Royal Ballet and Opera thank Timothée Chalamet for boosting London ticket sales

The director of London's Royal Ballet and Opera seems appreciative of Timothée Chalamet's February statement that "no one cares about" ballet and opera.

"The public reaction was absolutely fantastic," Alex Beard, the head of the opera house in England's capital, shared with UK's The Times regarding the backlash Chalamet, 30, received due to his comments, significantly influencing his awards season campaign for Marty Supreme last winter.

Many performers, including Andrea Bocelli and ballerina Misty Copeland, spoke out against Chalamet's comments in the weeks leading to the Academy Awards.

Even Steven Spielberg addressed Chalamet's remarks during a March 13 session at the 2026 SXSW Conference and Festival, mentioning to the audience that magical experiences "occur in ballet and opera too," just as they do in cinemas.

"I thought it was crucial that we didn't provide a snooty response to Chalamet," Beard explained. "We simply remarked, ‘Have a look at what we’re presenting, mate.’ "

"For example," he continued, "our largest audience by age is from 20 to 30 years. And guess what? Our post received two and a half million interactions and half a million shares on Instagram. Plus, our ticket sales surged instantly. So, cheers, Timmy!”

The Royal Ballet and Opera directly addressed Chalamet in a March 6 Instagram post that's garnered over 174,000 likes on the platform recently.

"Every evening at the Royal Opera House, thousands gather for ballet and opera. For the music. For the storytelling. For the pure magic of live performance," it noted in a caption at the time. "If you’d like to reconsider, tchalamet, our doors are always open."

Chalamet's remarks on ballet and opera occurred during an on-camera discussion with Matthew McConaughey on February 24, as Chalamet talked about Hollywood's efforts to "assist in keeping movie theaters thriving" and maintaining American viewers' interest in new films.

"I don't want to be involved in ballet, or opera, or things where it feels like, 'Hey, preserve this, even though barely anyone is interested.' Much respect to all those in ballet and opera," he commented during the conversation.

The actor realised that his remarks might seem insulting and quickly added, "I just lost 14 cents in audience engagement, I was taking shots without reason."

2026 Oscars host Conan O'Brien joked about Chalamet's remarks — and the public's response — at the Academy Awards on March 15, when O'Brien quipped about "security worries from both the opera and ballet circles" and quipped that folks were "just upset [Chalamet] left out jazz."

Chalamet's Call Me By Your Name director Luca Guadagnino was the latest Hollywood personality to weigh in on the controversy.

He commented on Chalamet's remarks in an interview with the Italian paper La Stampa, as Variety reported on Monday.

“I am not engaged on social media and don’t grasp why a [single] comment can become a global issue,” Guadagnino, 54, noted.

“Perhaps Timothée could have been more cautious. But he’s young, intelligent, sensitive, and he worries about cinema becoming less significant," Guadagnino continued. "And that’s precisely why we need to nurture all forms of creativity. We should unify the arts, not divide them.”