What Happened to National Cinema Day? It’s Complicated

If tradition held for National Cinema Day — the National Association of Theater Owners-sponsored (in partnership with the Cinema Foundation) one-day event when U.S. theaters sell deeply discounted tickets — it would have taken place last weekend. Historically, it sells upward of 8 million tickets, but there’s no date reserved for 2024. In a statement to IndieWire, the Cinema Foundation said, “Currently, we are exploring all opportunities to expand the program, but conversations with all of the parties are ongoing and no decisions have been made on the details.”

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Theaters may still embrace NCD in another format, but the nascent tradition skipped its pre-Labor Day slot. While the $3 and $4 tickets (2022 and 2023, respectively) increased grosses, customers, and concession sales, the swell of patrons also strained staff and facilities among the 4,000 theaters that participated. Theaters in Los Angeles and Atlanta faced crowds unruly enough to require police evacuation.

While that’s the most dramatic potential reason for NCD’s delay, it also faces challenges in the changing nature of post-COVID box office. Unlike its predecessors, this year’s Labor Day-adjacent dates had significant new wide releases.

Distributors are prohibited from setting ticket prices, but they have some say by virtue of contractual entitlement: Film rentals are based on a minimum price, so NCD requires distributors to waive those clauses. No major film would want to dilute its opening-weekend gross with discounted tickets while facing elevated competition from bargain-priced films.

There’s also the optics: Even when it’s the good news of a discount, distributors are also sensitive to any spotlight on ticket prices. Celebrating lower prices can be perceived as acknowledging that ticket prices are too high.

NATO has seen leadership changes since the last NCD; president Michael O’Leary replaced retired head John Fithian last March. Shortly after, Harkins Theatres CEO Michael Bowers was named chair of NATO’s Cinema Foundation arm, which executes NCD.

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Prior NCD announcements came only with a few days’ public notice in order to limit any impact on earlier box office. Both distribution and exhibition sources reported hearing that the first weekends of November or December are possibilities.

November 6 has six wide films set for release, including Robert Zemeckis’ “Here.” Sony recently opted for that date, suggesting it had assurances that NCD would not be a factor. December 1 currently has four wide releases, none of which come from the top six top distributors.

If NATO selected this date for NCD, companies might choose to adjust — but there’s not many good options. Also, with many theaters attached to malls, conflict with heavy Christmas shopping days might be a problem. Other potential dates might include Super Bowl weekend, which is often one of the worst for box office.

Sources also suggest that the price and day of the week are also up for discussion; others speculated there could be a shift to audience-specific films.

Another pre-Labor Day NCD would have established it as an annual event, making any future absences feel more significant. For now, it appears to be a work in progress.