Scalpers are reselling TIFF tickets for unbelievably high prices
Excitement is building with the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) just days away, though film buffs hoping to attend screenings and events are being met with ridiculously high prices from scalpers reselling at several times the tickets' face value.
The 48th edition of TIFF runs from September 7 through 17, and tickets have sold quickly for high-profile screenings and events through official vendor Ticketmaster.
This high demand has created a strong resale market, and hopeful festivalgoers are being asked to fork over up to ten times the price of official tickets from greedy scalpers.
Tickets to sold-out premieres like Lee, starring Kate Winslet, are reselling for ludicrous prices, drawing anger from the film community.
Oh look. Tickets for Lee with #KateWinslet for @TIFF_NET are already on StubHub for extraordinary amounts. Won’t be supporting these greedy people even if as a Kate fan, means I won’t be able to see the film. @tiff_help #LeeMiller #TIFF #TIFF23 @itslizhannah #scalpers… pic.twitter.com/wMj4NGgxCm
— Angie Hung aka 🏠🌈Hungy (@ahung) August 25, 2023
Another sold-out opening night flick, Hayao Myazaki's The Boy and the Heron, is currently reselling for prices approaching $700 via resale site StubHub.
Waited for the countdown on the Ticketmaster website and "The Boy and the Heron" opened without a single ticket available. What kind of management is that? Why you didn't post a previous message saying it was already sold out? Shameful!
— Ehrad (@ehrad) August 28, 2023
Even lower-demand shows that have not sold out through Ticketmaster are reselling for exorbitant prices on StubHub. Apparently, people are willing to shell out almost $200 to see a movie about Nickelback when tickets are still available for around $88 through Ticketmaster.
There are benefits to being a TIFF member and buying tickets before the public sale, but it's a waste of time buying during the public sale because scalpers and flippers buy the tickets to only resale 3x+ the price! It's so unfair.
— Simone Cromer 🎥 🔜TIFF23 (@TheatreofZen) August 29, 2023
Scalping for major events has become a thorn in the side of Ticketmaster, which has faced harsh criticism over its sales practices that allow bots to scoop up seats, which are then resold at markup on ticket resale sites.
i guess TIFF has no reason to care though; the tickets are selling out and ticketmaster is robbing users multiple times with tons of fees they make off of both scalpers AND re-sale buyers. everyone but the people who actually want to watch movies are happy.
— the morally corrupt juan barquin (@woahitsjuanito) August 28, 2023
Festivalgoers are irate that scalpers are able to buy and re-sell tickets at markup with such ease.
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
— Siddhant Adlakha (@SiddhantAdlakha) August 28, 2023
Ticketmaster was recently under fire for its handling of the planned Toronto stop of Taylor Swift's Eras Tour, where fans created a petition to pressure the ticket sales site to change its policies after tickets appeared for resale for tens of thousands of dollars.
