Someone bought all the tickets to ‘Hidden Figures,’ so you could see it for free

Someone thought that everyone in Edwardsville should get the chance to see the story of “Hidden Figures,” and paid up to make sure they could.

An anonymous person bought out the entire 4:45 p.m. showing of “Hidden Figures” on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and offered the tickets for free. A sign posted on the front door of AMC Theaters in Edwardsville announced that the tickets were available until they ran out.

A manager at the theater confirmed that a person “walked up and bought out the whole show.” He declined to be identified, and said because he had not asked the benefactor whether they wished to be public, declined to identify that person as well.

“From what I understand, she saw the movie with her children and felt that the message was of great importance and should be seen by as many people as possible,” the manager said.

“Hidden Figures” premiered nationally Jan. 6 and knocked “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” off the pedestal, earning $22.8 million. It stars Octavia Spencer, Taraji P. Henson, Janelle Monáe and Kevin Costner, telling the story of Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson, black women who crossed gender and race lines at NASA to do the mathematics behind astronaut John Glenn’s launch into orbit.

Other screenings of the film have been bought out with tickets offered for free, including 11 showings nationally by Black Girls CODE, a nonprofit dedicated to introducing programming and technology to African-American girls, according to news reports. Spencer personally bought out a Los Angeles screening, according to news reports and Instagram posts from Spencer and Henson.

The AMC manager declined to say how many seats are in a standard theater at the Edwardsville location. The usual price of a ticket is $10.99 per person.

This story was originally published January 17, 2017 at 9:45 PM with the headline "Someone bought all the tickets to ‘Hidden Figures,’ so you could see it for free."