Cineplex Quietly Adds $1.50 Online Booking Fee for Movie Tickets
By Simon Hung
June 21, 2022Cineplex movies will be slightly more expensive if you're used to buying tickets online, as the company has introduced a new online booking fee when purchasing through their website or mobile app.
The fee was first introduced as early as last week, after RedFlagDeals user Saturate noticed the additional charge when booking movie tickets on June 15. Cineplex has since acknowledged the fee publicly, telling The Canadian Press that the change was made "to further invest and evolve our digital infrastructure."
When ordering Cineplex tickets online, moviegoers will notice a new "Booking Fee" section at the bottom of the page that automatically charges a $1.50 non-refundable fee per ticket, while members of Cineplex's Scene+ loyalty program will be charged a reduced fee of $1.00 per ticket. The fee is mandatory for all tickets booked online, regardless of format or date.
The new practice is similar to Ticketmaster's wildly unpopular "convenience charge" that tacks on additional fees if you opt to order tickets online. However, Cineplex's approach is far less egregious and luckily, there are two ways to avoid the fees altogether.
- Buy tickets in-person – Cineplex will not charge booking fees when purchasing tickets in-person at Cineplex box offices or self-serve kiosks
- Get a CineClub membership – the fee will be waived entirely for members of Cineplex's CineClub movie subscription program, which costs $9.99 per month
This isn't the first time Cineplex has dabbled with ticket surcharges in recent years. Back in 2017, the company implemented a $1.00 reserved seating fee for highly-anticipated movies like Star Wars: The Last Jedi in order to capitalize on its enormous hype, but the fees were ultimately scrapped after backlash from Canadian moviegoers.
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Source: Cineplex, with reports from The Canadian Press
39 Comments
Customer support at Cineplex is subpar anyways. Been a cineclub member since March and been to the cinema once w/ the kid. To date I have 1 available cineclub member ticket in the account
Wrote them twice, tweeted twice... no response.
https://collider.com/obi-wan-kenobi-scr ... orah-chow/
what's next? seat cleaning fee?
hmm doesn't look like it. Why didn't they just increase the prices of the tickets if they needed to raise revenue. I loathe raising prices by tacking on BS surcharges.. sigh.
A non-refundable online booking fee up to $1.50 plus tax per admission ticket will be added to online purchases made through cineplex.com or the Cineplex app, including purchases made with Scene+ point redemptions and/or certificates or vouchers. Online booking fee for Scene+ members is $1.00 per ticket and is waived for CineClub members.
All Prices Plus Applicable Taxes. Admission pricing for unusual release patterns or special titles and for all Cineplex Events varies by performance. Actual price will be noted at checkout.
*A No Passes restriction may apply to select movies and events. You cannot redeem passes but you may use a Gift Card, Night Out, or Admit One coupon for admission.
Not all films may be available with captioning and described services. Please check showtime information for services available.
Coincidence there's a BULK BARN next to the Cineplex in South Short, QC?
Nearly impossible now to wait 45 days for a theatrical release to hit VOD w/o being spoiled.
Well known news site spoiled Kenobi EP5 at 8am yesterday on their front page.
The pandemic though was good for home theatre enthusiasts with the 'same day releases'. We gladly paid 30$ to watch at home.
or using the washroom.
It is cleaver accounting by Cineplex. The fee is not part of the ticket sales which a % needs to be returned to the studios. They are pocketing the 1.5$ for each transaction and its just gravy for their books along w/ high concession prices.
The fee goes into Cineplex's pockets and not the Studios
I suspect "sold out" really meant targeted customers and "select" CineClub members will be getting an email this week about the Obi-Wan tickets as mentioned in the article I linked. These type of events are FREE and seldom can you buy a ticket. Think about it, it's a Disney+ show we've already seen 5 episodes at home already. LOL
I remember Cineplex charged a booking fee when online ticketing was new, then they got rid of it, and made a big point in their ads of no online fees to encourage people to book online.
Then right before the pandemic, around 2019- early 2020, they introduced it again, but only for those screenings with reserved seats.
Then during the pandemic, when all seats started to be reserved, they got rid of it again, and now they're reintroducing it.
Like someone else mentioned, they closed the ticket counters at most of the cinemas, so it's an extra hassle to get someone to come open one, or wait for the popcorn counter to open up, if you don't want to use the machines outside.
