The Cinema Foundation launched National Cinema Day — $3 day movie deal for one day only at over 3,000 participating theaters — on Sept. 3, 2022. In 2023, National Cinema Day was celebrated on Aug. 27, offering $4 movies for moviegoers. So based on what we've seen, National Cinema Day should be taking place Sunday, Sept. 1. But unfortunately, that's not the case.
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.”
We're predicting a new date of Nov. 2, 2024, and we'll be sure to update this post as we learn more. And if you're looking for a current movie deal in the meantime, we have an AMC ticket deal that's active now, plus there are multiple movie subscription options.
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National Cinema Day is a one-day event with discounted movie tickets at participating theaters.
The nonprofit Cinema Foundation is behind National Cinema Day each year, getting more than 3,000 movie theaters nationwide to offer $4 tickets for one day only. The one-day cheap tickets are a promotion to celebrate the moviegoing experience. Chains such as Regal and AMC participate, and movie ticket sellers Fandango also offer National Cinema Day deals.
All movies, in all formats and at all showtimes, were part of that $4 price. Moviegoers could get the deal just by showing up or booking online. There was no special code or link needed.
KCL predicts the next National Cinema Day will take place on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024.
The Cinema Foundation hasn’t officially announced the next date for National Cinema Day — it’s not on a recurring date — but we predict they’ll hold the event on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. However, this is a prediction, and it can change at any point.
According to a Reddit thread on the topic, many theater workers expressed what a disaster the event was, due to a barrage of new customers and limited theater workers. Many workers are also predicting Nov. 2, 2024, but again, nothing has been announced or confirmed as of Aug. 30.
When National Cinema Day does happen, you'll want to prepurchase $4 tickets.
In 2023, you could prepurchase your movie tickets for the event before theaters filled up at your respective theater. All movies were included for this special price, so there was something for the entire family, with Barbie and Oppenheimer selling out quickly.
As mentioned, moviegoers were able to get the $4 ticket price by buying tickets online or at the box office. There was no special site or special promo code needed, making it easy for everyone.
Here are major chains that participated in National Cinema Day 2023:
Current AMC ticket deal
Regal and AMC also offered a popcorn deal.
Regal offered a small popcorn and soft drink combo for just $4 during Cinema Day in 2023. That means you could’ve enjoyed a movie, salty snack, and drink for just $8 at participating locations.
AMC moviegoers also got a small popcorn and drink combo deal, but it was $5..
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