When choosing seats at the movies, most of us do the same thing: pick a spot as close to the middle as possible. Now AMC, the largest movie theater chain in the world, has announced a new plan to raise prices on tickets based on seat location. The airline-style pricing will mean it will cost more to sit in the middle of the theater than in the front row.
The initiative to financially penalize people for having the best view of a film is called Sightline. By the end of the year, an AMC Theatres release said, this policy will be in all US locations, but it’s rolling out in New York, Chicago and Kansas City this weekend.
AMC plans to offer three price points: a “standard” option, a “value” offering for front row and select ADA (accessible) seats, and a “preferred” price point for the most popular seats right in the middle.
On social media, some moviegoers called for a boycott of the chain. “Paying for closer seats at a concert or play makes sense but doing it at the movies is absolutely batshit,” tweeted Jessica Derschowitz, digital features director at Entertainment Weekly.
The actor Elijah Wood also blasted AMC: “The movie theater is and always has been a sacred democratic space for all and this new initiative by @AMCTheatres would essentially penalize people for lower income and reward for higher income,” he tweeted.
Jeff Bock, senior box office analyst at the entertainment data firm Exhibitor Relations, predicts that the new directive will not help an industry still digging itself out of the Covid trenches. “Movie theaters are only now getting back to full swing after the pandemic and now the largest theater chain in the world wants to institute a class system in cinemas,” he told the Guardian. “It’s not a good look right now, or ever.”
Though AMC, which did not respond to a request for comment, has earned the ire of cinephiles this time around, it’s not the first company to employ perks at the movies – for a price. “Movie theaters are a business that operate with a lot of unsold inventory, and by that I mean seats,” said Daniel Loria, editorial director of Boxoffice Pro. “It’s a business that lives and dies by weekends, so they have to optimize their price point and make sure that every showtime is as competitive as possible.”
Exhibitors have long offered different-priced seating, explained Robert Mitchell, director of theatrical insights at Gower Street Analytics. Big chains charge more for premium-format theaters like Imax with motion seats.In recent years, theaters have also increased their food, beverage, and alcohol services and have sometimes charged more for plush, reclining seats. Alicia Kozma, director of Indiana University Cinema, an on-campus arthouse theater, said that those perks had brought people into theaters before the pandemic. “But post-Covid, audience focus has really been on value,” she said.
If audiences do show up, they face a new etiquette challenge: what if someone’s sitting in your premium seat? Live performance theaters and music venues have ushers and security at the ready, but how chains will enforce their rules – and who will keep the peace – remains to be seen.
“Think about the average movie usher: it’s going to be a kid like Mark Ratner in Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” said Robert Thompson, a professor of pop culture at Syracuse University. “They’re not trained at all with the rules of enforcement. My guess is that there will be fights breaking out in AMC theaters on Friday night.”