I see some other people complaining on social media that it was done in a stealth/sneaky manner, and immediately with no advance warning. At least with the scene points change, they sent an e-mail, and announced it 2 months in advance.
They claim on social media that it's "to fund the expansion and improvements of our digital infrastructure and offerings", so it would be nice if they shared what those expansions and improvements will be to justify it according to their own reasoning, instead of the cash grab that it looks like with no improved services.
At least, as opposed to a price hike, you can avoid it by buying the tickets in person.
I think everyone should now try to buy the tickets in person, as much as possible, creating long lines in person, so they'll regret this poorly implemented obvious cash grab decision.
I went today and redeemed a general admission coupon at the front counter instead of booking online.
I always purchase the Costco Cineplex PASSES, then book the tickets up online on the APP.......can anyone confirm that this extra fee is or is not included when ordering this way?
The whole point to their online and app was so they could decrease the amount of frontline staff and making purchasing tickets easier for their customers. Now they want us to pay them extra after saving them staff and boosting ticket sales? F that. Fine, we'll go to the theatre and buy physical tickets upfront and if there's not enough people manning the booth then I guess they'll just see people leave and then have empty cinemas.
I refuse to be gouged.
Like someone else said though, I won't be surprised when they introduce tier pricing... And frankly it is a bit absurd that front and off center seats are the same price as great seats in the middle.
However I'll just stop seeing movies in theater if it is just too expensive, I'm already not going as much as I used to as since getting a big TV and sound system, and with movies coming out on various platforms not long after being released, the incentives to pay a lot to see it early are low. I haven't even bothered buying movie tickets when it is anything other than seats in the middle.
Why no one complains about it?
I’m ok to to pay booking fee.
1/ cost increased ..... before taxes were included in the price. Now they are added on.
2/Value of Scene points markedly reduced. I used to save my points all year to help pay for opera series tickets. They only allowed a max of 5 out of 10 tickets to be covered by Scene points but it was still a big incentive. I've been attending for 12 years and encouraged another 7 people to join. Not sure how many will put up with this abuse.
3/Cineplex only made all seats reserved as part of the deal before the original sale to Cineworld. That fell through with COVID.
4/ CINEPLEX wanted customers online (more efficient); they cut ticket booths (cut costs) & NOW they want to abuse loyal Scene members with a booking fee??? Are they crazy?
5/ On top of that people already paying more for VIP are being insulted with a booking fee.
6/Seniors already on a fixed income are also being abused. Perhaps instead of a weekly movie we may change to once a month or change cinemas. Cineplex isn't the only game in town.
I was SHOCKED to see this sudden unwarranted & unwanted additional add on cost.
I will cease ALL online purchases until CINEPLEX wakes up to lost revenue & decreased attendance.
Do they think their customers are morons?
I just loathe that they tried to add on a fee rather than just raise the price of the tickets. I fully understand companies like Cineplex got hit hard during the pandemic and bled money just to keep the lights on and not fold. But I always feel that companies that tack on surcharges rather than just raise their price.. it feels like a seedy to do things.
TO be 100% honest, the 3$ service fee is enough to deter me from going to Cineplex. The alternative, Cinema Guzzo, doesn't do online sales so its more of a hassle. As a cinepass member (for now unless Cineplex fixes an on-going issue), members allegedly have the fee waived.
During the pandemic we took advantage of all the "same day releases" and gladly paid the 25-30$ fee.
Fail on Cineplex's part. The "fee" is just a cash grab to increase revenue however Cineplex should know the public hates the words "service fees". They should have just increased the cost of concessions by 50cents-1$ instead.
Local McDonalds is a joke and everyone I know has had poor experiences. 30 minute waits, wrong orders etc
Last time I lost it when I got home w/ the wrong order which upset the kids, I got a charge back from the Bank.
So why exactly do they have a processing/service fee?
I would hardly compare that to Ticketmaster.
And yes, we still complain about TM.
Example, the opening week of Top Gun, am guessing 85% of ticket revenue is sent to the Studio, 80% the following week etc..
The majority of Cineplex's revenue comes from concessions, service fees and membership prices. This is why a small popcorn and small soda costs 12$