IMAX Concessions vs Ticket Revenue
Movie theaters make most of their money from snacks and drinks, not from selling tickets, and this holds true even for high-end IMAX screenings. While IMAX tickets can cost up to $25 or more for premium experiences like blockbuster films shot specially for the format, the real profits come from concession stands where items like popcorn and soda have huge markups.https://www.oreateai.com/blog/the-rising-cost-of-movie-tickets-what-you-need-to-know/becd0bca596790be70af07854d56974a A $7 soda or $15 popcorn bucket might cost theaters just pennies to make, creating profit margins as high as 85 percent on these items.https://247wallst.com/investing/2025/12/09/streaming-apocalypse-how-netflix-could-kill-amc-and-movie-theaters-forever/https://www.oreateai.com/blog/the-rising-cost-of-movie-tickets-what-you-need-to-know/becd0bca596790be70af07854d56974a
Studios take a big cut of ticket sales, especially right after a movie opens, leaving theaters to rely on concessions to cover high costs like rent, staff, and upkeep for fancy seats and sound systems. For IMAX, which has just 1 percent of all theater screens but grabbed an estimated $1.2 billion in box office revenue in 2025, ticket prices stay high to draw crowds for immersive views, yet concessions remain the steady cash flow.https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/awards/story/2025-12-18/imax-2025-box-office-2026-previewhttps://www.oreateai.com/blog/the-rising-cost-of-movie-tickets-what-you-need-to-know/becd0bca596790be70af07854d56974a Average tickets hit $12.25 per person recently, with IMAX adding even more, but a family of four might spend $45 on entry alone before dropping another $50 to $60 on food and drinks at places like AMC.https://247wallst.com/investing/2025/12/09/streaming-apocalypse-how-netflix-could-kill-amc-and-movie-theaters-forever/
Attendance has dropped sharply since the pandemic, with U.S. ticket sales down 38 percent from 2019 to 2024 and still far below peaks like 1.57 billion in 2002. IMAX thrives despite this, growing its market share by 50 percent since 2018 thanks to films filmed for its giant screens, but theaters of all kinds lean harder on snacks as fewer people show up.https://247wallst.com/investing/2025/12/09/streaming-apocalypse-how-netflix-could-kill-amc-and-movie-theaters-forever/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/awards/story/2025-12-18/imax-2025-box-office-2026-preview Companies like Cinemark report strong gains from both tickets and upgraded concessions, while IMAX focuses on tech upgrades to pull in viewers willing to pay premium prices.https://www.oreateai.com/blog/the-resilient-rise-of-movie-theater-companies-a-closer-look/601c970be5ba8d50f01e401875c11a83
Sources
https://www.oreateai.com/blog/the-rising-cost-of-movie-tickets-what-you-need-to-know/becd0bca596790be70af07854d56974a
https://247wallst.com/investing/2025/12/09/streaming-apocalypse-how-netflix-could-kill-amc-and-movie-theaters-forever/
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts
