Eye-popping prices for the most in-demand movies on the best screens are becoming increasingly common as the cinema industry copies the audience-segmentation playbooks of airlines and hotels. Theaters are getting people who love movies and have discretionary income to pay substantially more.

Some 17% of film tickets sold last year were for premium-format theaters with bigger screens and better sound, compared with 13% in 2021. They cost an average of $18 nationally, according to research firm EntTelligence, and as much as $30 in big cities such as New York and Los Angeles.

$50 still seems too low for me, for instance: “Regal sold its inventory of $50 “Dune” tickets projected in 70 millimeter IMAX film in a matter of minutes.”  But this is what they call “a good start…”  Here is the full WSJ piece.