On National Cinema Day, which this year falls on Saturday, September 3rd, movie tickets will be just $3 in the vast majority of American theaters as part of a newly launched promotion to lure moviegoers back to the theaters. Labor Day weekend is traditionally one of the slowest weekends in theaters.

The Cinema Foundation, a nonprofit arm of the National Association of Theater Owners, announced the nationwide discount day in more than 3,000 theaters and on more than 30,000 screens. Major chains, including AMC, Cinemark and Regal Cinemas, are participating, as are all major film studios. In participating theaters, tickets will be no more than $3 for every showing, in every format.

“After this summer’s record-breaking return to cinemas, we wanted to do something to celebrate moviegoing,” said Jackie Brenneman, Cinema Foundation president, in a statement. “We’re doing it by offering a ‘thank you’ to the moviegoers that made this summer happen, and by offering an extra enticement for those who haven’t made it back yet.”

After more than two years of pandemic, movie theaters rebounded significantly over the summer, seeing business return to nearly pre-pandemic levels. Films like “Top Gun: Maverick,””Minions: Rise of Gru,“”Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” and “Jurassic World Dominion” pushed the domestic summer box office to $3.3 billion in ticket sales as of Aug. 21, according to data firm Comscore. That trails 2019 totals by about 20% but exhibitors have had about 30% fewer wide releases this year.

Cinemark/Rave Theatres are taking the $3 price point even further, offering the following concession specials:

Organizers of National Cinema Day described the event as a trial that could become an annual fixture. While some other countries have experimented with a similar day of cheap movie tickets, the initiative is the first of its kind on such a large scale in the U.S.

Cinemark Dayton South 16