If you bought movie tickets online for a New York theater between 2022 and 2024 and were charged a booking, convenience, or handling fee, you may be owed money from one of the New York movie theater ticket fee settlements resolved over the past two years. Fandango, Alamo Drafthouse, Regal, AMC, and Atom Tickets have all settled class actions alleging their checkout pages hid fees until late in the purchase. Most claim windows have already closed, but payments are still rolling out, and one art-house cinema settlement is still accepting claims.
Who Qualifies for a Payout
Eligibility works the same way in every case. Three things have to line up: you purchased tickets online from the specific defendant, the tickets were for a New York location, and the purchase fell within that settlement’s class period. You also have to have paid a fee on top of the ticket price, which is the whole basis of the lawsuits.
Most administrators emailed notices to identifiable buyers with a Notice ID and Confirmation Code needed to file a claim. If you think you qualify but never got an email, each settlement website has a lookup tool or a phone line to verify your purchase.
Fandango — $9 Million
The largest movie-ticketing settlement in this wave. Awad v. Fandango Media, LLC (Index No. 610563/2024) covers anyone who bought movie tickets through Fandango between August 29, 2022, and March 11, 2024. Eligible claimants could choose a $5 cash payment or a $10 voucher for Fandango at Home.1ClassAction.org. $9M Fandango Settlement Resolves Class Action Over Online Movie Ticket Fees
The claim deadline was March 31, 2025, and the final approval hearing was held February 27, 2025. Payouts were scheduled to go out within 30 days of the settlement becoming final after any appeals.1ClassAction.org. $9M Fandango Settlement Resolves Class Action Over Online Movie Ticket Fees
Alamo Drafthouse — $7.075 Million
Presson v. Alamo Intermediate II Holdings, LLC (Civil Action No. 1:24-cv-00170-ER) covers anyone who bought tickets on drafthouse.com for a New York location between August 29, 2022, and January 30, 2024, and paid a convenience fee.2Alamo Ticket Fees Settlement. Frequently Asked Questions
Payouts were calculated pro rata based on the total convenience fees each person paid, so heavier ticket buyers got more. Anyone whose award topped $2,000 had to submit a W-9 to avoid tax withholding. The court granted final approval on November 5, 2025, and the administrator began issuing payments by check and digital payment on February 10, 2026.3Alamo Ticket Fees Settlement. Settlement Home
Regal Cinemas — $2.5 Million
Jones v. Regal Cinemas, Inc. (Case No. 1:23-cv-11145, S.D.N.Y.) covers people who bought tickets at any Regal location in New York using the “guest checkout” option on Regal’s website between July 31, 2023, and July 15, 2024, and were charged a booking fee. Payments were based on the total fees each claimant paid rather than a flat per-person figure.4newyorkupstate.com. Regal Cinemas to Pay $2.5M Settlement to NY Moviegoers5TruthInAdvertising.org. Jones v. Regal Cinemas Complaint
Final approval came on March 6, 2025. The claim deadline was April 21, 2025, and the administrator began issuing payments on October 10, 2025.6ClaimDepot. Regal Ticket Fee Settlement
AMC Theatres
Awad v. AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. (Index No. 607322/2024, Nassau County) covers anyone who paid a convenience fee for online ticket purchases at AMC theaters in New York between August 29, 2022, and January 16, 2024. AMC did not agree to a fixed settlement fund. Class members who filed a claim received a $7 cash payment via check, Venmo, PayPal, or Zelle. Anyone who did not file or opt out automatically got a link to register for a free one-year AMC Stubs Premiere membership.7ClassAction.org. Awad v. AMC Entertainment Holdings Settlement Agreement8Top Class Actions. AMC Ticket Fee Class Action Settlement>
The claim deadline was November 8, 2024, and the final approval hearing was November 21, 2024.9Top Class Actions. AMC Ticket Fee Class Action Settlement
Atom Tickets — $550,000
The ticketing app Atom settled Marquis III v. Atom Tickets, LLC (Case No. 811720/2024E, Bronx County) for $550,000, covering purchases between August 29, 2022, and April 30, 2024. Preliminary approval came on December 10, 2024, and the claim deadline was June 23, 2025. Under the settlement terms, payouts were set to distribute 90 days after the judgment became final.10ClassAction.org. $550K Atom Tickets Resolves Class Action Over Hidden Ticket Fees
Film Forum — Still Accepting Claims
The nonprofit art-house theater Film Forum is the one movie-theater settlement still open. Kovacs v. Film Forum, Inc. (Index No. 650686/2024, New York County) covers anyone who paid a handling fee to buy tickets on Film Forum’s website in New York between August 29, 2022, and March 6, 2025. Each eligible claimant receives $4.16.11Film Forum Ticket Fee Settlement. Frequently Asked Questions
Claims run through a portal operated by Analytics Consulting LLC and must be filed by December 10, 2025, using the Notice ID and Confirmation Code from the email notice. A fairness hearing is scheduled for December 16, 2025.12Film Forum Ticket Fee Settlement. Settlement Home
If You Didn’t Get a Notice
Go to the individual settlement’s website. Every administrator has posted a claim portal, a FAQ, and contact information. If your name and email were in the defendant’s purchase records, you should be findable in the system even without the original notice email. For closed cases where you missed the deadline, there is no way to file late; the class release still binds you if you were within the class definition, but no payment issues.
Where These Cases Come From
All of these lawsuits rely on Section 25.07(4) of New York’s Arts and Cultural Affairs Law, amended effective June 30, 2022. The statute requires operators of entertainment venues and ticketing platforms to display the total cost of a ticket, including all service charges and ancillary fees, before the buyer selects it. Fees cannot appear more prominently or in larger type than the total price, and the price cannot rise once the purchase begins.13New York State Senate. Arts and Cultural Affairs Law Section 25.07
The law lets any injured buyer recover actual damages or $50 per violation, whichever is greater, plus attorneys’ fees. That statutory floor is what makes these cases work: individual fees are small, but the per-violation penalty multiplied across thousands of ticket buyers adds up to the settlement sums.13New York State Senate. Arts and Cultural Affairs Law Section 25.07
The same statute has driven parallel settlements against museums, comedy clubs, water parks, and observation decks in New York, so if you also bought tickets online from a non-theater venue during this period, it is worth checking whether a separate settlement covers that purchase.14ClassAction.org. New York Arts and Cultural Affairs Law Lawsuits