Special Report

The Cost of a Movie Ticket the Year You Were Born

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The global box office is on course to reach an estimated $34.5 billion in 2023, according to film tech company Gower Street Analytics. This represents a 33% increase over 2022, but still falls short of pre-pandemic numbers. For comparison, 2019 saw global box office revenues of $42.3 billion. (Read about the biggest weekends in box office history.)

As cinemas struggle to recover from both the pandemic shut-downs and the advent of streaming, ticket prices have increased year over year to reach record highs. This year, according to the National Association of Theatre Owners, the average cost of a movie ticket in the U.S. is $10.53. Depending on the theater and location of the seat, some tickets can run as high as $28.

To determine the cost of a movie ticket the year you were born, 24/7 Tempo reviewed data from the National Association of Theatre Owners to determine the cost of a movie ticket every year since 1948. For years in which there was no data, the Personal Consumption Expenditure Price Index from the Bureau of Economic Analysis was used to estimate the cost. Prices were adjusted for inflation using the Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI Inflation Calculator. The year’s top grossing movie is the film released during that year with the highest worldwide box office gross for its entire theatrical run, according to movie industry data site The Numbers.

Blockbuster films including “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” helped the box office rebound this summer, and were credited with bringing crowds back to the theaters in numbers not seen since before the pandemic. “Barbie,” which is set to be the highest-grossing movie of 2023, also made history as the highest-grossing movie ever directed by a woman. (Check out the other highest grossing movies directed by women.)

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2022
> Avg. ticket price: $10.53
> Price adjusted for inflation: $10.88
> Top-grossing movie of the year: Avatar: The Way of Water

 

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2021
> Avg. ticket price: $10.17
> Price adjusted for inflation: $11.35
> Top-grossing movie of the year: Spider-Man: No Way Home

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2020
> Avg. ticket price: $9.18
> Price adjusted for inflation: $10.73
> Top-grossing movie of the year: Demon Slayer the Movie: Mugen Train

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2019
> Avg. ticket price: $9.16
> Price adjusted for inflation: $10.84
> Top-grossing movie of the year: Avengers: Endgame

 

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2018
> Avg. ticket price: $9.16
> Price adjusted for inflation: $11.03
> Top-grossing movie of the year: Avengers: Infinity War

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2017
> Avg. ticket price: $8.97
> Price adjusted for inflation: $11.07
> Top-grossing movie of the year: Star Wars Ep. VIII: The Last Jedi

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2016
> Avg. ticket price: $8.65
> Price adjusted for inflation: $10.90
> Top-grossing movie of the year: Captain America: Civil War

 

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2015
> Avg. ticket price: $8.43
> Price adjusted for inflation: $10.76
> Top-grossing movie of the year: Star Wars Ep. VII: The Force Awakens

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2014
> Avg. ticket price: $8.17
> Price adjusted for inflation: $10.44
> Top-grossing movie of the year: Transformers: Age of Extinction

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2013
> Avg. ticket price: $8.13
> Price adjusted for inflation: $10.55
> Top-grossing movie of the year: Frozen

 

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2012
> Avg. ticket price: $7.96
> Price adjusted for inflation: $10.48
> Top-grossing movie of the year: The Avengers

 

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2011
> Avg. ticket price: $7.93
> Price adjusted for inflation: $10.66
> Top-grossing movie of the year: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II

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2010
> Avg. ticket price: $7.89
> Price adjusted for inflation: $10.94
> Top-grossing movie of the year: Toy Story 3

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2009
> Avg. ticket price: $7.50
> Price adjusted for inflation: $10.57
> Top-grossing movie of the year: Avatar

 

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2008
> Avg. ticket price: $7.18
> Price adjusted for inflation: $10.08
> Top-grossing movie of the year: The Dark Knight

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2007
> Avg. ticket price: $6.88
> Price adjusted for inflation: $10.03
> Top-grossing movie of the year: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End

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2006
> Avg. ticket price: $6.55
> Price adjusted for inflation: $9.83
> Top-grossing movie of the year: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest

 

2005
> Avg. ticket price: $6.41
> Price adjusted for inflation: $9.93
> Top-grossing movie of the year: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

