Movie Theaters Charged More for ‘The Batman.’ Are Price Hikes Here to Stay?
07.03.2022 - 17:05
/ variety.com
Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterIf you went to the movies over the weekend, you may have shelled out a little extra to see “The Batman.”In a surprising break from industry standard, AMC Entertainment, the biggest theater chain, boldly announced plans to charge customers about $1 to $2 more for tickets to “The Batman” compared to other movies playing at the same time. It is not clear how the experiment, a version of variable pricing, paid off because AMC did not break down ticket sales versus attendance levels in any of its 620 domestic theaters.But AMC was spot-on about the popularity of Robert Pattinson’s take on the Caped Crusader in “The Batman.” The Warner Bros.
comic book adaptation generated a mighty $128.5 million in its opening weekend at the domestic box office, the second-biggest debut of the pandemic. And AMC locations accounted for eight of the top 10 highest-earning theaters in North America for “The Batman.” That does not necessarily mean the circuit benefitted from higher prices (AMC venues are typically the top-grossing in the country), but it also doesn’t appear to have given AMC loyalists stick shock.
As the domestic box office slowly rebounds from COVID-19 disruptions, should consumers expect to continue to pay more for big-screen blockbusters?Box office analysts say yes, incrementally increasing prices may be the new normal, at least when it comes to big blockbusters. Theater operators have long wanted to test a range of ticket prices, and the ongoing pandemic became the catalyst to finally get creative.
In fact, it may have begun earlier than people realized. Privately, insiders wondered why AMC announced the move with such fanfare because Regal Cinemas and Cinemark Theatres, the No.
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