AMC Theatres Unveils Movie Ticket Prices Based on Seat Locations (1 Viewer)

[BobO'Link]

No AMC theaters here - and I rarely go to the theater, mostly utilizing matinee showings for the lower price. In spite of that, such a move with the chain here (Malco) would cause me to rethink any showing, whether or not it was subject to such pricing manipulations.

It'd serve them right if *no one* purchased those inflated price seats and just took them over once the feature starts. I doubt that'd happen though as most people would likely never even notice. And just *what* logic makes, for example, seat 5 in from the isle worth more than seat 4? In my world, the seats in row 4 or 5 (and maybe row 6 depending) - dead center - are the "sweet spot" seats. That's, at most, a dozen seats. And that's only for those few times some loud moron doesn't sit close by - which seems to happen more often than not.

 

[Malcolm R]

What happens when I buy an aisle seat to a quiet, sparsely attended show and then move to the middle after the trailers?

As Josh says, most likely nothing unless someone who paid the extra complains to management. Maybe nothing then, either.

I was on a plane one time where all the economy seats were mostly booked, but there were plenty of open seats in the "more space" rows (where I was) that cost a few dollars more. A couple people tried to move from economy to more space and the flight attendants made them move back to their original seats. But a plane is a smaller space with staff regularly up and down the aisle keeping track of things. I don't think anyone complained (that I noticed) but the staff made them move anyway. Probably didn't want to set a precedent.

Unless they hire monitors for each theater auditorium, I think the chances of enforcement in a theater are fairly small.

 

[uncledougie]

As Josh says, most likely nothing unless someone who paid the extra complains to management. Maybe nothing then, either.

I was on a plane one time where all the economy seats were mostly booked, but there were plenty of open seats in the "more space" rows (where I was) that cost a few dollars more. A couple people tried to move from economy to more space and the flight attendants made them move back to their original seats. But a plane is a smaller space with staff regularly up and down the aisle keeping track of things. I don't think anyone complained (that I noticed) but the staff made them move anyway. Probably didn't want to set a precedent.

Unless they hire monitors for each theater auditorium, I think the chances of enforcement in a theater are fairly small.

FAA regulations are multiple levels of magnitude more serious than movie theaters, so no, they won’t let flyers play musical chairs. I’m afraid we’d stopped going to very many films in theaters even before Covid. The occasional rubes who chatter, the leaking sound from the next screen over playing a Transformers-like movie, the outrageous price of drinks and snacks, and frankly the elimination of open seating making it easy to move if annoying patrons are nearby, all contributed to the decline, in addition to ticket price inflation. And while some theaters have remodeled to have luxury seating, others have let their venues deteriorate. The IMAX theater where we recently saw the new AVATAR film had cracked and rickety seats, and anymore it’s just easier to wait for the disc releases which cost no more than the two tickets. AMC ought to be figuring out incentives to get fannies in seats, not something like this irritant. Then again, I accept I’m not of the demographic they’re aiming for.

 

[Wayne_j]

If they're not monitoring the auditoriums, it sounds like you just buy the cheapest ticket, wait and see how full the room gets, then change your seat to a better one when the lights go down.

That would be my plan. Same as at a concert, just wait for the show to start and then move up seats.

 

[SD_Brian]

And that's only for those few times some loud moron doesn't sit close by - which seems to happen more often than not.

This is why I hate that movie theaters went to assigned seating in the first place: in the golden age of general admission, I could scope out where the "loud morons" were sitting, choose a seat as far away from them as possible, and enjoy the movie. Now I have to choose my seats blindly, without being able to see who's going to be sitting around me.

 

[Jake Lipson]

I think this is hilarious.

The AMC by me used to have their wheelchair seating in the middle of the auditorium. Then, when everything was remodeled, they took those seats and relocated them all to the back row. There is no way for me to sit anywhere else other than in the back row. This is why I have abandoned AMC. The last movie I saw there was the original Black Panther back in 2018, before I understood what the remodel was doing.

Because all of the wheelchair seats are in the back now, they wouldn't be able to upcharge people who need those seats for sitting in the middle in a "premium" location. There is no way for a wheelchair user to get to the higher-priced locations.

