Average ticket prices were up 3.2 percent in the third quarter over the same period last year, according to the exhibition lobbying firm the National Association of Theatre Owners.
Prices now average $8.51, up 26 cents from Q3 2015, when the mark was $8.25 per ticket.
Average prices for 2015 overall were $8.43, making this quarter’s average price less than one percent higher.
Still, Q3 prices are down 2.5 percent from last quarter. But that’s something of a given as the summer season — this year’s filled with blockbusters, including, “Captain America: Civil War” and “Finding Dory” — historically sees the highest average ticket prices every year. Q3 does include the tail end of the summer, when blockbuster season tends to die down.
Ticket prices rose to their highest point ever at $8.73 in this year’s second quarter, NATO reported in July. That was up 1.7 percent from the first quarter of 2016, which averaged $8.58 per ticket.
But when you compare last quarter’s hike to the same period a year ago, which saw an average price of $8.61, the increase is only 1.4 percent.
Ticket prices made a much higher jump in the first quarter this year versus 2015 — up 5.7 percent from $8.12 to $8.58.
That, however, was not as high as the average ticket price in the fourth quarter of 2015, when theatergoers were paying $8.70 — likely due to “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” playing on specialty screens like IMAX and 3D.