Theaters Embrace Nate Bargatzes Call to Make Ticket Prices for The Breadwinner More Affordable

Nate Bargatze — one of the world’s top-selling stand-up comedians — wants to make his upcoming family movie The Breadwinner affordable for everyone to watch on he big screen.

The TriStar and Sony release opens in theaters on May 29, and marks his most high-profile project sincehosting the Emmy Awardsceremony in September.

Based on an original script he wrote with Dan Lagana and directed by Eric Appel, The Breadwinnerstars Bargatze as salesman Nate Wilcox and Mandy Moore as Katie, who is the ultimate mom. But when Katie’s household invention leads to a once-in-a-lifetime deal onShark Tankand takes her on a prolonged business trip, Nate has tofigure out how to keep the house from (literally) falling apart. He and his kids soon learn that while he may not do it like mom, he can figure out how to do it his way.

Studios can’t dictate pricing, but cinema operators have indicated they will treat The Breadwinner the same way they supported discounted pricing for showing of 80 for Brady. Ticket prices continue to rise every year, sparking concern among Hollywood studios that movie attendance will never return to pre-pandemic levels.

Before announcing the “Nate Rate” in a video posted on Instagram, insiders say AMC Theatres, the largest chain in the country, was among a number of circuits who had already agreed to use matinee pricing for showings of The Breadwinnner, while Cinemark may discount prices by as much as 25 percent. Pricing and availability will vary, so audiences will need to check their local listings.

“Hello, everybody! My movie The Breadwinner is coming out May 29 and I’ve got something very exciting that I wanted to let you know,” Bargatze said in his post. “So the Nate Rate is a special kind of lower ticket price because we want everyone to come out to this movie. 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.”

When interviewed forThe Hollywood Reporter’s2025 cover story on Bargatze— hailed as the “Nicest Man in Standup” — TriStar Pictures president Nicole Brown discussedThe Breadwinner’s appeal for the Sony label. “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.’”