Fed appeal court upholds drip pricing penalty against Cineplex

The Federal Court of Appeal has upheld a Competition Tribunal ruling that found Cineplex engaged in deceptive marketing through drip pricing on its website and mobile app.

The appeal court dismissed Cineplex's appeal with costs. The decision leaves in place the tribunal's finding that the Toronto-based cinema chain advertised movie ticket prices online that consumers could not actually pay because a mandatory fixed fee applied at checkout.

Jeanne Pratt, Acting Commissioner of Competition, responded to the ruling in a statement issued by the Competition Bureau.

"This outcome reinforces the Bureau's clear stance that businesses should not advertise prices that are not attainable. Canadians deserve transparency when making purchases. Businesses that fail to comply with the law risk significant financial penalties. Our continued work on this file, along with other drip pricing cases underlines our commitment to tackling deceptive marketing practices," said Pratt.

Online booking fee

The case focused on how Cineplex presented ticket prices on its website and mobile app. The Competition Tribunal found that consumers who purchased tickets through those channels had to pay a fixed obligatory Online Booking Fee on top of the advertised ticket price.

The Online Booking Fee did not apply to tickets bought in person at a Cineplex cinema. The tribunal found the online and app price representations did not reflect the total amount consumers would pay in those channels.

The Competition Bureau filed its application with the Competition Tribunal on May 18, 2023. The bureau sought orders requiring it to stop what it described as deceptive advertising.

On September 23, 2024, the tribunal ruled in favour of the Competition Bureau and found that Cineplex engaged in drip pricing. Cineplex filed a notice of appeal on October 23, 2024, seeking to overturn that decision. The Federal Court of Appeal heard the application on October 8, 2025.

The tribunal ordered remedies that included restrictions on Cineplex's future conduct. It ordered Cineplex not to engage in the reviewable conduct, or substantially similar conduct, for 10 years.

The tribunal also imposed an administrative monetary penalty of CAD $38,978,000. The tribunal said this amount matched what Cineplex collected from consumers after it introduced the Online Booking Fees on June 15, 2022, until December 31, 2023.

The tribunal also ordered Cineplex to pay amounts representing a proportion of the commissioner's legal fees and disbursements.

Cineplex issued a statement on the ruling reiterating the company "respectfully disagrees" with the Court of Appeal's decision.

"We continue to believe that our online booking fee has always been presented in a clear and prominent manner that fully complies with the spirit and letter of the law. We have reviewed the Federal Court of Appeal's decision and will seek leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada," read the statement.