Cinema with 3 year old child

Hello,

I want to go with my 3 year old child to the cinema, as far as I can see the ticket price for a child is 1,000 JPY. However I heard from a friend that they went with their child and they didnft need to pay for the child.

So I am wondering how that works, do only children from a certain age cost anything or can the child go free of charge under the assumption that it is sitting on your lap during the movie? If so I guess the best option would be to go when the room has many open seats and just sit there somewhere.

Does someone have experience and give some tips?

It depends on the theater.

I would like to go to Namba Parks Cinema.

For that location, their website states:
https://www.parkscinema.com/site/namba/price.html

gToddlers (3 year-old or older): 1,000 yen.
Depending on the title, admission will be charged starting at age 2.
Toddler admission will apply if a seat is needed for visitor even under 3 year-old.h