Over 3,000 movie theatres across the US and over 600 UK cinemas are offering customers cut-price tickets this coming weekend as part of a National Cinema Day promotion.
This Saturday, September 3, cinemagoers will be able to snap up $3 tickets in the US, while tickets will be available for £3 in the UK.
The promotion is being led by the Cinema Foundation in the US, while the UK initiative is borne out of a collaboration between industry body Cinema First, the Film Distributors’ Association and the UK Cinema Association.
Across both countries, the promotion will feature major chains, as well as small independent venues. Despite taking place simultaneously, there is no indication that the two campaigns are linked.
A National Cinema Day took place in the UK in 1996 and 1997, allowing customers to buy tickets for £1. This year marks the first National Cinema Day in the US.
The Cinema Foundation, a non-profit organisation that was founded earlier this year by the National Association of Theater Owners, has launched a website to inform the public about where they can buy $3 tickets, with Labor Day weekend traditionally attracting slow cinema ticket sales.
“After this summer’s record-breaking return to cinemas, we wanted to do something to celebrate moviegoing,” Cinema Foundation president Jackie Brenneman said. “We’re doing it by offering a ‘thank you’ to the moviegoers that made this summer happen, and by offering an extra enticement for those who haven’t made it back yet.”
In the UK, Cinema First chair Iain Jacob said: “There seems no better time than now to celebrate UK cinema-going, one of the nation’s favourite out-of-home leisure activities. Coming off the back of a very strong summer for the sector and looking forward to further film highlights over the rest of the year, we wanted to give everyone a chance to enjoy the big screen experience.
“While all the evidence confirms that cinema-going is amongst the most low-cost, best value-for-money leisure opportunities, we also of course recognise that there are significant impacts on household finances, brought about by the current cost of living crisis and wanted to do our bit to make a trip to the cinema even more affordable for the whole family. We look forward to National Cinema Day being a huge success.”
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