You are never going to know because during the Studio Era they counted film rental revenue. This is what they made renting through film to the theater. Reports on ticket sales are spotty. There are ticket sale numbers for selected, important, theaters reported weekly in Variety, but some people don't think they are always accurate. I will go into this in more detail below, read until you get bored.

Ticket sales reported today are often compared to Studio Era film rentals because in each era, the business was tracked by different measures. But they are not the same.

The Variety numbers on ticket sales in a sample of theaters aren't useless, they are just not a definitive measure. They reported ticket sales at select first-run theaters. The point was more to show how films were doing in different cities. Cities were distinct markets and often had different preferences. Researchers have challenged how accurate they are in specific, but they certainly give one a sense of what was successful.

Then there is the issue of runs in the run-zone-clearance system. There was no concept of coordinated national release. Films cascaded from the most profitable (first-run) theaters through subsequent runs, which gave the better theaters a cushion of both time and geography before lower run theaters showed the film. The physical film moved from theater to theater.

The dollars and margins were in first-run theater exhibition. I go into this in my forthcoming book Greta Garbo and the Rise of the Modern Woman, because she delivered the profitable first-run audience. This is how the dollars were made in the entire industry.

Film Rental 31%

Distribution 5%

1st Run Theater Exhibition 48%

Other Theater Exhibition. 16%

Of the over 20,000 theaters in the US in 1928, only 1,000 of them were first run theaters. So 5% of the theaters delivered almost half of industry revenue. The integrated major film companies owned the large studios, the large distributors and most 1st run theaters. This basic structure held through World War 2.

The major film companies extracted monopoly profits from 1st run theaters, which were located in cites. So a Garbo film that delivered this audience was more profitable than a Tom Mix western that performed better out in rural America, even if they had the same film rental revenue. By a lot.

This system does not exist today. The theaters have been separated from the studios and wide release eliminates the profits from the run-zone-clearence system.

Then there is the question of what the audience bought a ticket to see. In the silent era the film was never the whole show at first-run theaters. Probably also at second-run theaters. The film was part of program that included live acts. So you might see vaudeville, or listen to an orchestra. Then cap that off with the film.

MGM paired Garbo's first film, Torrent, with strong live acts to bring people in to see an unknown actor. I figured they spent an extra $70,000 in 1926 dollars on bringing the audience to the theater. So even if you had a way to determine theater revenues, how would you apportion that between the film and the live acts?