Moviegoers could be paying a little more to see a movie at a Cineplex theater this summer.
Canada’s largest movie exhibitor said it has introduced a $1.50 reservation fee that applies to every ticket purchased through its mobile app and website.
The move comes as the company said it needs to “invest more and evolve our digital infrastructure”.
However, not everyone will have to pay the new service charge.
Cineplex Inc. says purchases made in person at the box office, ticket kiosks or concession stands will not be subject to the fee, while members of the Scene Plus rewards program will pay a reduced $1 per ticket.
Subscribers to CineClub, the company’s monthly subscription program, will not have to pay the fee in full.
Service charges are a long-standing practice in the entertainment industry, where concerts, live theater and sporting events add some kind of “convenience fee” to raise more revenue.
When Cineplex introduced online ticketing years ago, it charged a similar processing fee for each ticket. He eventually dropped the fee around the same time he began encouraging moviegoers to buy tickets in advance rather than wait in line at the box office.
More recently, Cineplex has dabbled in other markup experiments that included an additional $2 for “top seats” at some of its busiest theaters. It also added an additional $1 to reserve seats at performances of Star Wars: The Last Jedi in 2017.
In the United States, most of the larger movie theater chains already charge a fee for buying tickets online.
Earlier this year, US chain AMC Theaters went a step further when it began testing “variable pricing” for tickets to the long-awaited DC Comics movie. the batman. The new cost added around $1.50 USD to each ticket in some cities.
