
| Nevada | $11.31 |
| New Hampshire | $8.74 |
| New Jersey | $12.33 |
| New Mexico | $9.98 |
| New York | $15.10 |
| North Carolina | $8.53 |
| North Dakota | $9.32 |
| Ohio | $9.80 |
| Oklahoma | $10.32 |
| Oregon | $10.46 |
| Pennsylvania | $11.07 |
| Rhode Island | $12.33 |
| South Carolina | $10.75 |
| South Dakota | $9.57 |
| Tennessee | $10.15 |
| Texas | $11.81 |
| Utah | $9.21 |
| Vermont | $9.74 |
| Virginia | $8.53 |
| Washington | $11.07 |
| West Virginia | $9.80 |
| Wisconsin | $10.38 |
| Wyoming | $9.05 |
World Average Movie Ticket Comparison
The USA ranks around 8th worldwide for the average movie ticket price, which has increased over recent years. The United States was previously ranked around 27th most expensive for the average movie ticket price.
| Rank | Country | Average Price |
| 1 | Bahrain | $17.48 |
| 2 | Switzerland | $16.80 |
| 3 | Norway | $15.79 |
| 4 | Sweden | $15.22 |
| 5 | Australia | $12.95 |
| 8 | USA | $12.09 |
Average Cost Of A Movie Ticket By Age
Moviegoers are broken into age brackets, and average movie ticket prices will be different for each age group. Adults have an average price of $12.09, children have an average movie ticket price of $9.44, and seniors over 60 have an average movie ticket price of $10.04.
If adults are either students, active military, or retired military, there are additional discounts of anywhere between 0 %-40% depending on the movie and movie theatre.
Most student and military discounts need to be applied at the box office as they want to verify your ID, so you’ll need to buy tickets in-person to get additional discounts. You can go multiple days in advance if you’re worried about missing your movie.
The average cost of movie tickets is going up, but up to 49% of people that previously went to movies are no longer going and have replaced them with streaming services. Some streaming services like HBO MAX and Disney+ are even offering advanced streaming of big movies that are in the theaters.
The overall revenue across weekends has dropped down. For example, an average weekend in 2022 has revenue sitting at 96 Million, while in 2019, the same weekend had revenue of 181 Million.
Movie Ticket Prices Based on Day and Time
Movie tickets can change price based on day and time, with weekend evenings being the most expensive. Weekday evenings at the next most costly and midweek matinees, which are often before 4 pm, are the cheapest weekly movie tickets.
Most movie theatres offer additional discounts on Tuesday over and above regular prices for midweek matinees.,so Tuesday can often be the absolute cheapest day to see a movie.
If you have a military or student discount, you can pay even less for the movie, and in some cases, it could be as little as half price. So don’t be afraid to stack discounts and use any IDs you have access to.
