‘Stranger Things’ Finale Tickets Selling for a Premium as Fans Scour Resale Market
If you managed to score tickets to watch the Stranger Things finale in theatres on Wednesday or Thursday, count yourself lucky. Plenty of fans are still trying their luck to pick up resale tickets on social media sites, where they’re going for much more then their face value price.
The series finale of the long-running sci-fi show drops on Netflix at 8 p.m.ET on New Year’s Eve, in addition to a theatrical release in select theatres across Canada and the United States.
Tickets,which went on sale on Dec. 2 for $11 each, include a concession stand voucher for $11 due to constraints with talent residuals, meaning theater-goers will ultimately break even on the event purchase.
According to Cineplex, which is hosting many of the Canadian screenings, tickets for the events country-wide sold out “almost immediately.”
“A very limited number of seats remain available at select theatres,” Michelle Saba, cineplex’s vice-president of communications, told CBC News in an emailed statement.
Landmark Cinemas is also showing the finale, and it’s website shows seats are all or nearly sold out across the country, too.
That’s left fans like Omar Hassanali of Mississauga, Ont., scouring Facebook Marketplace for seats in a theatre.
He saeid he didn’t learn that the finale was going to air in theatres until a few days after tickets went on sale, and by the time he tried to snag some, there were only a handful available – mostly solo seats or ones close to the screen.
[ImageofaFacebookMarketplaceadforthree[ImageofaFacebookMarketplaceadforthreeStranger Things finale tickets in Winnipeg listed for $100, with the caption: “An ad for three tickets to see the stranger Things finale in Winnipeg was on Facebook Marketplace for $100 and sold to a fan. Similar listings are on Facebook Marketplace for showings across Canada.(Facebook/CBC)”]
Hassanali’s kids, who are now 13 and 15 years old, have been catching up on the previous seasons now that they’re old enough to enjoy the show with him, and he was hoping they would get to experience the event alongside other excited fans.
“It’s also giving the kids that experience … of looking forward to seeing something epic in the movie theatre,” he said. “If something spectacular happens and everybody is, you know, gasping in shock, it adds something to the experience.”
Most of the resellers have offered him tickets at $50 each. “Some nicer people have [offered] $25 and the most expensive is $200” per ticket, said Hassanali, who was looking for six tickets for his family of four plus two cousins.
as the finale gets closer, some sellers on Facebook Marketplace are dropping their listing prices to the face-value cost, but a number of ads are still listing tickets for a premium.
Ticket Scalping Extends to Movie Theatres as demand surges for Popular Films
The practice of ticket scalping,long associated with concerts and sporting events,is increasingly appearing at movie theatres,particularly for highly anticipated films. While platforms like Ticketmaster are used for events like the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), the issue extends to cinemas like Cineplex, albeit on a smaller scale.
According to entertainment industry analyst,Peter Bednar,resellers are taking advantage of high demand for specific movies,sometiems marking up tickets “twice or sometimes more than that” when secondary sales happen on the platform.This is fueled by the basic economic principle of supply and demand; because most movies don’t sell out, reselling isn’t typically profitable, limiting the practice to specialty events.
However, even smaller potential profits are attracting scalpers.”Anything that’s ticketed and limited, it’s happening,” says film enthusiast, Hassanali. He finds it disheartening to see individuals attempting to profit from reselling tickets for events where they might only make $20 or $30 per ticket. “It really does start to kind of burn a bit more because you’d think there would be some sort of level where it doesn’t make sense to [resell] or it’s safe from this sort of ticket scalping … but I guess not.”
The trend highlights the growing prevalence of reselling in the entertainment industry, even for events that might seem too small to warrant the practice. The success of films like KPop Demon Hunters, which saw a $20-million debut on the big screen and record-breaking streams on Netflix, demonstrates the potential for high demand that can incentivize ticket scalping.
ticket Reselling for Popular Events Like ‘Stranger Things’ Finale Sparks debate Over Fair Access
The high demand for tickets to special events, such as the premiere of the final Stranger Things episodes, is fueling a secondary market where tickets are resold at inflated prices. While Cineplex has implemented some measures to combat this, questions remain about whether more stringent controls are needed – and at what cost to the consumer experience.
The Problem of Reselling
Fans like Omar Hassanali experienced firsthand the frustration of trying to secure tickets at face value. After weeks of searching, Hassanali was finally able to purchase six tickets for a January 1st screening for his family.However, many others were left to navigate a resale market where prices were considerably marked up.
Cineplex acknowledges the issue and states it currently limits the number of tickets an individual user can purchase.”As the popularity of these special events continues to grow, we are actively exploring additional steps to ensure fair access for fans,” said Cineplex in a statement.
Potential Solutions & Their drawbacks
Experts suggest more robust solutions exist, but they come with trade-offs. According to Ben Bednar, a film industry analyst, digitally tethering tickets to the original purchaser – preventing resale – is one option. though, this approach could be perceived as overly restrictive.
“you’d have to essentially digitally tether the ticket to the purchaser … to prevent them from reselling it,” Bednar explained. He also raised concerns about the impact on legitimate ticket transfers, stating it’s meaningful to consider whether such measures might make buying movie tickets feel more “draconian,” or make it harder for regular fans to transfer a ticket to a friend or get rid of it if they simply can’t attend.
International Approaches & Platform Obligation
Other countries are exploring legal avenues to address ticket reselling. The United Kingdom recently proposed laws to ban the resale of tickets for events at prices exceeding their face value. These controls, though, rely in part on ticketing companies controlling the resale platforms.
Current Availability & Alternatives
As of today, December 31, 2024, Cineplex states a very limited number of tickets for Stranger Things 5: the finale are still available for purchase only at the theatre.For those unable to secure tickets for a theatrical experience,some bars and restaurants in cities across Canada,including Toronto and Vancouver,are hosting watch parties.
Sources:
* Cineplex – Stranger Things 5: The Finale
* CBC News – U.K. government proposes laws to ban ticket resales above face value