Movie Ticket price history, 1967–2026
Unit: 1 admission
1967
$1.22
$12.10 in 2026 dollars
2026
$11.31
9.3× nominal
Real change
-7%
vs CPI since 1967
Yearly growth
+3.8%
CPI +4.0% / yr
High confidence: official survey series (BLS, USPS, NATO or Census) for most years.
Open in the explorer · See it in hours of work
Year by year
| Year | Price | In 2026 $ | Min-wage minutes | CPI-U |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | $1.22 | $12.10 | 52 min | 33.4 |
| 1968 | $1.33 est. | $12.63 | 50 min | 34.8 |
| 1969 | $1.44 est. | $12.95 | 54 min | 36.7 |
| 1970 | $1.54 est. | $13.17 | 58 min | 38.8 |
| 1971 | $1.65 | $13.49 | 1 h 2 min | 40.5 |
| 1972 | $1.73 est. | $13.71 | 1 h 5 min | 41.8 |
| 1973 | $1.81 est. | $13.50 | 1 h 8 min | 44.4 |
| 1974 | $1.89 | $12.70 | 57 min | 49.3 |
| 1975 | $2.03 | $12.50 | 58 min | 53.8 |
| 1976 | $2.13 | $12.40 | 56 min | 56.9 |
| 1977 | $2.23 | $12.19 | 58 min | 60.6 |
| 1978 | $2.34 | $11.88 | 53 min | 65.2 |
| 1979 | $2.47 | $11.27 | 51 min | 72.6 |
| 1980 | $2.69 | $10.81 | 52 min | 82.4 |
| 1981 | $2.78 | $10.13 | 50 min | 90.9 |
| 1982 | $2.94 | $10.09 | 53 min | 96.5 |
| 1983 | $3.15 | $10.47 | 56 min | 99.6 |
| 1984 | $3.36 | $10.71 | 1 h | 103.9 |
| 1985 | $3.55 | $10.93 | 1 h 4 min | 107.6 |
| 1986 | $3.71 | $11.21 | 1 h 6 min | 109.6 |
| 1987 | $3.91 | $11.40 | 1 h 10 min | 113.6 |
| 1988 | $4.11 | $11.51 | 1 h 14 min | 118.3 |
| 1989 | $3.99 | $10.66 | 1 h 11 min | 124.0 |
| 1990 | $4.22 | $10.70 | 1 h 7 min | 130.7 |
| 1991 | $4.21 | $10.24 | 59 min | 136.2 |
| 1992 | $4.15 | $9.79 | 59 min | 140.3 |
| 1993 | $4.14 | $9.49 | 58 min | 144.5 |
| 1994 | $4.08 | $9.12 | 58 min | 148.2 |
| 1995 | $4.35 | $9.45 | 1 h 1 min | 152.4 |
| 1996 | $4.42 | $9.33 | 1 h 2 min | 156.8 |
| 1997 | $4.59 | $9.47 | 58 min | 160.5 |
| 1998 | $4.69 | $9.53 | 55 min | 163.0 |
| 1999 | $5.06 | $10.06 | 59 min | 166.6 |
| 2000 | $5.39 | $10.37 | 1 h 3 min | 172.2 |
| 2001 | $5.65 | $10.57 | 1 h 6 min | 177.1 |
| 2002 | $5.80 | $10.68 | 1 h 8 min | 179.9 |
| 2003 | $6.03 | $10.86 | 1 h 10 min | 184.0 |
| 2004 | $6.21 | $10.89 | 1 h 12 min | 188.9 |
| 2005 | $6.41 | $10.87 | 1 h 15 min | 195.3 |
| 2006 | $6.55 | $10.76 | 1 h 16 min | 201.6 |
| 2007 | $6.88 | $10.99 | 1 h 20 min | 207.3 |
| 2008 | $7.18 | $11.04 | 1 h 14 min | 215.3 |
| 2009 | $7.50 | $11.58 | 1 h 9 min | 214.5 |
| 2010 | $7.89 | $11.98 | 1 h 5 min | 218.1 |
| 2011 | $7.93 | $11.68 | 1 h 6 min | 224.9 |
| 2012 | $7.96 | $11.48 | 1 h 6 min | 229.6 |
| 2013 | $8.13 | $11.56 | 1 h 7 min | 233.0 |
| 2014 | $8.17 | $11.43 | 1 h 8 min | 236.7 |
| 2015 | $8.43 | $11.78 | 1 h 10 min | 237.0 |
| 2016 | $8.65 | $11.94 | 1 h 12 min | 240.0 |
| 2017 | $8.97 | $12.12 | 1 h 14 min | 245.1 |
| 2018 | $9.11 | $12.01 | 1 h 15 min | 251.1 |
| 2019 | $9.16 | $11.87 | 1 h 16 min | 255.7 |
| 2020 | $9.37 est. | $11.98 | 1 h 18 min | 258.8 |
| 2021 | $9.57 | $11.70 | 1 h 19 min | 271.0 |
| 2022 | $10.53 | $11.92 | 1 h 27 min | 292.7 |
| 2023 | $10.78 | $11.72 | 1 h 29 min | 304.7 |
| 2024 | $11.31 | $11.94 | 1 h 34 min | 313.7 |
| 2025 | $11.31 est. | $11.63 | 1 h 34 min | 321.9 |
| 2026 | $11.31 est. | $11.31 | 1 h 34 min | 331.2 |
Sources
Industry average across all showings, including discounted matinees and children's tickets, so an evening adult ticket in a big city runs well above this. NATO did not publish 1968-70, 1972-73 or 2020; those years are interpolated.