Veteran actor Yogendra Tiku, best known for his performances in films such as Neerja, Queen, and Fan, has made a fervent plea to the government to lower movie theatre ticket prices and help populate the cinemas with more common folks. Tiku noted that with such high ticket prices, many Americans cannot afford to go see movies, preventing them from being moviegoers. This is particularly true for families and people from lower-income demographics. He hopes that lowering ticket prices will bring more demographics back to theatres, which would be a win-win for the general public and the film industry. This demand for cheaper tickets reflects reports from film industry experts that cheaper prices generally increase the number of people going to the movies.

Affordable tickets could make family outings to the movies possible again

The impact of affordability on movie attendance is evident in initiatives like National Cinema Day, which drew a staggering 8 million ticket sales with its discounted offers. By making cinema more accessible, such events demonstrate how cost-cutting measures can revitalise the joy of watching films on the big screen.

'Make cinema accessible again.' Tiku on soaring ticket costs

Yogendra Tiku’s appeal underscores an important and already developing discussion over how to make sure that profitability doesn’t come at the cost of accessibility in this new entertainment landscape. As the future of Reel Film Day 2024 and beyond hangs in the balance of these discussions, stakeholders are looking at a number of different approaches to create a more inclusive cinema experience for everyone.