Days after THE BATMAN registered a heart-pumping $134M opening weekend gross, reports surfaced that AMC Entertainment had boosted its ticket prices for screenings of the much-anticipated superhero flick by $1.00 to $1.50, depending on theatre location. AMC’s price hike does not seem to have limited attendance, with AMC registering eight of the top ten U.S. locations for THE BATMAN’s box office.
While novel in the U.S., exhibitors in global markets have used “variable pricing” for years, charging a premium for blockbuster titles and premium seats. AMC’s chief Adam Aron commented during the company’s recent earnings call, “In Europe, we charge a premium for the best seats in the house, as do just about all other sellers of tickets in other industries — think sports events, concerts, and live theater, for example.”
In addition to the fundamentals of supply and demand, exhibitors are justifying price hikes based on the inflationary economy overall, which has raised prices for staples such as groceries, gas, dining, and travel. Why would the price of a movie ticket be immune? Look for many U.S. exhibitors to adopt the strategy for upcoming 2022 event titles such as Disney/Marvel’s DR. STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS, Paramount’s TOP GUN: MAVERICK, and Disney/20th Century’s AVATAR 2.
See also: Movie theaters must ‘urgently’ rethink the experience, a study says. (NY Times)