According to the National Association of Theater Owners, a $3 movie ticket deal intended to increase sales across theatres over a traditionally slow weekend for the industry attracted 8.1 million patrons.

By those estimates, Saturday was the best day of the year for movie theatre attendance, the association said.

According to Comscore, movie theatres made $24.3 million in ticket sales as a result of the National Cinema Day campaign. According to the media analytics business, there was an increase of 9% from the prior week.

The programme involved more than 3,000 theatres and 30,000 screens across the United States, including both independent and well-known chains like AMC Entertainment and Regal Cinemas. The movies that were shown included “Top Gun: Maverick” by Paramount, “DC League of Super-Pets” by Warner Bros. Discovery, and “Bullet Train” by Sony.

Concession prices were also discounted at some movie chains.

Due to fewer summer releases, ticket sales have slowed down recently

In anticipation of some major releases scheduled for the fall, such as Warner Bros. Discovery’s “Black Adam” and Disney’s “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” the nonprofit Cinema Foundation, which is a member of the National Association of Theater Owners, hoped the discount ticket initiative would encourage patrons to return to theatres.