I now go to my local Cinemark, which has the wheelchair seating in the middle of the auditorium. I would be very concerned about what happens if other chains attempt to do this because those seating locations which would be uncharged are where the wheelchair seating is located. It would not be fair to charge me or any other person who requires wheelchair seating extra to sit in those locations because they happen to be in the "premium" area. So this doesn't affect me right now, but I'll be keeping a close eye on what happens if Cinemark follows suit. Hopefully they won't.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

I'm not saying I like it or anything, but really, I don't believe there's anything actually wrong w/ it.

I prefer seats on the aisle anyway in case my IBS decides to act up, so this probably wouldn't affect me even if AMC were in my area.

But I think what rubs me the wrong way is that it's yet another way that something that has traditionally been an egalitarian experience becomes something that shoves class disparities in your face. It used to be that whoever showed up earliest got the best seats. Then, when they went to assigned seating, it was whoever purchased their tickets the earliest. Now it's going to be whoever has the extra disposable income gets the best seats.

From here, I could easily see new multiplexes being designed with economy, coach, and first class seating, with the first class seating not only getting the best location in the theater but also other perks, and then the economy seating being far less comfortable and having far less legroom to make up for it.

I stopped going to amusement parks because I got sick of waiting in line for twice as long as I used to while I watched the same wealthy families who paid the Flash Pass upcharge skip the lines over and over again. It went from an experience that brought me joy to an experience that left a bad taste in my mouth. I don't know that I'll ever get to that point with moviegoing, but these kind of shortsighted business decisions have me thinking about it.

I now go to my local Cinemark, which has the wheelchair seating in the middle of the auditorium. I would be very concerned about what happens if other chains attempt to do this because those seating locations which would be uncharged are where the wheelchair seating is located. It would not be fair to charge me or any other person who requires wheelchair seating extra to sit in those locations because they happen to be in the "premium" area. So this doesn't affect me right now, but I'll be keeping a close eye on what happens if Cinemark follows suit. Hopefully they won't.

Charging more for handicap-accessible seating would be an ADA legal nightmare, so I can't see them imposing an upcharge on patrons in wheelchairs, or those in their party.

But if this spreads to other chains, I could see them redesigning their auditoriums to put the accessible seating in less desirable areas of the theater that wouldn't be subject to the upcharge anyway.

 

[Sam Favate]

I was in a theater once in 2008, long before reserved seating. It was the opening night of The Dark Knight and the theater was packed. I got there early with my group, as I always did, but it wasn’t early enough that night, and I ended up on the side. Not bad seats, but not ideal. Then, some guy walks in and goes to the middle rows and turns to the people in the center. He says “I have $100 here for any four people willing to move their seats and let my friends and I have them.” He waved the money in the air. He instantly got takers.

The point is there have always been people willing to pay more for the best seats. Personally, I hate this, even the idea of it. People with money act with privilege and now the theater is encouraging that, just as Ticketmaster and the airlines do, and the rest of us get fleeced in the process.

For the record, most people in the theater that night laughed at that guy.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Honestly, the whole "egalitarian" thing has always been more imaginary than real anyway.

Back when it was just FIFO for who gets 1st/best choices, that's actually not egalitarian at all. Who's gonna have the time/resources to do that? And you know people were being allowed to hold spots for others too, so yeah, if someone wanted to pay a premium to be prioritized, well, that's always been possible, just not quite as clearly so nor obviously sanctioned by the theater operators.

I mean... look at what happens whenever Apple releases some big new, must-have device w/ tons of people lining up for (many) hours, LOL. Same w/ other things like extremely popular events even just for the cheap seats.

Seinfeld (and probably various other sitcoms) poked fun about that sorta thing back in the 90's, you know?

We're all just kidding ourselves if we really believe that was actually all that egalitarian anyway.

To be honest, I'd much rather see what AMC's doing w/ this than what had long been done unsanctioned/unchecked (that's basically some form of scalping)...

_Man_

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Honestly, the whole "egalitarian" thing has always been more imaginary than real anyway.

I don't entirely disagree, especially with ticket prices around $20 here in upstate New York. People with more money could buy more snacks and better snacks.

But as it is now, I don't feel like it's being rubbed in my face and I don't feel like a second class citizen if I opt not to buy snacks. Having tiered seating with tiered pricing does feel like it's rubbing it in my face.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

I don't entirely disagree, especially with ticket prices around $20 here in upstate New York. People with more money could buy more snacks and better snacks.

