Hit the Movies For Just $3 This Saturday

What Is National Cinema Day?

Labor Day is traditionally one of the slowest days of the year for movie theaters. In an attempt to lure people away from their cookouts, the nation’s largest theaters, AMC (AMC) and Regal (CINE), are offering $3 movies during the first-ever National Cinema Day this Saturday. The offer will be available at more than 3,000 theaters and 30,000 screens.

This year’s box office is up big-time in comparison to 2021, but still down 30% from pre-pandemic levels.

Why Is the Industry Doing This?

Jackie Brenneman, president of the Cinema Foundation, stated they “wanted to do something to celebrate moviegoing” in the wake of a record-breaking summer. The movie industry has struggled amid the pandemic, and now looks to capitalize off its comeback momentum. That includes doing everything possible to get people excited about going to the movies.

COVID-19 and lockdowns were part of a devastating one-two punch combo for the movie industry. The first punch was the rise of streaming, which offers consumers a cheaper, easier way to watch. The movie industry is still hanging on the ropes, but that could change quickly if theaters can’t incentivize people to leave their homes in favor of the big screen.

MoviePass 2: Stacy Spikes Strikes Back

Film fans may remember MoviePass, the company that let you see unlimited movies for just $10 per month, or less than the cost of a large popcorn. Despite their vague long-term plan to sell user data, MoviePass was highly unprofitable and went bankrupt in early 2020. Now, original co-founder Stacy Spikes is again leading the company and plans to relaunch the service soon.

Stacy argues that MoviePass can save the movie theater industry. He expects MoviePass to account for 30% of ticket sales by 2030. That would be a big gain from its 2018 peak, when MoviePasss controlled just 4% of the total market. Post COVID, and amid the rise of streaming, thinking outside of the box may be necessary.

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