The comedian behind some of the best-selling stand-up tours in the country wants his first feature film to cost as little as possible to see in theaters.
Nate Bargatze announced what he is calling the "Nate Rate" ahead of the May 29 release of The Breadwinner, a family comedy he wrote, co-wrote, and stars in. The campaign encourages cinema operators to offer discounted pricing for the TriStar and Sony release, and several major chains have already moved in that direction.
AMC Theatres, the largest theater chain in the country, was among the circuits that had agreed to use matinee pricing for showings of the film before Bargatze even made the public announcement. Cinemark may discount tickets by as much as 25 percent. Pricing and availability will vary by location.
Bargatze laid out his thinking in a video posted to Instagram. "So the Nate Rate is a special kind of lower ticket price because we want everyone to come out to this movie," he said. "This movie is for your grandparents, grandkids, aunts, uncles, friends, sister...anybody. Your dog. Cats I think will love this movie, specifically. Anybody that wants to come out."
The Breadwinner stars Bargatze as a salesman named Nate Wilcox whose wife, played by Mandy Moore, invents a household product that lands her a deal on Shark Tank and sends her on an extended business trip. Left at home, Nate has to keep the house from falling apart, literally, while figuring out his own way of doing things. The script was written by Bargatze and Dan Lagana, and directed by Eric Appel.
The pricing push follows a model that proved effective with 80 for Brady, the 2023 ensemble comedy that benefited from similar discounted showings at participating chains. Studios cannot dictate pricing policies directly, but they can encourage chains to treat certain releases the same way they handle lower-cost matinee screenings.
TriStar Pictures president Nicole Brown, speaking previously to The Hollywood Reporter for a cover story on Bargatze, described why the film felt like a natural first project for the comedian. "The idea of his first film being so personal and authentic to him and his comedy felt like the perfect foray, and he'd really identified a space," she said. "He was like, 'I want to be able to watch a film with my whole family. We can go watch animation now, but there's nothing with real people in it.'"
The Breadwinner marks Bargatze's most high-profile project since he hosted the Emmy Awards ceremony in September. The film opens nationwide May 29.
