How to Sell Cinema Tickets Online (Showtimes, Seating & Scanning)

Independent cinemas, film clubs and screening rooms face a specific ticketing challenge: the same film plays at several showtimes a day, often with reserved seating, and a booking platform wants a fee on every seat. You can solve all of it on your own WordPress site. Here’s how to sell cinema tickets online with showtimes, seat selection and door scanning.

Model showtimes as recurring occurrences

A film isn’t one event — it’s the same event at 14:00, 17:00 and 20:00, every day it runs. Rebuilding that by hand is misery. The Recurring Events add-on lets you define the screening once and generate every showtime as its own occurrence with independent stock, so the 20:00 show can sell out while 14:00 has seats. Each occurrence has its own valid entry window, which matters for scanning.

Add reserved seating

Cinema-goers expect to pick a seat. The Venue Designer lets you lay out your auditorium — rows, aisles, premium recliners — as a visual map, and buyers choose the exact seat they want. Each seat is held the moment it’s selected, so two people can’t buy 7F for the same screening.

Price by seat type and audience

Cinemas price by category — Adult, Child, Student, Senior — and sometimes by seat (standard vs premium). Model audience types as ticket tiers and use the seat map for premium-vs-standard pricing. Because it’s all WooCommerce underneath, concession bundles, membership discounts and gift cards work natively.

Deliver and scan tickets

After purchase, each buyer gets a QR ticket by email as a branded PDF — design it with the Ticket Designer to carry your cinema’s identity and the film’s artwork. At the door, scan with the Check-in app; because each ticket is tied to a specific occurrence, a ticket for the 20:00 show won’t admit someone to the 14:00, and the valid-window rule enforces it automatically.

Memberships and recurring audiences

Film clubs thrive on regulars. Because you own the checkout, every booking adds the customer to your list, and WooCommerce’s coupon and membership ecosystem lets you reward repeat attendance. A loyal audience you can email directly is worth more than any platform’s reach.

Get found by people searching for showtimes

“[Your town] cinema showtimes” is a high-intent search. Venuera’s automatic Schema.org Event markup makes each screening eligible for Google event rich results, and the built-in date filters and calendar help visitors find the right showtime fast.

Frequently asked questions

How can an independent cinema sell tickets online?

Use WordPress with WooCommerce and Venuera. Define each film once, generate its daily showtimes with the Recurring Events add-on, add a seat map with the Venue Designer, and sell through your own checkout with no per-seat platform fee.

Can buyers choose their cinema seat?

Yes. The Venue Designer add-on renders your auditorium as a visual map and holds each seat the moment it’s selected, so no two people can book the same seat for one screening.

How do I handle multiple daily showtimes?

The Recurring Events add-on generates each showtime as its own occurrence with independent stock and its own valid entry window, so a 20:00 screening can sell out while the 14:00 still has seats.

Do cinema tickets get scanned at the door?

Each ticket carries a QR code tied to a specific showtime. The Check-in app scans it in a second and the valid-window rule prevents a ticket for one showtime admitting someone to another.

Related: for theatres and assigned seating in general, see selling tickets for theatre and seated venues; for repeating schedules, setting up recurring events.