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2004
> Avg. ticket price: $6.21
> Price adjusted for inflation: $9.94
> Top-grossing movie of the year: Shrek 2

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2003
> Avg. ticket price: $6.03
> Price adjusted for inflation: $9.91
> Top-grossing movie of the year: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

 

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2002
> Avg. ticket price: $5.80
> Price adjusted for inflation: $9.75
> Top-grossing movie of the year: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

 

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2001
> Avg. ticket price: $5.65
> Price adjusted for inflation: $9.65
> Top-grossing movie of the year: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

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2000
> Avg. ticket price: $5.39
> Price adjusted for inflation: $9.47
> Top-grossing movie of the year: Mission: Impossible 2

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1999
> Avg. ticket price: $5.06
> Price adjusted for inflation: $9.18
> Top-grossing movie of the year: Star Wars Ep. I: The Phantom Menace

 

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1998
> Avg. ticket price: $4.69
> Price adjusted for inflation: $8.70
> Top-grossing movie of the year: Armageddon

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1997
> Avg. ticket price: $4.59
> Price adjusted for inflation: $8.65
> Top-grossing movie of the year: Titanic

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1996
> Avg. ticket price: $4.42
> Price adjusted for inflation: $8.52
> Top-grossing movie of the year: Independence Day

 

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1995
> Avg. ticket price: $4.35
> Price adjusted for inflation: $8.63
> Top-grossing movie of the year: Die Hard: With a Vengeance

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1994
> Avg. ticket price: $4.08
> Price adjusted for inflation: $8.33
> Top-grossing movie of the year: The Lion King

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1993
> Avg. ticket price: $4.14
> Price adjusted for inflation: $8.66
> Top-grossing movie of the year: Jurassic Park

 

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1992
> Avg. ticket price: $4.15
> Price adjusted for inflation: $8.95
> Top-grossing movie of the year: Aladdin

 

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1991
> Avg. ticket price: $4.21
> Price adjusted for inflation: $9.35
> Top-grossing movie of the year: Terminator 2: Judgment Day

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1990
> Avg. ticket price: $4.22
> Price adjusted for inflation: $9.76
> Top-grossing movie of the year: Ghost

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1989
> Avg. ticket price: $3.99
> Price adjusted for inflation: $9.73
> Top-grossing movie of the year: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

 

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1988
> Avg. ticket price: $4.11
> Price adjusted for inflation: $10.51
> Top-grossing movie of the year: Rain Man

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1987
> Avg. ticket price: $3.91
> Price adjusted for inflation: $10.41
> Top-grossing movie of the year: Fatal Attraction

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1986
> Avg. ticket price: $3.71
> Price adjusted for inflation: $10.24
> Top-grossing movie of the year: Top Gun

 

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1985
> Avg. ticket price: $3.55
> Price adjusted for inflation: $9.98
> Top-grossing movie of the year: Back to the Future

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1984
> Avg. ticket price: $3.36
> Price adjusted for inflation: $9.78
> Top-grossing movie of the year: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

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1983
> Avg. ticket price: $3.15
> Price adjusted for inflation: $9.56
> Top-grossing movie of the year: Star Wars Ep. VI: Return of the Jedi

 

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1982
> Avg. ticket price: $2.94
> Price adjusted for inflation: $9.21
> Top-grossing movie of the year: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

 

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1981
> Avg. ticket price: $2.78
> Price adjusted for inflation: $9.25
> Top-grossing movie of the year: Raiders of the Lost Ark

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1980
> Avg. ticket price: $2.69
> Price adjusted for inflation: $9.87
> Top-grossing movie of the year: Star Wars Ep. V: The Empire Strikes Back

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1979
> Avg. ticket price: $2.47
> Price adjusted for inflation: $10.29
> Top-grossing movie of the year: Moonraker

 

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1978
> Avg. ticket price: $2.34
> Price adjusted for inflation: $10.85
> Top-grossing movie of the year: Grease

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1977
> Avg. ticket price: $2.23
> Price adjusted for inflation: $11.13
> Top-grossing movie of the year: Star Wars Ep. IV: A New Hope

