The cubic-spline interpolation (CSI) scheme can be utilized to obtain a better quality reconstructed image. It is based on the least-squares method with cubic convolution interpolation (CCI) function. Within the parametric CSI scheme, it is difficult to determine the optimal parameter for various target images. In this paper, a novel method involving the concept of opportunity costs is proposed to identify the most suitable parameter for the CCI function needed in the CSI scheme. It is shown that such an optimal four-point CCI function in conjunction with the least-squares method can achieve a better performance with the same arithmetic operations in comparison with the existing CSI algorithm. In addition, experimental results show that the optimal six-point CSI scheme together with cross-zonal filter is superior in performance to the optimal four-point CSI scheme without increasing the computational complexity.