Cinema XXI, Indonesia’s largest cinema chain, took IDR4.2tn ($235m) in revenue in the first nine months of 2026 and made a net profit of IDR416.3bn ($23.3m), its operator PT Nusantara Sejahtera Raya Tbk (IDX: CNMA) said on Thursday 29 October. Third-quarter revenue rose 7.5% year on year to IDR1.5tn ($83.8m), but the growth came from food, drink, pricier seats and advertising rather than from more ticket revenue.
Key facts
- Nine-month revenue IDR4.2tn ($235m); net profit IDR416.3bn ($23.3m); EBITDA IDR1.2tn ($67m)
- Tickets brought in IDR2.5tn ($140m), or 59.1% of revenue; food and beverage IDR1.4tn ($78m), or 34.7%
- In the July to September quarter, food and beverage revenue rose 13.9% and average spend per head on it 15.8%
- Ticket revenue was flat in the quarter, while the average ticket price rose 2%
- Interim dividend of IDR4 a share, worth IDR333.1bn ($18.6m) in total
Concessions and premium screens carry the quarter
The company said ticket income was stable in the third quarter. The company attributed the 2% rise in average ticket price to higher occupancy in its premium formats, The Premiere and IMAX. EBITDA rose 14.0% in the quarter and the EBITDA margin widened to 32.1%, from 30.3% a year earlier.
Advertising and digital income grew fastest. It rose 59.1% year on year in the quarter and made up 6.5% of revenue, against 4.4% in the third quarter of 2025. Operating activities generated IDR931.4bn ($52.1m) of net cash over the nine months.
The release does not give admissions, or a comparison with the first nine months of 2025, so it is not possible to say from it whether attendance rose or fell over the year as a whole.
Prices kept down, screens added
President director Suryo Suherman said the chain was trying to “minimize ticket price increases” because of pressure on consumer spending, so that cinemas stay “accessible to everyone”.
Cinema XXI opened four sites with 14 screens in 2026: Ciplaz Cipanas XXI, 23 Semarang XXI, Grand Mall Maros XXI and Sorong Modern City XXI. At 29 October it ran 1,402 screens at 271 locations in 55 cities and 31 regencies.
In Indonesia, horror sequel Kuasa Gelap: Perjanjian Darah passed 1 million admissions on 25 October. In Vietnam, too, the box office has leaned on local titles, while in Canada takings for Canadian films rose 77% in the first nine months of 2026.
All US dollar figures are converted at the European Central Bank reference rates for 30 September 2026, the last day of the period, about IDR17,890 to the dollar.
Our reading
These numbers describe an exhibitor earning more from each visit rather than from more visits. Flat ticket revenue with a 2% higher average price suggests admissions in the quarter were roughly level or slightly down, while food sales rose 13.9% and spend per head 15.8%. For distributors, that matters: their share comes from the box office, and the box office is the part of Cinema XXI’s business that did not grow in the quarter.
The advertising figure is small but moving quickly. At 6.5% of revenue it is still minor, yet a 59.1% rise in a single year suggests its screens and digital platforms are turning into an advertising business in their own right.
Holding back on ticket prices while widening margins depends on premium formats and concessions continuing to grow. The fourth-quarter results, which take in the year-end holiday slate, will show whether that holds when the release calendar is busier.