But as it is now, I don't feel like it's being rubbed in my face and I don't feel like a second class citizen if I opt not to buy snacks. Having tiered seating with tiered pricing does feel like it's rubbing it in my face.

I'd probably dislike this more if they kept the awful seats at same price, but raised everything else, including the "standard", higher. But as is, they're only raising a handful best seats $1 higher for something that'd probably cost at least $20 anyway, except on Tuesdays, while they are actually reducing prices for the awful seats.

And over here in NYC, some evening showings are even starting to approach $30 for the best screens before accounting for convenience fee, which has also already adopted a tiered thing (based on the premium screening and/or prime time) -- if you include the convenience fee, you definitely reach $30 in some cases.

This change will definitely be more noticeable in lower cost-of-living areas (and/or for those who take lots of advantage of discounted Tues), if it's the same $2 less or $1 more across the board...

_Man_

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Also, at least for now, they still seem to be keeping discounted Tues. And if they don't actually change how that works, this new policy might not actually (negatively) affect discounted Tues at AMC at all, which might be far more important for those on tight budgets... but that remains unclear for now...

_Man_

 

[Jeffrey D]

Seems to me the only way this hare-brained scheme is going to logistically work is for every seat in the auditorium to be numbered/lettered, and every ticket to have a specific seat assignment. Then, the theater is going to have to hire ushers/
bouncers to make sure everyone is in their proper seat. I used to think reserved seating was a cool idea, until some slob was sitting in my seat. I want no parts of dealing with strangers, and I wouldn’t rely on the ushers to get involved, so I don’t go to the cinema any longer (I don’t have the time for it anyway).

 

[Mike Boone]

I don't entirely disagree, especially with ticket prices around $20 here in upstate New York. People with more money could buy more snacks and better snacks.

But as it is now, I don't feel like it's being rubbed in my face and I don't feel like a second class citizen if I opt not to buy snacks. Having tiered seating with tiered pricing does feel like it's rubbing it in my face.

Adam, your example of where 1 movie ticket has the outrageous price of $20 just for the "privilege" of seeing a flick 1 time, and maybe not even seeing ALL of a long movie, if a need to use the rest room arises, makes me glad to be living in this "Golden Age" of Home Theater, that allows many of us to see movies at home while having a visual/audio experience which rivals that of most theaters. And for those of us patient enough to wait for new movies to be issued on disc, we are usually able to buy a Blu-ray or 4k Blu-ray of a recent flick, for about that same $20 cost (or not too much more), then be able to schedule its showtime for whatever hour works best, and pause the movie for snack or bathroom breaks, in order to actually be able to savor every scene of any movie viewed at home.

And personally, I've even enjoyed viewing many films with my little dog laying on my lap, a practice that's surely frowned upon by even the most understanding commercial movie theater managers.

Plus, with our home theaters, we HTF members know we're always guaranteed to get ideal seats which allow us to experience comfortable & balanced, audio/video presentations. And none of us has to put up with a NOISY movie goer, UNLESS our significant other has had a VERY BAD day!

 

[Tino]

Looks like $1 more for center seats, and $2 off front row seats. At least by me.

Two Dollars more for Dolby Cinema.

 

[Malcolm R]

Interesting that two of the wheelchair-accessible spaces are right next to each other, but the one on the left gets to pay $2 less than the one on the right.

 

[Bryan^H]

Two Dollars more for Dolby Cinema.

View attachment 174984

"Preferred Sightline"

What kind of tacky bullshit buzzword is this?

If they are under the impression that if people want to see a movie bad enough they will gladly adhere to new prices/rules at any time then I think they should reevaluate their decisions.

 

[uncledougie]

A friend told me he’d heard Stubs members wouldn’t be charged the premium, but I haven’t seen that mentioned anywhere.

 

[Tino]

A friend told me he’d heard Stubs members wouldn’t be charged the premium, but I haven’t seen that mentioned anywhere.

It’s literally noted on the screenshot I posted.

Edit. It’s free for A+List members. Not normal Stubs members I would assume.

 

[uncledougie]

That is where the discrepancy came from then, thanks. Guess reports he heard were incorrect or he misunderstood.