TEHRAN -- Iran’s cinema industry is on a solid upswing, inching closer to the milestone of 1 trillion toman (10 trillion rials) in box office sales — and a key driver behind the surge is the wildly successful “Half-Price Tuesdays” ticket discount.
According to data from Cinemashahr, over 11 million moviegoers have flocked to about 30 titles screened in theaters during the first five months of the Persian calendar year which began on March 20, bringing total ticket sales to a hefty 904 billion toman as of mid-August.
Comedy films continue to dominate the local market, though the drama Pir-Pesar (aka Old Boy) has carved out a strong second-place slot, proving Iranian audiences crave more than just laughs.
But the real star of the show? The Tuesday discount program, which has transformed into a cultural mainstay, attracting not only die-hard cinephiles but also casual viewers and families who might otherwise skip the cinema.
Statistically speaking, the initiative is a clear success: Across 20 Tuesdays so far this year, roughly 3.5 million tickets have been sold under the half-price scheme — injecting much-needed vitality into theaters nationwide.
The effect was immediate and striking during the Nowruz holidays in March (Farvardin), when more than 630,000 patrons attended Tuesday screenings, peaking at nearly 192,000 on Farvardin 26 alone. The momentum held strong in April (Ordibehesht), with over 900,000 attendees over five Tuesdays, hitting a monthly high of 195,546 on the second of the month.
June saw a dip, attributed partly to public holidays and the destabilizing impact of the recent 12-day imposed war, but still managed over half a million attendees on discounted Tuesdays. July followed a similar pattern, with 500,000-plus viewers throughout the month and a single-day spike topping 203,000 on July 31.
August is proving to be another banner month, with hits like Saeed Roustaee’s Zan o Bacheh (Woman and Child), Karim Amini’s Mard-e Eynaki (The Man with Glasses), and the continuing run of Pir-Pesar fueling a surge toward 800,000 discounted tickets sold — and with one Tuesday left in the month, that number is set to climb.
Industry insiders are hailing “Half-Price Tuesdays” not just as a discount day but as a cultural phenomenon that’s helping to build a broader and more consistent cinema audience in Iran. Families, young people, and infrequent moviegoers alike are adopting Tuesdays as their go-to day for catching new releases.
Looking ahead, cinema operators are gearing up to roll out dynamic pricing, with plans for tiered ticket prices catering to students, weekday mornings, weekends, and prime-time slots. As one theater exec put it, “We’ll soon have four different ticket prices, making cinema even more accessible.”
If successful, these pricing innovations could turbocharge Iran’s box office growth and set an example for other markets seeking to revitalize theatrical attendance in a shifting entertainment landscape.