FAQs

In addition to screenings of classic films—including new restorations of landmark films—in legendary Hollywood venues, Festival attendees have the opportunity to attend “meet and greets” with TCM guests, shop for TCM souvenirs, and enjoy panel discussions with experts on all aspects of film and the history of Hollywood. Best of all, you’ll be in the company of people from around the globe who, like you, love classic film and want to share this experience with others who feel the same way.

The 2025 Festival will officially kick off in the early afternoon of Thursday, April 24. The last official Festival event(s) will begin in the evening on Sunday, April 27. To get the full four-day experience we recommend that those traveling to Los Angeles for the Festival book their return travel for Monday, April 28 or later.

2025 TCM Classic Film Festival passes are exclusively available for online purchase. Beginning at 12:00pm ET Tuesday, December 10, 2024, Festival passes may be purchased exclusively via the Festival website, TCM.com/festival. You must be at least age 18 to purchase a pass. Passes may be used by individuals age 13 and older. TCM will again be offering a special Early Bird discount window to those fans who purchase their 2025 TCM Classic Film Festival passes by 5pm ET on January 10, 2025. 2025 Festival passes are not available for purchase via phone. For more information on Festival passes, click here. 

Note: There is no exclusive sponsored presale for 2025 TCM Classic Film Festival passes as in past years. All 2025 passes offered for sale will be available beginning at 12:00pm ET on Tuesday, December 10, 2024.

Credit cards are the only form of payment accepted for pass orders (we accept MasterCard, Visa, Discover, and American Express). Mail orders will not be accepted. All purchases must be made online through our website TCM.com/festival.

The ideal way to experience the Festival is by purchasing one of the four levels of passes. Festival passes offer the best chance of getting into the movies that you want to see and are the only way to access Club TCM or attend special events and receptions. The number of passes is limited, so be sure to sign up for Festival emails here to receive pass sales information as it is announced. Those who wish to attend the Festival without purchasing a pass may do so by purchasing individual screening tickets on a standby basis, when available. Please note that some screenings may not have any individual tickets available. Individual tickets are not available for the Opening Night Red Carpet screening or Club TCM events.

As pass inventory is limited, we highly recommend you purchase your pass as soon as you are sure you plan to attend. If passes remain unsold at the start of the Festival, those passes may be available for walk-up purchase. For more information on Festival passes, click here.

The Palace Pass is the perfect pass for those seeking a weekend filled with watching classic movies for three days, Friday, April 25 – Sunday, April 27, 2025. This pass does not grant entry to the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres multiplex, Club TCM events, or official parties/receptions at any time. This pass does not grant entry to any screening venues before Friday, April 25.

Festival passes are exclusively available for Will Call pick-up at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel beginning Wednesday, April 23rd, 2025. Pass purchasers will be provided information on Will Call hours and pick-up procedures closer to the Festival. If you are ordering multiple passes and you do not know all the names of all attendees at the time of your order, the purchaser’s name may be temporarily used as a placeholder. No pass orders can be fulfilled until each pass is assigned a separate attendee name. Purchasers will receive direction, upon confirmation of the order, on how to update name information on passes, if necessary.

TCM shall, at its discretion, provide refunds only if the Pass purchaser sends TCM a cancellation request in writing and the receipt is confirmed by the Box Office by 5:00pm, March 7th, 2025. The Pass purchaser may submit written cancellation requests only one way, via email to filmfestival@tcm.com. Your cancellation or refund request must include the name of all Passholders and a copy of your purchase confirmation email or letter. No other means of requesting a cancellation or refund will be accepted. A cancellation fee in the amount of 20% of the purchase price of each refunded pass will be assessed. TCM may, at its sole discretion, consider emergency refund requests on a case-by-case basis after the official cancellation deadline. A cancellation fee in the amount up to 50% of the purchase price of each refunded pass will be assessed on any refund issued after the official cancellation deadline, however no refund is guaranteed. The week of the Festival starting April 20th, 2025 no refund is granted. In the event TCM decides to cancel the Festival due to COVID-19 safety concerns, or any federal, state, or local mandates require the cancellation of the Festival due to COVID-19 safety concerns, you will be provided a full refund within Sixty (60) days of any such cancellation announcement. For a full 2025 Festival pass purchase Terms and Conditions, click here.

Festival passes are assigned to an individual and cannot be shared. Please contact the Box Office once you know you cannot attend to discuss options. Contact us at filmfestival@tcm.com.

Passes will be available until sold out. However, as pass inventory is limited, we suggest you purchase your pass as soon as you know you will be attending the Festival. For more information on Festival passes, click here.

One-day passes are not available.

