How much are the tickets for the batman movie

exclusive: In the wake of amc CEO adam aron’s announcement during a recent earnings call that he has increased ticket prices specifically on batman, there are some executives and producers of studios that are upset.

It’s a bold move at a time when moviegoing is desperate to bounce back after a financially disastrous pandemic, which has shut down venues for possibly a year.

However, there are a variety of opinions on this subject, ranging from aron’s movement being a “burger with nothing” to filmmakers and producers thinking a new caste film classification system is in the offing. horizon, i mean, if you’re not the director of the marvel cinematic universe or dc title, well, then you’re ed wood, and there’s no reason for most of the population to buy a ticket to your movie.

let’s all calm down.

‘the batman’ $134 million opening reruns warner bros’ biggest during pandemic era, best debut for matt reeves –

first of all, amc’s price gouging (that’s what it is, i’m told, not variable, not dynamic) in batman is nothing new. In fact, Regal and Cinemark have already raised prices over the opening weekend of Spider-Man: No Way Home (see box office analytics firm Enttellgence’s chart below), and they’ve done so again for Batman. Keep in mind that major studios have no say or influence over what exhibitors charge for movie ticket prices.

and if you’re wondering, ‘well, duh, did high ticket prices keep people from seeing batman this weekend,’ the answer is absolutely ‘no’.

the batman, with 128 million dollars, is the second best opening of the pandemic behind spider-man: no way home, with 260 million dollars (that film, which is already the third highest in history, is headed for $800 million in US/Canada grosses). ).

Intelligence reports that 20 million people in the united states watched spider-man: no way home over the weekend one versus batman’s 9.5 million. The disparity in box office openings comes down to two different types of IP and their demand, not prices: One is a reboot of a popular dark superhero, and the other is a carnival that is the crossroads of the marvelous cinematic multiverse. Batman is also 25 minutes longer than Spider-Man, which arguably means more hours of the show than the nearly 3 hours Matt Reeves directed Batman.

As you can see, No. 2 theater circuit Regal was charging $13.73 on average during Spider-Man‘s opening, above their average ticket price of $12.91. Cinemark was charging $11.19 on average for the Jon Watts-directed title vs. $10.63 while AMC that weekend charged an average of $13.92 to a regular price ticket of $13.21. This weekend for Batman, AMC’s average ticket price was $14.50 (vs. $13.22 regular ticket price), Regal’s was $13.44 (vs. $12.67) and Cinemark’s $11.25 (vs. $10.25).

Now, breaking this down:

-we are in an inflationary economy. and i can think of more egregious surcharges right now, i.e. four sandwiches at jersey mike totaling $70, filling your gas tank north of $60, and the ongoing a la carte surcharges that major airlines levy on baggage and seat allowances. an extra dollar at the theater for a popular movie that was projected to gross $100 million, is not a venial sin, in fact it is common sense given the times we are in and the pandemic these exhibitors have weathered. many are upside down and in the red, and the decision by amc and others to raise prices slightly (even for eight days, which is the #1 circuit situation here) is arguably more adam smith invisible hand economics than price increase.

-amc implemented this price hike very early for batman. the first day of imax screenings at 350 sites last tuesday sold out weeks ago. presales heading into the weekend were excellent at $50 million spread over the weekend and not loaded up front. sticker clash? I do not think. distribution sources tell me that when it comes to infrequent moviegoers losing their hair at the movies, it’s with the cost of concessions, not ticket prices. speaking anecdotally, i can tell you that the same group of hotdogs, popcorn, soda, and pizza for a party of 3 during a venom preview in 2018 cost me $75 at amc burbank, easily $20 more than regal was charging in its valence. , ca stadium in my neighborhood.

: The whole idea that exhibitors don’t want to get anywhere near a situation where two viewers sitting next to each other are being charged two different ticket prices, well that’s already happened with spider-man and batman. this superhero surcharge is clearly an attempt to cover any cash loss from exhibitors’ monthly subscription programs.

-To those film content creators concerned that their movies on the marquee aren’t nearly as prized as a superhero movie, here are some things to consider. Would you like traffic at your indie movie, or not? A lower price could possibly create demand (in same breath, I’m told a $1 isn’t known to make a difference regarding more or less traffic). Should we pay premium prices for a small indie film? I will say that the most I ever spent to see a movie, was for a specialty title, that being Focus Features’ Tina Fey-Paul Rudd 2013 comedy Admission at the iPic Pasadena. I shelled out $27, enormous by today and then standards. As much as I enjoyed the movie, it didn’t deliver the same experience as say Antman in Imax. I’d argue the ticket price was too pricey for that type of movie. But what I was paying for was the cushy recliner seat, free popcorn, a blanket (which I wasn’t allowed to take home), and what was then this whole new luxe dine-in experience.

However, price gouging is a touchy subject for studio executives and filmmakers, but just as studios have tightened their windows, converted to movie theaters day in and day out, or cut off ample launch line on their own, exhibitors need to make money. somewhere, and that’s for the weekend’s most precious commodity. if it eases the concerns of filmmakers there are some very tiered prices on any given day at a major metropolitan multiplex between parts of the day and luxury seating that we’re way past the days where it’s a static price for a late night show for any movie.

-“Who the heck announces they’re raising ticket prices!?” yelled one distribution boss at me. Well, Aron does. Sure, not the best form of publicity as Regal and Cinemark have kept quiet about raising their prices, but it’s no secret that AMC is mired in debt, and the after-effect of his announcement saw an increase in post-market in the circuit’s share price, +4% on March 1, and +1.2% the following day. Aron serves his shareholders. When reached earlier this week on the topic, AMC didn’t provide any further comment on the whole topic of Batman price upticks.

-Still some distribution sources argue that Aron’s announcement of price surging “sends a dreadful message to the consumer right now.” That there’s no give-and-take for the consumer. I.E. if prices are going up on Batman, it only stands to reason to drop prices on rival titles. Will the major circuits rise their tickets on an upcoming popular family title? That’s one area where the whole ticket price surge subject gets slippery.

so batman is about $1 more between major circuits. did it stop the business? it’s hard to argue yes, given that people literally made an appointment to see the movie well in advance. Nearly 60% of Batman moviegoers purchased their tickets before opening day according to Comscore’s PostTrak, while 76% of them purchased online (vs. in theaters). we hear that amc accounted for about a third of the $100.3 million batman grossed in its first two days, with regal 20% of that and cinemark 15%.

Will there be further increases in the price of movie tickets for highly anticipated $100M+ grossing movies in the future? I think we can easily say “yes”, given that batman was second in an inflationary economy.

but still, the price increases didn’t stop anyone from watching spider-man: no way home or the batman.