Entertainment

Here’s how movie ticket prices have changed over the past 115 years

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The National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) recently announced the average movie ticket price for 2015 cost $8.43.

While that’s the average, prices in many areas are much higher. For instance, ticket prices in New York City range from $15 to $20 depending on the format in which you see a film, whether it's 2D, 3D, or IMAX.

Ticket prices weren’t always that high, though. In 2000, the average cost of going to the movies was $5.39. Back in 1910, the first moviegoers only paid mere cents to enjoy a flick.

Even if you were to adjust for inflation, the price of tickets today is still pretty staggering. A $0.25 ticket from 1924 is the equivalent of $3.47 today, while a $2.78 ticket in 1981 would be equal to $7.25 today.

Tech Insider rounded up the average movie ticket prices since 1910 using data from Box Office Mojo and NATO. 

Note that data was not available for every consecutive year from 1910 to 1959. The graphic below reflects the original ticket cost.

Price of movie tickets, 1910-2015
Skye Gould/Tech Insider

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Kirsten Acuna was a correspondent on Business Insider's Entertainment team covering TV, movies, and theme parks. She is Businness Insider's resident expert on all things "The Walking Dead." YKirsten covers superheroes and all things Disney (Marvel, Pixar, and live-action remakes). She is a verified film critic on Rotten Tomatoes. Kirsten has previously written for TV Guide and Time Out New York Kids. She joined Business Insider's entertainment team in 2012 as a reporter, helping to build the team from two people. She holds a degree in magazine journalism and minors in both English and child family studies from Syracuse University.Follow her on Twitter @KirstenAcuna.
Skye was the Design Director for Business Insider and Insider. She led the Graphics and Photo teams in producing all graphics, data visualizations, story art, photography, and special projects for the newsroom.