How to get around Cineplex’s price increase and online booking fees

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News broke this week that Cineplex had raised its ticket prices, with the cost of a standard movie ticket in Toronto now sitting at $16. Here’s what to know.

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How much did the price go up?

“We raised our ticket prices in November as a result of increased operating costs (i.e. leasing, utilities and labour,” a spokesperson for the company told the National Post, adding: “On average, base ticket prices increased by $0.25 depending on the ticket type across the country.”

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What are those ticket types?

There are many. For instance, a ticket to Moana 2 in an AVX screening room with DBox seats — they provide motion and vibration in sync with the movie — will set you back $27 as an adult, or $21.25 for children aged 3 to 13. Non-DBox seats in the same screening cost $21 for adults and $15.25 for kids. In a VIP screening room (no kids allowed) it’s $26.50.

In comparison, an IMAX screening of Wicked costs $23 for adults, $17.25 for children. In non-IMAX 3D, it’s $19 for adults, $13.25 for kids. And a standard screening with no bells and whistles brings it down to $16 for adults, or $10.25 for children.

And that’s the final price?

Well, no. There’s tax, which even the upcoming GST holiday won’t do away with. And there’s Cineplex’s online booking fee. It’s $1.50 per ticket (capped at four tickets) and is discounted to $1 if you’re a Scene+ member, and waived entirely if you’re a CineClub member. It also doesn’t apply if you buy your tickets in person, although in that case you do need to worry about the show selling out before you get there. So your $16 ticket, with full booking fee and tax, comes to $19.78.

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Mmm, 1978. Remind me how cheap it was then?

According to Yahoo Finance, if you went to see Grease in the summer of ’78 your ticket cost an average of $2.34. Adjusted for inflation, that’s about $10 in today’s currency.

Wasn’t Cineplex told to remove the online booking fee?

They were! In September, the Competition Tribunal ordered the exhibitor to pay a $38.9-million fine for deceptive marketing practices; i.e., not immediately presenting consumers with the full price of a movie ticket when they purchased seats online.

“The consumer is deceived or led astray by the contradictory and incomplete information on Cineplex’s tickets page, which obfuscates the existence and quantum of the online booking fee,” the tribunal said. It called the fee “price dripping,” a practice when customers are drawn into a purchase without full disclosure of the final cost.

Cineplex, however, denied the accusations, and has filed an appeal. The company says it has been granted an interim stay until the motion is heard. In the meantime, it has modified how the fees are communicated on the site, but they continue to be levied.

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How can I avoid the fee?

Cineplex offers a free points card (Scene+) that drops the fee to $1. But to buy online and avoid the fee entirely you need to sign up for CineClub. That costs $9.99 a month (plus tax) and gives you one free movie ticket per month, 20 per cent off concessions, and the ability to buy additional tickets (up to two at a time) for $9.99 each.

Note the small print that says this price is only for a regular screening. Tickets for IMAX, 3D, DBox etc. will incur an additional change on top of that $9.99 price.

Is CineClub worth it?

If you watch a lot of movies, almost certainly. Although it’s worth noting that your “free” admission to a Dbox AVX screening of Moana 2 will still cost about $11 (the difference between the basic price and the full price), while a “$9.99” ticket will look more like $21. But you’re basically saving $16 on your first movie of the month, and $6 on every movie after that.

Any other good news?

Well, the chain continues its Tuesday discounts, which moviergoers of a certain age will remember as “$2 Tuesdays.” It’s not quite that any more, but that $27 ticket to Moana 2 is just $19.13 on a Tuesday night, and the price of a regular $16 ticket falls to $13.73.

Cineplex also has family movies that play on Saturday mornings and cost $3.99 (plus taxes and booking fees). On Dec. 7 they’ll be showing Elf.

And, a few days before the uptick in prices, Cineplex announced it was offering free refills on large popcorn and drink orders in cinema; i.e. not on delivery orders. The movie theatre giveth, and the movie theatre taketh away.

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