National Cinema Day: Movies Cost Just $4

Get ready for $4 movie tickets at a theater near you. This Sunday, Aug. 27, thousands of movie theaters are slashing ticket prices and offering discounts on snacks to celebrate National Cinema Day. Brought to you by the Cinema Foundation, the National Association of Theatre Owners’ nonprofit arm, its aim is to lure people to theaters and reward loyal moviegoers. In a bid to create a buzz, the movie houses will screen a sneak peek of fall movies prior to the movie showings. The $4 doesn’t include tax or online and third-party ticketing fees.

To meet the expected demand, movie theaters will add more screenings, including midnight showings. More than 3,000 theaters, representing the majority of the industry, are taking part in the event, including AMC, Regal and Cinemark. 

You can see the movies in any format, including immersive ones such as Pepsi 4DX, which includes synchronized motion seating, vibration, wind, fog and scents; and ScreenX, which gives you an immersive 270-degree panoramic viewing. 

Last year’s inaugural event, on Saturday, Sept. 3, brought more than 8.1 million people to movie theaters nationwide, the single-day attendance record for 2022. Theaters charged $3 per ticket. At the time the average movie ticket cost $10.53, according to the theater owners group. 

With blockbusters including Barbie and Oppenheimer, which have been driving sales at the box office in recent weeks, the industry expects even more moviegoers will take advantage of the discount. Other films in theaters now include Gran Turismo, Blue Beetle, Elemental, Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One and Bottoms. To find a participating movie theater, click here.