Pacific Rim’s Canadian SuperTicket Has Something To Sell You

By Rudie Obias | Updated

This article is more than 2 years old

Pacific RimWith the recent surprise success of World War Z, it doesn’t seem like audiences will be getting sick of zombies anytime soon. The film opened with an impressive $66 million domestic box. But how much of that windfall came from Paramount’s new $50 Mega Ticket program? It seems like the experiment was successful enough to inspire Warner Bros try to replicate it with director Guillermo del Toro’s upcoming Pacific Rim. The studio is now offering their own variation of the Mega Ticket to Canadian audiences.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Warner has partnered with Canadian exhibitor Cineplex to offer genre fans more than just your standard movie-watching experience. For an extra fee, fans of giant robots fighting huge monsters can buy a ticket to watch Pacific Rim along with a digital copy of the movie before it’s released on Blu-ray/DVD. The offer has been dubbed a “SuperTicket.” How original.

For only $19.99, fans can buy a standard definition digital download of the sci-fi adventure, or consumers can opt for a high definition download for $24.99. Neither offer, however, actually includes the price of admission to watch Pacific Rim in the theater. That will cost you extra.

Unlike Paramount’s Mega Ticket, Warner Bros’ SuperTicket doesn’t include any bonus like World War Z fans received. They got limited edition posters and 3D glasses, a ticket to watch the movie early, and a small popcorn. Basically this is a chance to pre-order the film way in advance of everyone else. You won’t get it any sooner, but you can order it before your friends. You have to ask, is this really worth it?

There is no exact number for how well this gimmick worked for Paramount on their initial attempt, but Variety reported that four of the five theaters that offered World War Z Mega Tickets sold out (with the fifth at 80% capacity). That’s roughly $60,000 of additional revenue for the studio and partner Regal Cinemas. While this isn’t a huge increase in profits, it does prove there is a market for pre-sale tickets and exclusive screenings for hot summer blockbusters.

In a statement del Toro commented on Warner Bros.’ partnership with Cineplex, saying “(The) SuperTicket is an intriguing way to extend the movie-going experience beyond the theatre.” He went on to add, “Fans of Pacific Rim will enjoy early access to the UltraViolet title and exclusive content that really gets to the bottom of the inspiration behind the film and how it was made.”

While these two Hollywood studios are “testing the waters” for emerging markets, there are some questions if this trend will catch on and inspire others to follow suit. If Universal did something similar for The World’s End, perhaps offer a bundle screening with the other movies in the Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy—Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz—that might be a good way to offer fans a little something more. Imagine if Disney does something similar for Star Wars: Episode VII, or Marvel with The Avengers 2. Those could be absolutely massive. Hollywood is always looking for new revenue streams, and if offering fans more goodies is going to be a new trend, sign me up.

After a dimensional rift opens up at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, terrifying monsters called Kaiju emerge to wreak havoc on coastal cities and try to wipe out the human race. To fight back, military superpowers create the Pan Pacific Defense Corps, which defends the world with giant, human-piloted Mechas called Jaegers. Twenty years later, an obsolete Jaeger called Gipsy Danger may be humanity’s last chance for salvation and survival.

Pacific Rim stars Charlie Hunnam, Rinko Kikuchi, Idris Elba, Rob Kazinsky, Max Martini, Clifton Collins Jr., and Ron Perlman. Del Toro and Travis Beacham (Clash of the Titans) collaborated on the script for the film, which hits theaters everywhere July 12 in 3D and IMAX.