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Theaters generally pay the distributor per showtime, not per ticket sold (IIRC). So a distributor makes the same amount for an empty showtime as a full one. The

Theaters generally pay the distributor per showtime, not per ticket sold (IIRC). So a distributor makes the same amount for an empty showtime as a full one. Theaters then price tickets to optimize towards fully covering the amount they paid to air the film, making their profits on concessions. So while you're right that most of the costs of a ticket go to the distributor, that's not related to number of tickets sold, it's that tickets are priced to cover the costs already paid. If someone knows more about this and has a source confirming, clarifying, or correcting me, please share, as I've been interested in this for a long time.

jfengel 7y ago
Interesting. Thanks
jzl 7y ago
Reference? I've never heard that before. Sounds highly unlikely. Would be fascinated to see evidence showing otherwise. What is true is that the studios take a higher percentage of ticket sales during opening week, possibly 55-65% or more in some cases. I believe it depends on the movie. The percentage starts to flatten out back below 50% in the following weeks. So it's true that the theater chains do want to optimize for concession sales, since so few films have legs these days. EDIT: I originally wrote that the studios sometimes take 90% during opening week. I found an article that purports this to be a very rare if not apocryphal number: https://stephenfollows.com/how-a-cinemas-box-office-income-is-distributed/ https://stephenfollows.com/how-a-cinemas-box-office-income-i...
- jsjohnst 7y ago
  Your link says it’s called “four walls” when there’s a flat fee for the screening.
  - jzl 7y ago
    Ahhh interesting, nice catch. I guess it's occasionally used.
scarface74 7y ago
No they pay per ticket sold. Usually around 40-70% depending on the popularity of the movie and the length of time it’s been in the theatre.
- rurban 7y ago
  It's two-fold. The theatre pays a guarantee per screening - usually $60, or a certain percentage per sold ticket. Whatever is higher. The typical cost is ~$5.

jfengel 7y ago

Interesting. Thanks

jzl 7y ago

Reference? I've never heard that before. Sounds highly unlikely. Would be fascinated to see evidence showing otherwise. What is true is that the studios take a higher percentage of ticket sales during opening week, possibly 55-65% or more in some cases. I believe it depends on the movie. The percentage starts to flatten out back below 50% in the following weeks. So it's true that the theater chains do want to optimize for concession sales, since so few films have legs these days. EDIT: I originally wrote that the studios sometimes take 90% during opening week. I found an article that purports this to be a very rare if not apocryphal number: https://stephenfollows.com/how-a-cinemas-box-office-income-is-distributed/ https://stephenfollows.com/how-a-cinemas-box-office-income-i...

jsjohnst 7y ago
Your link says it’s called “four walls” when there’s a flat fee for the screening.
- jzl 7y ago
  Ahhh interesting, nice catch. I guess it's occasionally used.

scarface74 7y ago

No they pay per ticket sold. Usually around 40-70% depending on the popularity of the movie and the length of time it’s been in the theatre.

rurban 7y ago
It's two-fold. The theatre pays a guarantee per screening - usually $60, or a certain percentage per sold ticket. Whatever is higher. The typical cost is ~$5.