While movie ticket prices have reached an all-time high, movie attendance dropped 5 percent from 2009 to 2010 and is down again this year.

Stewart Tilger/CORBIS

eople may start redefining date night as "dinner and... a long, mildly diverting walk." According to the National Association of Theater Owners, the average price of a movie ticket has hit a record high, climbing to $8.06 in the U.S. But, compared to moviegoers in other countries, Americans actually have it lucky. Here's a breakdown of the escalating cost of movie tickets, by the numbers:

$8.06
Current average price for a movie ticket in the U.S., a record

$7.89
Average U.S. ticket price in 2010

$23.80
Cost of a movie ticket in Tokyo, Japan, according to Businessweek

$19.60
Cost of a movie ticket in Zurich, Switzerland

$12.28
Average movie ticket price in New York, according to CNBC
 
$20.00
Ticket price for an IMAX 3D screening of Shrek Ever After at AMC Empire theater in Times Square, New York in 2010, then a record, says Steve Weintraub at Collider

$5.66
Average U.S. ticket price 10 years ago, according to Box Office Mojo

$3.71
Average U.S. ticket price 25 years ago

$0.69
Average U.S. ticket price 50 years ago

$0.25
Average U.S. ticket price 75 years ago

$9.20
Cost today, when adjusted for inflation, of a ticket purchased at the average price of $1.65 in 1971, according to The New York Times. That's more than a dollar higher than today's record average.

17
Number of consecutive years the cost of a movie ticket has increased

$10.5 billion
2010 domestic box office total, down from $10.6 billion in 2009, according to Hollywood.com

$6.42 billion
2011 domestic box office total to date, down 5.55 percent from this time last year, according to The New York Times

5
Percent downturn in movie attendance in 2010 compared to 2009

$3-5
Typical surcharge added on to the price of a 3D movie ticket

Sources: Box Office Mojo, Collider, Businessweek, Hollywood.com, Hollywood Reporter, NY Times