Walk-up tickets for individual events, if available, will be sold on a standby basis immediately prior to the show at the venue Box Office for that event. We recommend that you arrive a minimum of 30 minutes prior to the event if you plan on purchasing walk-up tickets, as seats are limited and pass holders will have priority entry at each venue. Please note that some screenings may not have any individual tickets available. Individual tickets are not available to the Opening Night Red Carpet screening or Club TCM events.

While pass holders are seated before any individual ticket purchasers and receive admission until house capacity is reached in the venue, a pass does not guarantee seating. As TCM wants to offer our pass holders as much flexibility as possible in their Festival experience, all seating is general admission. This means there may be occasions when more pass holders choose to attend one specific screening than there are seats available. For this reason, we recommend that pass holders arrive at the screening venue a minimum of 30 minutes prior to the start of a film. For particularly popular programs, pass holders may want to arrive earlier. If capacity is reached for a particular screening, there will be repeat screenings of select films or pass holders can see a different film running concurrently in another venue. In every case, pass holders will be given priority over those seeking individual tickets. The one exception to our “seating is not guaranteed” policy is the official Opening Night Red Carpet screening where Spotlight and Essential pass holders are guaranteed entry.

TCM will be making regular programming announcements in the coming months. Be sure to check this website frequently for programming and guest appearance updates for the 2025 TCM Classic Film Festival and sign up for our Festival emails to get the latest news as it becomes available. You can also follow Turner Classic Movies on the social channels listed above. A complete schedule of screenings and events will be posted online much closer to the Festival dates.

To find out about official lodging and travel partners, please click here.

TCM is committed to reaching classic film lovers of all ages. However, please keep the following age restrictions in mind when attending the Festival, particularly if you are deciding whether to bring children: (a) the running time for many films may be two hours or longer, not including special guest introductions and Q & A sessions; (b) children must be at least 13 years of agenin order to be issued, or use, a Festival pass; (c) some events are open only to individuals over the age of 21, including without limitation, the Opening Night Gala party and thus no one—including pass holders—will be allowed into such events if they cannot establish they are at least 21 years of age; (d) children under 5 years of age are not admitted to Festival events; (e) children age 5 years or older may attend Festival screenings only provided they have an individual screening ticket and are accompanied by a parent or guardian; (f) without exception, no children will be admitted to screenings without a ticket and no children under age 13 will be allowed entry to pass holder exclusive events and areas—including Club TCM; (g) individual tickets will only be sold day of show immediately prior to the screening and may not be available, based on pass holder demand; (h) you understand and agree that some of the films or other Festival events may not be appropriate for minors, and you (and not TCM) are responsible for making the determination about what is appropriate for you and your minor guests.

We’re sorry, but no volunteer positions are available.

The dress code for those attending Opening Night Red Carpet Gala events—including the Opening Night screening and/or the Opening Night Gala Party—is cocktail attire. This typically means a suit or cocktail dress. For all other events, attendees should dress comfortably and prepare for possible temperature changes and/or weather changes when moving from inside to outside of event venues. While Los Angeles has a generally warm, sunny climate, it can get cool in the evening. We recommend you bring a light jacket or windbreaker and an umbrella just in case.

It is our goal to ensure all attendees have a safe and enjoyable experience at the TCM Classic Film Festival. Service Animals, as that term is defined by the Americans With Disabilities Act and California Unruh Act, may accompany owners who have been admitted into any Festival area. “Service Animal” means, in part, any dog or miniature horse that is required because of a person’s disability and is specially trained to perform tasks related to the person’s disability.

The Festival does not guarantee entry to any event for animals that do not meet these specific Service Animal guidelines. Owners must keep their animals under control at all times and shall be responsible for any damage their animals may cause. The Festival also reserves the right to ask that a service animal leave the facility should the animal become a distraction, nuisance, or threat to other patrons or to operations.

Additionally, attendees should note that individual venues, places of lodging, and other businesses in the Festival footprint may have their own restrictions and that admittance to these establishments for animals that do not meet ADA Service Animal guidelines is outside the control of the Festival management.

It is our goal to ensure all attendees have a safe and enjoyable experience at the TCM Classic Film Festival. The TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX, the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres multiplex and other Festival venues, including the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, are all wheelchair accessible and ADA compliant venues.

Venue managers will make every effort to accommodate our guests with special seating needs in a manner that is equitable for all attendees. In instances when the number of guests with wheelchairs or other special seating needs exceeds the designated accessible spaces, venue managers will address these instances on a case-by-case basis.

If you have additional Festival-related questions you may contact the Festival Box Office staff by emailing filmfestival@tcm.com or by calling (877) 826-5764. Box Office hours are 10am-5pm (ET) business days (excluding holidays). Note: 2025 Festival passes are not available for purchase via phone.