TEHRAN -- Iranian cinemas sold 6.58 million tickets in the first six months of the Iranian calendar year 1405, generating 825 billion tomans, or an estimated $4.6 million based on the period’s average free-market exchange rates, as the country’s theatrical market gradually recovered from the disruption caused by the war that began in late 1404.
The figures, released by Cinema Shahr and drawn from Iran’s Samfa cinema sales and exhibition management system, cover March 21 through Sept. 22, 2026. They show a theatrical market that was severely depressed at the beginning of the year before re bounding sharply during the summer.
A total of 6,583,276 admissions were recorded during the six-month period. Attendance was heavily concentrated in the final two months, with August-September alone accounting for 2.24 million admissions — roughly 34% of the six-month total.
Monthly admissions were 226,017 from March 21-April 20; 951,823 from April 21-May 21; 1,068,583 from May 22-June 21; 604,685 from June 22-July 22; 1,494,402 from July 23-Aug. 22; and 2,237,766 from Aug. 23-Sept. 22.
The recovery is particularly striking when viewed against the opening month: admissions during the final Iranian-calendar month covered by the report were almost 10 times those recorded during the first month.
The six-month box office reached 825 billion tomans. Because the published industry report provides a cumulative six-month gross rather than six separate monthly grosses, its dollar equivalent cannot be calculated exactly using the individual monthly exchange rates. 
But applying the monthly free-market dollar averages to the distribution of admissions produces an estimated effective exchange rate of approximately 180,200 tomans per dollar, putting the six-month box office at roughly $4.58 million.
That estimate is substantially different from a straight conversion at today’s exchange rate. The dollar is currently trading at around 269,150 tomans, meaning the same 825 billion tomans would now equate to approximately $3.07 million. At the beginning of the Iranian year, the dollar was averaging roughly 160,600 tomans. The currency’s subsequent depreciation means that the nominal value of the cinema market in tomans significantly overstates its dollar-denominated value.
The currency movement is significant when assessing the scale of the Iranian theatrical business internationally. The dollar’s average rate rose from about 160,600 tomans during the first month of the Iranian year to nearly 192,900 during the final month covered by the report, before accelerating further to around 269,150 by early October.
At the cinema-complex level, Kourosh Cineplex led the first half with 365,099 admissions, followed by Iran Mall with 287,073 and Hadish with 190,553. Ecomall Karaj, Hoveyzeh in Mashhad and Honarshahr-e Aftab in Shiraz rounded out the next tier of the country’s busiest complexes.
Kazem Daneshi’s Zendeh Shor (The Death Bath) topped the six-month film chart with 1,259,275 admissions, followed by Soroush Sehhat’s The Pool with 1,161,058.
Bahman Goodarzi’s Adventure on James Bond Island ranked third with 754,211 admissions, followed by Muhammad-Hadi Naeiji’s Antique with 550,377.
Ali Behrad’s Tehran, Another View, the English title used for Tehran Kenaret, attracted 386,316 admissions.
The remaining titles in the top 10 were Soheil Movaffagh’s Khanom Valedeh with 362,703 admissions, Cloture with 355,682, Hadi Muhammadian’s animated Savior Ship with 281,507, Yousef Hatamikia’s Guardian with 278,558 and Hamed Muhammadi’s Napoleon with 150,782.
The figures point to a theatrical