1 theater · 18 screens
Cinema advertising on 18 screens in San Marcos, CA.
The Mandalorian & Grogu
May 22
Toy Story 5
Jun 19
Moana (Live Action)
Jul 10
The Odyssey
Jul 17
Spider-Man: Brand New Day
Jul 31
Coyote vs. Acme
Aug 28
The Cat in the Hat
Nov 6
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping
Nov 20
Avengers: Doomsday
Dec 18
Dune Part Three
Dec 18
Jumanji 3
Dec 25
Poster art courtesy of IMDb · © respective studios · used for editorial reference.
San Marcos, CA is a mid-size North County San Diego community with 94,078 residents and a median household income of $105,286. That purchasing power, combined with a median age of 36.8 and a 42.7% rate of bachelor's degree attainment, makes local moviegoers a commercially attractive audience for brands targeting educated, working adults.
The city has one movie theater, San Marcos 18, with 18 screens and an estimated 43,200 monthly impressions. A 4-week cinema advertising campaign here runs $2,311 to $4,622, which puts it in the Tier 2 pricing range. Cinema ads in this market deliver 2 to 6 times the attention of live sports and 6 to 16 times that of social and digital placements. For advertisers looking to reach North County San Diego consumers in a high-attention, low-distraction environment, San Marcos is a measurable, straightforward option.
Real ranges for a 4-week :30 campaign. Final pricing depends on theaters selected, seasonality, and the 2026 film slate.
| Buy type | 4-week cost | CPM range | Reach |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single theater | $2,310 – $4,620 | Tier 2 market rates | up to 43,200 imps/theater |
Add-ons (Streaming Extension, Lobby Network, Digital Retargeting) priced separately. Not available for alcohol, tobacco, firearms, cannabis, or political advertising.
Choose what fits your campaign — on-screen, in-lobby, and digital extensions.
Your brand opens the show
Plays early in the pre-show sequence, before trailers begin. Best for awareness and reach.
Peak attention, before the trailers
Plays in the mid-pre-show pod when theater attention peaks. Our most-requested slot.
The last ad before the feature
The premium position — the final commercial before the feature begins. Highest recall, unskippable.
Digital signage throughout the theater
Full-motion placements on lobby plasma displays. Extends brand presence beyond the auditorium.
Retarget moviegoers on CTV and OTT
After cinema exposure, retarget the same moviegoer audience across premium streaming services using verified attendance data.
Banner & mobile reach for your moviegoers
Display and mobile ad retargeting to the verified moviegoer audience. Geo, demo, and behavior layers.
A 4-week campaign at San Marcos 18 runs between $2,311 and $4,622, depending on ad length and placement. That falls within Tier 2 CPM pricing of $47 to $60. At 43,200 estimated monthly impressions and an average household income of $105,286, the cost-per-quality-impression holds up well against most local digital or broadcast alternatives.
Common advertisers include local restaurants, auto dealerships, healthcare providers, financial services, and retail businesses. QSR brands have recorded 2 to 3 times return on ad spend, and auto advertisers have seen 34% increases in foot traffic after cinema campaigns.
Placements typically include on-screen spots in the pre-show segment before trailers begin, plus lobby and concourse digital displays. On-screen ads run in a captive, sound-on environment with no skip option. Standard ad lengths are 15, 30, and 60 seconds, with longer formats available depending on the campaign.
Cinema delivers 6 to 16 times the attention of social and digital placements, and outperforms both CTV and YouTube on documented attention metrics. About 60% of moviegoers nationally are cord-cutters or cord-nevers, so a portion of the San Marcos audience simply cannot be reached through broadcast or cable.
Alcohol, tobacco, firearms, cannabis, and political advertising are not accepted in cinema ad inventory. This applies across the network regardless of local regulations. Advertisers in those categories will need to look at alternative placements. Most consumer, retail, healthcare, and service-based businesses qualify without restrictions.
A 4-week campaign covers a full cycle of weekend and weekday moviegoers across San Marcos 18's 18 screens. Brands tracking foot traffic or sales lift typically run 4 to 8 weeks to measure meaningful results. Retailers in national studies saw 53% incremental visit increases using windows in that range.
Call for pricing tailored to your dates, film slate, and targeting.
