On 31 July 2026, Spider-Man: Brand New Day swung into cinemas and, within its opening weekend, became the second-biggest opening film of all time while earning a 98% Rotten Tomatoes score. With millions rushing to catch it, questions about how cinemas get, protect, and make money from blockbuster movies naturally arise. And that’s exactly what we’re breaking down in this short explainer.
How Cinemas Get Movies
Cinemas do not buy movies outright. Instead, they license them from film studios or authorised distributors for a limited period. The agreement specifies when the film can be shown, how long it can remain in theatres, and how ticket revenue will be shared between the cinema and the distributor.
Movies are delivered to cinemas as encrypted digital files, either through secure online delivery systems or on encrypted physical hard drives. Each cinema receives a unique decryption key, known as a Key Delivery Message (KDM), which only unlocks the movie on authorised projectors and servers during approved dates and screening times. Without the correct key, the movie cannot be played, even if the file has been copied to the cinema’s servers.
How Movie Studios Prevent Piracy
Besides encryption, every copy of a film contains an invisible forensic watermark. Unlike a visible logo or text, this watermark is not visible to the audience. It is embedded directly in the video and audio so that it is undetectable to human eyes and ears but can be identified using specialised forensic software.
How Cinemas Prevent Piracy
If you secretly record a film in a cinema and upload it online, investigators can analyse the watermark to determine exactly which cinema, screen, and in some cases even the specific screening where the recording was made. This allows studios to trace the source of screen-recorded copies uploaded to movie pirating websites.
Cinemas also curb movie piracy by monitoring auditoriums with security cameras, conducting regular checks during showings, and using night-vision devices to spot anyone attempting to record the screen.
How Movie Theatres Make Money
During the first few weeks of a major release, film studios often take anywhere from 80% to almost 100% of ticket revenue, leaving cinemas with little to no profit from ticket sales. As the film remains in theatres and demand falls, the revenue split gradually becomes more favourable to cinemas, often approaching 50% by the later weeks, depending on the agreement.
Because of this, cinemas rely heavily on concession sales. Popcorn, soft drinks, sweets, and other treats is where cinemas make most of their money. At Century Cinema, Acacia Mall, for example, a bucket of popcorn that costs around UGX 650 to produce is sold for over UGX 12,000, while most drinks are priced at more than double their normal retail price.
These higher prices help cinemas pay for rent and licenses, staff salaries, electricity, equipment maintenance, and the expensive digital projection systems required to screen modern films.
For many movie theatres, the snack counter brings in more profit than ticket sales.
