Regal Ticket Fee Settlement: Eligibility, Payouts, and Deadline

The Regal ticket fee settlement is a $2.5 million class action resolution in Jones v. Regal Cinemas, Inc., which accused the theater chain of hiding a $1.80 booking fee from customers buying tickets online. The case received final approval in March 2025, and the settlement administrator began issuing payments to approved claimants on October 10, 2025.¹ The claim window is closed.

Who Qualified

The class was narrow. You qualified only if you bought electronic tickets to a screening at a Regal Cinemas theater in New York State, or through the Regal website, between July 31, 2023, and July 15, 2024, and only if the purchase went through the guest checkout process. Customers who were logged in to a Regal account were not part of the class.² Anyone who submitted a valid exclusion request by February 14, 2025, was also removed.

Claim Deadline and Current Status

The deadline to file a claim was April 21, 2025. Claims were submitted online at RegalTicketFeeSettlement.com or by mailing in a PDF form, and filing online required a unique ID from a personalized notice the administrator emailed to eligible customers.³ No separate proof of purchase was needed because Regal’s own electronic records were used to verify eligibility.⁴ As of early 2026, the case is listed as closed, though the official settlement site does not confirm whether every payment has been fully distributed.¹

How Payments Were Calculated and Delivered

Each approved claimant received a proportional share. The formula took the total booking fees an individual had paid, divided that by the total fees paid by all approved claimants combined, and multiplied the result by whatever remained in the fund after deductions.

Three items came out of the $2.5 million before payments went to the class:

$833,333.33 in attorneys’ fees, costs, and expenses awarded to class counsel, Bursor & Fisher, P.A.⁵
A service award of up to $5,000 for named plaintiff Tim Jones.²
Administrative costs for notices and claims processing.

Payments went out by PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, or mailed check, based on what each claimant selected on the claim form.¹

What Regal Was Accused Of

Tim Jones filed the complaint on December 22, 2023, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The lawsuit accused Regal of violating New York’s Arts and Cultural Affairs Law § 25.07(4), which took effect in August 2022 and requires entertainment venues to display the total ticket price, including all fees, before a customer selects a ticket. The law also bars the price from increasing during checkout.⁶

According to the complaint, Regal showed a fee-less price during browsing and seat selection, then tacked on a $1.80 booking fee at the final payment screen. The complaint also alleged that a countdown timer during checkout pressured buyers to complete the transaction before reviewing the added cost.⁷ Regal denied any wrongdoing, liability, or fault, and maintained that the claims had no merit.⁸

What Changed at Checkout

The settlement required Regal to keep its ticket-purchasing process clear about the total cost, including any booking fee, before the customer selects a ticket. Regal must maintain this practice unless the underlying statute is amended or invalidated.⁸ According to the settlement agreement, Regal changed its online purchase flow on July 16, 2024, which is also the day after the class period ended.³

1
Claim Depot. Regal Ticket Fee Settlement
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Regal Ticket Fee Settlement. Frequently Asked Questions
3
ClassAction.org. $2.5M Regal Cinemas Settlement Resolves Class Action Over Online Ticket Booking Fees
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Top Class Actions. $2.5M Regal Cinemas Ticket Fees Class Action Settlement
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PACER Monitor. Jones v. Regal Cinemas, Inc.
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New York State Senate. Arts and Cultural Affairs Law § 25.07
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ClassAction.org. Jones v. Regal Cinemas, Inc. Complaint
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ClassAction.org. Jones v. Regal Cinemas, Inc. Settlement Agreement