A drive-in sells tickets per person but counts admissions per car, and the snack bar sells by the carload. Revenue for a show is cars times what each car is worth: the average people inside times the ticket price, plus what the average car spends on food. Keep occupancy as its own number — it is the lever that a $2 kids' ticket or a carload night moves.
180 cars at 2.6 people and a $9 ticket is $23.40 of admissions per car; add $14.50 of concessions and each car is $37.90, so $6,822 for the show.
The example
Three nights on the same screen. The family night has more heads per car and a lower snack spend; the Thursday classic has fewer people per car and higher snack spend.
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Show | Cars | People/car | Ticket | Concession/car | Per car | Revenue |
| 2 | Saturday double feature | 180 | 2.6 | $9.00 | $14.50 | $37.90 | $6,822.00 |
| 3 | Family night | 240 | 3.1 | $9.00 | $12.00 | $39.90 | $9,576.00 |
| 4 | Thursday classic | 95 | 2.2 | $9.00 | $16.00 | $35.80 | $3,401.00 |
The formula
Per-car value first, because that is the number that compares one night with another:
How it works
The formula is one product, but the per-car value is where the business lives:
C2*D2is admissions per car: average heads times ticket price. 2.6 people at $9 is $23.40.+E2adds concession spend per car. Most drive-ins earn more margin here than at the gate, so it stays visible.B2*F2multiplies by the cars counted at the gate. That is the show's gross before film rental.- Compare per-car value across nights. A night with fewer cars but a higher per-car value may be the better one to repeat.
Film rental is usually a percentage of admissions only, not concessions. Split the two if you need net: B2*C2*D2*(1-RentalPct)+B2*E2.
Try it: interactive demo
Enter cars, average people per car, the ticket price and the concession spend per car.
Variations
Net of film rental
Rental applies to the box office only. Take it off the admission part and leave concessions alone.
Carload pricing
On a flat-per-car night the ticket term collapses to one price: cars times (carload price plus concessions).
Pitfalls & errors
People per car is a measured average, not a guess. Count heads at the gate for a few nights per show type. The difference between 2.2 and 3.1 is 40 percent of the box office.
Concession per car should come from the register total divided by the gate count, per show. A double feature spends more per car than a single because there is an intermission; track them separately.
Do not multiply concessions by people. It is spend per car in this sheet. If your data is per person, convert it first — mixing the two overstates the snack bar by the occupancy factor.
Practice workbook
Frequently asked questions
Why not just count people?
How do I handle the second feature?
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