• by Wayne Friedman , October 19, 2015

Theatrical movie ticket prices inched up in the third quarter versus the same period a year ago -- with season-to-date box office revenues continuing to post gains.

The average ticket price is 2% higher to $8.25 versus the third quarter of 2014, according to the National Association of Theater Owners.

The price was down as anticipated from the higher-demand second-quarter summer period, where the average was $8.61 a ticket -- due to big action-adventure movies where higher-priced 3D and big-screen viewing vie for moviegoers' attention.

Season-to-date U.S. box office revenue is up 5.5% to $8.7 billion through October 18th versus the same time period a year ago when it was $8.2 billion, according to IMDB company Box Office Mojo.

The biggest movie so far this year is Universal’s “Jurassic World” at $651.4 million. Walt Disney’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron” is next at $459.0 million.

Yearly average U.S. ticket prices continued to climb as admissions have weakened. The average price in 2014 was $8.17 -- up from $8.13 in 2013 and $7.96 in 2012. The number of U.S./Canada admissions have sunk in recent years to 1.27 million last year from 1.41 million in 2009.

U.S./Canada box office revenues were down in 2014 to $10.4 billion, from $10.9 billion in 2013 and $10.8 billion in 2012.