New York (CNN) 鈥� If you haven鈥檛 seen some of the summer鈥檚 hottest blockbusters, there鈥檚 no time like the present.
Sunday is the second annual National Cinema Day. At more than 3,000 across the country the price of a movie ticket is just $4. The last time the average movie ticket was priced this low was in 1989, according to survey data from the National Association of Theatre Owners. Last year, the average ticket price was $10.53.
Theaters have been working to regain their footing post-pandemic. Summer hits like 鈥淏arbie鈥� have helped buoy sales numbers, with AMC seeing its since 2019. But movie theater chain is still millions in debt and the ongoing strike by Hollywood actors and writers has caused film production to screech to a halt. National Cinema Day could give the theater business a boost.
Last year鈥檚 Cinema Day, when tickets were only $3, drew 8 million participants and raked in $23.8 million at the box office, a 103% jump from the day before.
The Cinema Foundation, the non-profit spearheading the initiative, says Cinema Day propelled long-term theater attendance. In a report published earlier this year, the foundation found 鈥渘early 60% of surveyed attendees (said) they returned to the movies more frequently after National Cinema Day.鈥�
This year, the top five movies captivating audiences are 鈥淏lue Beetle,鈥� 鈥淏arbie,鈥� 鈥淥ppenheimer,鈥� 鈥淭eenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem鈥� and 鈥淪trays.鈥�
鈥淏lue Beetle鈥� and 鈥淏arbie鈥� are distributed by CNN鈥檚 parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery.
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