NATIONAL CINEMA DAY WAS CLEARLY A HIT, BUT WILL HOLLYWOOD NOTICE AND ACT ACCORDINGLY?
It’s entirely possible that you missed what happened yesterday. And I’m not talking about any shootings in the US, or weather calamities, or major star hubbub. I’m talking about National Cinema Day. If you missed it, it’s a shame. Because you could have gone to any number of movie theaters near you and seen a movie of your choice on the big screen for the bargain price of…. $4.00. And no, that’s not a numerical typo. I know about it as I told my wife to meet with another mother friend to final see Barbie on the big screen, on the very seriously cheap.
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NATIONAL CINEMA DAY BROUGHT IN MORE THAN A 3RD MORE BOX OFFICE SALES FOR MAJOR MOVIES
But apparently, I wasn’t alone in hearing about this, because the numbers prove, in a pretty serious way, that affordable movies means a pretty increased box office draw. Blue Beetle was one of the biggest movies rewarded with National Cinema Day. But Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: mutant Mayhem was the clear winner. Well, maybe they were the same! They both saw an uptick of a 37% increase in ticket sales yesterday. And if you can do math, which I also hope Hollywood can, it means that lower ticket prices at the Box Office could mean more people actually going to the movies again.
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MAYBE NEXT YEAR NATIONAL CINEMA DAY WILL BE ON EVERYONE’S RADAR, AND EVERYONE WILL MAKE OUT
Yesterday was just the second inaugural iteration of National Cinema Day. But it was clearly a success, with a jump of 400,000 people buying movie tickets this year compared to last at the number, 8.5 million. But I helped keep Barbie at the top by giving my wife and a friend the nudge to go, as it still made a whopping $5.7 million over the weekend. Pink is popular this summer, clearly. But I’m not telling you to see Barbie (I have no plans to!). But you may want to track this opportunity for next year, even if the price gets another $1 bump from this year.
Hollywood, please pay attention! We’re all more likely to give you our money if it’s somewhat more reasonable. It couldn’t hurt your contract negotiations with the people who actually make the movies!
