Studio Ghibli Weekend organizers urged attendees of the event not to resell their tickets as several listings of supposedly free cinema passes are being sold.
On November 4, 2024, The Japan Foundation, Manila, opened online ticket selling for the Studio Ghibli Weekend — a free screening of six Studio Ghibli films at Shangri-La Plaza in Mandaluyong City.
During the ticket selling, the website crashed due to the high volume of purchasers, and after the website was restored, many saw that tickets were already sold out, some also saw listings selling the free tickets.
The organizers issued a statement saying that the Studio Ghibli Weekend does not support or endorse profiting from their ticket.
“The Studio Ghibli Weekend aims to be a joyful celebration of Hayao Miyazaki’s recent Ramon Magsaysay Award, honoring the values he, Studio Ghibli, and its characters represent-kindness, authenticity, and respect. Profiting from the tickets goes against the spirit of this celebration, and we respectfully ask everyone to honor this sentiment so that true fans can fully enjoy this special gathering,” the statement said.
They also apologized for the technical errors that were beyond their control during the ticket selling.
“With the limited capacity of the venue (300 seats per screening), ticket slots were exhausted almost immediately. We genuinely wish we could have accommodated everyone who wanted to join us, and we deeply appreciate the overwhelming passion you’ve shown for Studio Ghibli films to be shown on the big screen,” they added.
Some Filipino Facebook users expressed their dismay and suggestions in the comments of the announcement.
“My humble suggestion is maybe next time, conduct a registration so you can take names and contact numbers, so no one can sell their slot. I saw a couple of scalpers in concert groups who are already selling your tickets. It’s upsetting that true fans can’t experience this wonderful event, but the worse, some people are disrespecting the efforts of your wonderful organization,” one said.
Another commenter said, “With that capacity hindi na sana nag online. Registration nalang and then bunot nalang. Sobrang konti lang ng nagpopost na they got their tickets so mag iisip talaga yung iba na fishy yung event. We understand the sentiments and your accountability is much appreciated, siguro mas maganda mag open ng panibagong dates and then learn from this experience. [With that capacity, they shouldn’t have done it online. It should have been registration and then just a draw. There are only a few people posting that they got their tickets, so others will really think the event is fishy. We understand the sentiments, and your accountability is much appreciated. Maybe it would be better to open new dates and learn from this experience.]”
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