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Financial research concept

Movie Theater Concession Cost Rate

measures food-and-beverage or concession input costs as a share of concession revenue, separating patron spending from the gross economics of that spend.

By Lee BaileyPublished Sep 29, 2026
Research context

See what supports this page, how current it is, and where comparable or historical context is available.

Research date
Sep 29, 2026Use the dated article and cited sources for the definition, examples, and stated limitations.
Operating-model context
10 connected conceptsPart of the reviewed Movie Theater Exhibition Economics; issuer definitions remain distinct where disclosed.
Company examples
2 reviewed companiesRelationships reflect supported examples, not a normalized cross-company KPI ranking.
  1. Higher spend does not automatically mean higher margin
  2. Product mix can change the percentage
  3. Part of the Movie Theater Exhibition Economics
  4. See It in Company Research
  5. Continue Research

The movie theater concession cost rate measures concession or food-and-beverage costs as a percentage of the related revenue.

AMC's consolidated Q2 2026 food-and-beverage cost rate was 18.7%, down from 19.2% a year earlier. Cinemark reported a 17.9% U.S. concession-supplies rate in Q2 2026, down from 18.5%.

Higher spend does not automatically mean higher margin

Concession revenue per patron can rise because of price, product mix, merchandise, or more transactions.

The cost rate shows how much of that revenue is consumed by food, beverage, merchandise, and related supplies.

Product mix can change the percentage

Cinemark attributed its lower rate to pricing, sourcing initiatives, and product mix. AMC similarly reports the cost rate against food-and-beverage revenue.

Keep that denominator intact when comparing peers; this is not a percentage of total theatre revenue. The rate ultimately feeds the contribution margin per patron alongside film exhibition costs.

Primary sources: AMC Q2 2026 Form 10-Q and Cinemark Q2 2026 Form 10-Q.

Part of the Movie Theater Exhibition Economics

Connects film-slate supply and attendance with ticket and concession monetization, ancillary revenue, direct film and food costs, patron contribution economics, and fixed-cost operating leverage.

Browse the full operating model in Company Analysis →
Where this concept fits
  • Variable costs, contribution, and operating leverageCurrent relationship
    Film exhibition cost rate and concession cost rate show the major directly variable revenue-sharing and product costs. Contribution margin per patron measures the dollars left after those direct costs, while operating expense rate shows how fixed and semi-fixed theatre costs leverage against changing revenue and attendance.
    Concession Cost RateCurrent conceptContribution Margin per PatronFilm Exhibition Cost RateTheatre Operating Expense Rate
  • Content supply and attendance
    Wide-release film count frames the amount of broadly distributed content available to drive visits, total attendance measures realized patron volume, and comparable attendance growth isolates traffic across a relatively stable theatre base.
    Movie Theater AttendanceComparable Attendance GrowthWide-Release Film Count
  • Patron monetization and ancillary revenue
    Admissions revenue per patron and concession revenue per patron separate ticket and food-and-beverage monetization from traffic, while other theatre revenue captures ticketing fees, advertising, loyalty, merchandise, rentals, and other ancillary streams.
    Admissions Revenue per PatronConcession Revenue per PatronMovie Theater Other Revenue

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Compare concession cost rates

Compare food-and-beverage input costs against the related concession revenue rather than total theatre revenue.

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