We’re shining the bat signal over our nearest AMC because there’s a robbery in progress. Deadline reports that AMC Entertainment CEO Adam Aron said during a quarterly earnings webcast on Tuesday that the theater chain is charging more for tickets to The Batman than it is “for other movies playing in the same theaters at the same time.” Aron justifies the variable-pricing model with what we’ll call the “teen drinking alibi,” paraphrased roughly as “they already do it in Europe.”
“This is all quite novel in the United States, but actually AMC has been doing it for years in our European theaters. Indeed, in Europe we charge a premium for the best seats in the house,” Aron assured investors, although this instance is more about charging different prices for popular movies than getting a good seat. Aron also took the opportunity to introduce a collectible Batman-cowl popcorn holder that he’s “hoping” will sell out at $26.99 a pop. Twitter user @PatrickODonne11 noted that this premium plastic merch makes the holder look like they’re “getting dome from Batman.” Unlike the slippery slope of variable pricing, this is actually cool and good.