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1976
> Avg. ticket price: $2.13
> Price adjusted for inflation: $11.32
> Top-grossing movie of the year: Rocky

 

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1975
> Avg. ticket price: $2.03
> Price adjusted for inflation: $11.41
> Top-grossing movie of the year: Jaws

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1974
> Avg. ticket price: $1.89
> Price adjusted for inflation: $11.59
> Top-grossing movie of the year: Towering Inferno

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1973
> Avg. ticket price: $1.77
> Price adjusted for inflation: $12.06
> Top-grossing movie of the year: The Exorcist

 

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1972
> Avg. ticket price: $1.70
> Price adjusted for inflation: $12.30
> Top-grossing movie of the year: The Godfather

 

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1971
> Avg. ticket price: $1.65
> Price adjusted for inflation: $12.32
> Top-grossing movie of the year: Diamonds Are Forever

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1970
> Avg. ticket price: $1.55
> Price adjusted for inflation: $12.08
> Top-grossing movie of the year: Love Story

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1969
> Avg. ticket price: $1.41
> Price adjusted for inflation: $11.62
> Top-grossing movie of the year: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

 

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1968
> Avg. ticket price: $1.31
> Price adjusted for inflation: $11.38
> Top-grossing movie of the year: 2001: A Space Odyssey

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1967
> Avg. ticket price: $1.22
> Price adjusted for inflation: $11.05
> Top-grossing movie of the year: The Jungle Book

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1966
> Avg. ticket price: $1.09
> Price adjusted for inflation: $10.17
> Top-grossing movie of the year: The Bible

 

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1965
> Avg. ticket price: $1.01
> Price adjusted for inflation: $9.70
> Top-grossing movie of the year: The Sound of Music

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1964
> Avg. ticket price: $0.93
> Price adjusted for inflation: $9.07
> Top-grossing movie of the year: Goldfinger

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1963
> Avg. ticket price: $0.86
> Price adjusted for inflation: $8.50
> Top-grossing movie of the year: Cleopatra

 

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1962
> Avg. ticket price: $0.70
> Price adjusted for inflation: $7.01
> Top-grossing movie of the year: Lawrence of Arabia

 

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1961
> Avg. ticket price: $0.69
> Price adjusted for inflation: $6.98
> Top-grossing movie of the year: 101 Dalmatians

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1960
> Avg. ticket price: $0.60
> Price adjusted for inflation: $6.13
> Top-grossing movie of the year: Spartacus

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1959
> Avg. ticket price: $0.51
> Price adjusted for inflation: $5.30
> Top-grossing movie of the year: Ben-Hur

 

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1958
> Avg. ticket price: $0.68
> Price adjusted for inflation: $7.12
> Top-grossing movie of the year: South Pacific

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1957
> Avg. ticket price: $0.50
> Price adjusted for inflation: $5.38
> Top-grossing movie of the year: The Bridge on the River Kwai

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1956
> Avg. ticket price: $0.50
> Price adjusted for inflation: $5.56
> Top-grossing movie of the year: The Ten Commandments

 

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1955
> Avg. ticket price: $0.48
> Price adjusted for inflation: $5.42
> Top-grossing movie of the year: Lady and the Tramp

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1954
> Avg. ticket price: $0.49
> Price adjusted for inflation: $5.51
> Top-grossing movie of the year: White Christmas

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1953
> Avg. ticket price: $0.60
> Price adjusted for inflation: $6.80
> Top-grossing movie of the year: Peter Pan

 

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1952
> Avg. ticket price: $0.57
> Price adjusted for inflation: $6.50
> Top-grossing movie of the year: The Greatest Show on Earth

 

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1951
> Avg. ticket price: $0.53
> Price adjusted for inflation: $6.16
> Top-grossing movie of the year: Quo Vadis

 

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1950
> Avg. ticket price: $0.50
> Price adjusted for inflation: $6.27
> Top-grossing movie of the year: Cinderella

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1949
> Avg. ticket price: $0.46
> Price adjusted for inflation: $5.84
> Top-grossing movie of the year: Samson and Delilah

 

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1948
> Avg. ticket price: $0.36
> Price adjusted for inflation: $4.52
> Top-grossing movie of the year: The Snake Pit

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