The Toronto International Film Festival's (TIFF) ticket costs have left some attendees feeling priced out, with regular screenings starting at $30 and premium screenings at $46, but tickets to high-profile premieres selling for up to $128 on third-party sites like Ticketmaster. According to TIFF's website, tickets to the world premiere of Whatcha Want were sold for $106, while tickets to other highly anticipated films like Palme d'Or winner Fjord are also priced at $106. The festival's ticket prices have increased from last year, with screenings in the same tier previously going up to $98. Film industry expert Charlie Keil suggests that TIFF is raising prices due to inflation and financial constraints.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-09,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is facing criticism over its ticket prices. 51st year marks the festival's return, but some attendees are being priced out due to high costs. A woman named Chiyo Kim bought tickets to a premiere for $106 and felt guilty about it. According to TIFF's website, regular screenings start at $30, while premium experiences like red carpet galas begin at $46. However, some fans report finding tickets selling for much higher prices on Ticketmaster, such as $106 for the BLACKPINK documentary premiere. Some festival-goers feel that these prices are making the event inaccessible to them, with one expert calling it a "public relations problem" for TIFF due to its reputation as a "people's festival".
Written for “Toronto International Film Festival” on 2026-09-09,
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Leaning score -0.35 for article 7273 (high confidence, 1 verified quote) · logged 2026-09-09
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is getting ready to roll out the red carpet for its 51st year, but the cost of tickets has some people thinking twice before they attend.
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they → get → tickets
Chiyo Kim bought tickets to the world premiere of Whatcha Want, the latest comedy from writer-director Mina Shum.
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Kim → buy → Shum
But Kim says the price left her feeling a bit guilty.
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price → say → her
“It was $106 per ticket,” she said.
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she → say → ticket
“It feels like we are just getting priced out more and more.”
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we → feel → ?
Kim attended TIFF a few years ago when she was a volunteer at the festival and says she remembers it being more accessible.
“I haven’t been to the festival for many years, but this is kind of a shock,” she said.
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she → attend → years
According to TIFF’s website, regular screenings start at $30 for non-members, while premium screenings, which feature elevated experiences such as red carpet galas, premieres, and audience Q&As with the cast, start at $46.
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which → accord → 46
But some fans say tickets are going for much more than that.
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tickets → say → that
For instance, tickets to the premiere of Always Lalisa, the documentary about BLACKPINK star Lisa, are selling for $106 on Ticketmaster, while regular tickets range from $30 to $37.
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tickets → sell → 37
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It’s a similar story for the premieres of other highly anticipated films like Palme d’Or winner Fjord, justice system thriller Prima Facie and the Ryan Gosling-produced Love of Your Life, which are all going for $106.
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which → get → 106
Others posted screenshots on Reddit of tickets in the first few rows of premieres selling for $128.
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Others → post → 128
Last year, screenings in the same tier went up to $98.
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screenings → go → 98
“It risks being something of a public relations problem for TIFF because they’re known as ‘the people’s festival’ and when regular festival-goers feel that they can’t afford it anymore, that’s not a good look for the festival,” said Charlie Keil, a professor at the Cinema Studies Institute at the University of Toronto.
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Keil → risk → Toronto
Keil says TIFF is likely raising prices because it can and because it needs to.
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it → say → prices
“They’re suffering from the same kinds of constraints that a lot of cultural institutions are, where inflation keeps pushing all their costs up,” he said.
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he → suffer → costs
“Until it gets to the point where people push back and say, ‘I won’t pay those kinds of prices,’ you kind of understand why TIFF would set the prices where they are.”
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they → get → prices
Those ticket prices are not deterring film buffs like Stephen Brown.
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prices → deter → Brown
He travelled from Atlanta for the festival and plans to make the most of it.
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He → travel → it
“I’ve got 39 tickets and that includes a few conversation talk backs but a lot of different movies … as many as four movies a day in some cases,” Brown said.
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Brown → get → cases
“I think I might’ve spent US$2,000 to US$3,000 on it.”
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I → think → it
Joe Baker has attended TIFF for the last decade and is seeing 17 films this year.
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Baker → attend → films
Kim, however, says the one screening is all her wallet can handle.
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wallet → say → ?
“I’ll probably be able to stream these films for free at home a few months later,” she said.
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she → stream → home
Global News reached out to TIFF about its ticket prices but had not received a response by publication time.
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TIFF runs from Sept. 10 through 20.
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TIFF → run → 20
