For years, Tuesdays have been a boon for moviegoing. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out why: Ticket prices are deeply discounted in the U.S. and Canada. The amount of the reduced cost varies from market to market and circuit to circuit, but bargain hunters are embracing the option to see a movie at a lower cost in an era when many exhibitors are still battling overall diminished attendance in the post-pandemic and post-strike world.
Now comes along AMC Theatres, which is slashing Wednesday adult evening ticket prices by 50 percent, beginning July 9, just as Superman and Jurassic World: Rebirth enter the fray.
Numerous sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that AMC’s maverick CEO Adam Aron began approaching studios about extending Tuesday’s discount to Wednesday late last year. Those discussions continued into the new year. Studios have long been pushing Aron and other exhibitors to offer discounted Wednesday prices, but this will be the first test to see whether it can match Tuesday’s boon and move the attendance needle.
In late April, for example, Sony Pictures movie chief Tom Rothman used his time onstage at CinemaCon to, at least in part, urge theater owners to keep movie prices in check if theatrical is to stay off the endangered species list.
AMC’s new Wednesday program will be available to all AMC Stubs members, which is free to join. The upcharge for Imax, Dolby Cinema and other premium large-format screens will remain the same, but the base price will be subject to the 50 percent discount.
According to veteran distributors, Wednesday is overall the slowest day of the week in terms of box office grosses. Mondays also can be sluggish, but a plethora of holidays help goose the numbers.
What does this mean in practical terms? Per Steve Buck’s research firm EntTelligence, the average adult ticket price is presently north of $13 for every day of the week except Tuesday, when the current cost of an adult ticket is $11.18. That compares with $13.10 on Monday, $13.19 for Thursday, $13.39 for Friday, $13.55 for Saturday — the high mark of the seven-day week — and $13.31 for Sunday.
“It’s exciting to see further market experimentation with ticket pricing to engage consumers,” says Buck of AMC’s Wednesday discount. “Tuesday has historically seen a bump in foot traffic, and it will be interesting to see what type of an impact Wednesday discounts will have.”
In announcing the news, Aron said, “Realistically, we could not afford to have made this change to our ticket pricing strategy until the box office showed true signs of sustained recovery. But in April and now in May, the box office has been booming, and the remainder of 2025 appears poised to continue that upward box office trend. The introduction of Discount Tuesdays several years ago has turned Tuesday into one of the best attended days of the week, in part because there is a segment of the moviegoing audience who looks first for a great value in their moviegoing.”
So far, the country’s two other largest circuits — Cinemark Theatres and Regal Cinemas — appear to have adopted a wait-and-see attitude before slashing Wednesday ticket prices. (In a notable feat, Cinemark, unlike its two main rivals, has managed to achieve pre-pandemic attendance levels after keeping a lid on price hikes.) But if AMC’s new initiative proves a touchdown, others will be reluctant to sit on the sidelines.
This story first appeared in the May 21 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.