Scalpers Hijack TIFF Screenings With $400 Resale Tickets: Its Genuinely Insane

The Toronto International Film Festival is using Ticketmaster to book seats this year, and even though opening night is more than a week away, tickets for high-profile films are already going for more than ten times their face value.

The Toronto International Film Festival is using Ticketmaster to book seats this year, and even though opening night is more than a week away, tickets for high-profile films are already going for more than ten times their face value.

Festivalgoers are not happy about the high resale prices already popping up.

Opening night film “The Boy and the Heron” from Hayao Miyazaki is sold out on TIFF‘s ticketing site via Ticketmaster, but tickets are going for up to $388 Canadian ($285) on ticket reselling site Stubhub. Taika Waititi’s “Next Goal Wins” is going for even more, at $416.50 CAD on Ticketmaster.

Related Stories

Illustration of a TV set with a desert scene with a tumbleweed blowing across the screen VIP+

Fall Season’s Scripted Reduction Bodes Badly for Broadcast TV

JOKER: FOLIE A DEUX, (aka JOKER 2), Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn, 2024. © Warner Bros. / Courtesy Everett Collection

'Joker 2' Axed Scene of Lady Gaga's Lee Kissing a Woman at the Courthouse Because 'It Had Dialogue in It' and 'Got in the Way' of a Music Moment

The premiere of Sylvester Stallone’s documentary “Sly” on Sept. 15 still has tickets available directly for $88 CAD, but Ticketmaster is also reselling others for up to $178.50 CAD.

Popular on Variety

Writer and filmmaker Siddhant Adlakha brought attention to the high resale prices Monday, tweeting, “Ticketmaster is a scourge and using it as an official ticketing platform for a film festival is incredibly bizarre. It’s genuinely insane that people are allowed to buy and re-sell TIFF tickets pretty much the day they go on sale. The new Miyazaki is going for over $300 US.”

“Now they’ve come for the film festivals,” tweeted film editor Amy Duddleston, while the account @TVpartyplanner suggested a solution, “Literally all Ticketmaster has to do is make resale only possible through their platform and not allow people to sell for more than they paid.”

Even titles in ostensibly less demand such as “Youth (Spring),” a 212-minute documentary on textile workers, are selling for $53 CAD on Stubhub even though they are still available at the normal $32 CAD price on Ticketmaster.

Though TIFF has used Ticketmaster in the past, this year’s high-priced resale tickets have come under increased criticism after the ticket sales company’s high prices and technical snafus for Taylor Swift’s recent tour.

Variety has contacted the Toronto Film Festival for comment.

VIP+ Analysis: 2023 Film Fests Persevere Amid Strikes’ Impact

Read More About:

Jump to Comments

More from Variety

Most Popular

Must Read

Sign Up for Variety Newsletters

By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy.We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. // This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Variety Confidential

A Variety and iHeartRadio Podcast

ncG1vNJzZmiukae2psDYZ5qopV9nfXN%2Fjp%2BgpaVfm7K0wMivmKWrX6m2p7KMraCco5WpwG7AyJyinqydlsC1sdFmqZ6rlaG5pr7SZmhra2VsfXeBkWtm

 Share!