Theater Chains Are Refusing To Sell 'Iron Man 3' Tickets Right Now
Apr 22, 2013, 21:31 IST
YouTube screencapIf you're trying to purchase advance tickets before the May 3 release of "Iron Man 3," you're out of luck. The nation's largest theater chains including AMC Entertainment, Regal Entertainment, and Cinemark USA Inc. have stopped selling tickets for the upcoming summer release. If you try to purchase a ticket online from any of those entertainment chains, you may get a message similar to this one below: Fandango screencap The reason you can't pre-order your "Iron Man" tickets is due to a dispute between Disney and theater chains over shared ticket-sales revenue for the film. The Wall Street Journal reports Disney wants to renegotiate the ticket-sales revenue split between the studio and theater chains. Normally, the box-office revenue is about a 50-50 split. Wall Street Journal Business reporter Dennis Berman estimates Disney is asking for a 60-65% take of the $12-15 tickets. Deadline reports Disney hasn't renegotiated its terms with theater chains in years. With a full slate of Marvel films in the works and—at least—five "Star Wars" films in the can, it makes sense for the Mouse House to set a new deal in place. At last week's three-day film convention in Las Vegas, CinemaCon, AMC Entertainment announced it stopped selling advance tickets for the film. "We do not have 'Iron Man 3' tickets on sale because we are still working to reach terms with Disney," said AMC in a statement. "We hope to reach agreement and get tickets on sale as soon as possible so it doesn't affect opening weekend." Since then, Regal and Cinemark followed in its footsteps. Currently, "Iron Man 3" is projected to have the largest opening of the year. Estimates predict the film opening anywhere between $125 million and $151 million. Last year's "The Avengers" took in a record-breaking $207 million opening weekend. Right now, the biggest opening weekend of the year is another Disney film, "Oz the Great and Powerful" which debuted with $79.1 million back in March. We reached out to Fandango to see if there's any word on when tickets will become available again for purchase. A deal is expected to come within the following days because ticket presales are a huge predictor in the past few years to telling how a film will perform opening weekend. Previously, the nation's fourth-largest theater chain Carmike Cinemas Inc. refused to sell tickets as well, but reached a deal last Thursday to sell tickets online.