Moviegoers paid an average $8.97 to see a film last year, setting a new high for the cost of admission at the cinema. The figure, calculated by the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO), was up 3.7 percent from 2016’s average ticket price of $8.65. The exhibition trade organization also noted, however, that the average ticket price 40 years ago was $2.23 — in 2017 terms, that's $9.40. Total 2017 ticket sales were $11.1 billion, down 2.6 percent, reported NATO. The rise in the average…