AMC CEO defends making movie tickets even more expensive
“Nobody sits in row one,” says the CEO of America’s largest theater chain
Aux News AMC
AMC Theatres CEO Adam Aron might know how to make stock traders on Reddit post emoji of rocket ships, but it doesn’t sound like he’s actually spent that much time in movie theaters. After creating a new tier of ticketing prices for AMC “Sightline,” which continues AMC’s trend of creating theater categories that sound like Nerf brands, Aron said that they’re generously increasing costs to avoid further price increases.
“We are in inflationary times, and inflationary times cause costs to rise,” he said, per Deadline. “Under the pre-Sightline structure of the industry, if we wanted to raise the price in a theater, the only choice we had was to raise the price on all the seats.”
“If we felt the need to raise prices, we might only do it
in the most popular seats in an auditorium and actually hold the line
and not raise prices on other seats. So, it is a way of increasing the
price now, but preventing a price increase later on.”
Of course, AMC has consistently fragmented moviegoing for years,
creating nonsense premiums, like “Laser,” “Prime,” and those fake IMAX screens, that made figuring
out how to see Avatar such a headache. So now they’re breaking that down even further to avoid charging theatergoers even more in the future. How’s he determining where to increase prices? Easy: “heat maps.”
“I am looking at ‘heat maps’ what seats are booked for a particular movie, and nobody sits in row one,” said the CEO of America’s largest theater chain, who probably could’ve surmised that no one sits in the front row because it’s too goddamn close to the screen. “It could be opening night for Star Wars. Rows three to 18 are booked solid. Row one is empty.” It feels like Aron suddenly realized that sitting in the front row is an unpleasant experience, as anyone who ever showed up a little late to a midnight screening of Star Wars: The Force Awakens can attest.
Deadline notes that AMC wants to “channel people into its AMC Stubs loyalty program whose A-list members are not charged extra for ‘premium’ seats.” So if people just paid $24 a month forever, they wouldn’t have to be bothered with tiered pricing, which AMC says they’ll “report back” on. In the meantime, they better get used to paying more to have anything resembling an enjoyable time at the movies.
“We do understand, however, that this is a substantial change to the status quo for U.S. moviegoers. So we will be watching [their reaction] very closely [and] report back to you in future calls what we are seeing in the test. We’re looking forward to this thing working well for our moviegoing public, and for AMC,” he said.
Yeah, it’ll probably work great for AMC. But for a large number of people, going to the movies is too expensive as is. So it remains to be seen whether or not charging regular theatergoers more will help improve the AMC experience.
83 Comments
I just got back from seeing the re-release of Everything Everywhere at one of my local theaters. I paid…$7 and could sit anywhere I wanted. I probably won’t go to an AMC any time soon, especially with this scheme going on.
Also…do they really expect the 16-year-old kids working their enforce the seating plan?
Not sure what theaters you are going to but if someone is sitting in your seats, tell them to move. This literally has never been a problem for me. If you are sitting in seats you didn’t pay for then you know their is a chance you are going to get asked to move. Its part of the game
I’m not going to ones that reserve seats. No one does it around here.
Remember COVID and how none of us went to movie theatres for a long time but now AMC are the assholes to trying to make it back? Ha okay.
I realize that the people yelling about how had assigned seating us were right that this would be the next step but I’ll be honest. I wouldn’t go back to the Wild West of seats again. I like going online a few hours ahead of time, picking my exact seats and walking into the theater right on time(or even a little late) and having those seats.
How dare you try to enjoy your theater experience!
spoiler alert: people are going to take your assigned seats, and you’re going to have to yell at them and get the usher during the previews.
I’ve never had to get an usher, the few times it happened, the person just apologizes and goes to find their seat.
Honestly I do not see a lot of movies but I do not think I ever had to ask someone to move from my seats at a movie. Sure its happened at sporting events and concerts before but never at the movies.And I am grown adult, so telling someone to move from the seats I paid for isn’t really a big deal.
My local theaters have all been assigned seats for years. I’ve never had that problem and the assignment is on the ticket so it’s pretty easy to clear up (just like at any venue with assigned seating).
I basically go once a week to movies for years and that’s never happened once with assigned seats.
I’ve never had the people in my seats issue before, because all the seats were the same price and if they wanted my seats they should’ve bought my seats. But I guarantee that now those cheapest seats will all be sold out every show and the people who bought those tickets will sit in the best available empty seat when they arrive at the theater.
I generally agree with you. Assigned seating saves a lot of headaches and it’s great to see how many seats are left at a particular showing in case you like to watch movies with fewer people in the auditorium. The only aspect of the era before assigned seating I feel even a tiny bit of nostalgia for is the lines of people waiting to see the big event movie. The waiting in line part sucked, but there was great camaraderie in those lines.
The only aspect of the era before assigned seating I feel even a tiny bit of nostalgia for is the lines of people waiting to see the big event movie. The waiting in line part sucked, but there was great camaraderie in those lines.Admittedly, I feel the same way about this. The last two movies I stood in line for were Harry Potter DH Part 2 and The Hobbit Part 1. Standing in line for Harry Potter at midnight was actually a lot of fun. A bunch of guys from my old high school brought roman candles and had a ‘wand’ duel in the parking structure next to the line, going as far as scaling the side of it to go down a floor and screaming spells from the series. They never got caught, and a few of use helped sneak them back in line.I arrived at the theater for The Hobbit at 5:30pm to get tickets for midnight. We stood in a long line talking to other nerds before getting up to the ticket window. The person behind the counter knew us, and ended up getting us into a private screening @6pm. Someone rented an entire theater for their friends and family, and I guess they told the theater other people could use the back row.
The Hobbit movies might have been the last big movies released before the advent of online sales and reserved seating for movies. I’m pretty sure I had reserved seating for The Force Awakens in 2015. Coincidentally, the last movie I stood in line for was a midnight showing of The Phantom Menace opening night. Also, it was a little strange when Friday midnight openings became Thursday 7:00 PM openings.
I wonder how many people choose not to see a movie at a particular time because the only seats left are bad ones or there aren’t any seats together for a group of friends. I believe this is the unintended consequences of early choice seating and preferred pricing on good seats is the way to make up for the lost revenue.
Yup. I remember getting to a theater an hour early (maybe more) for a big movie so I could get a decent seat. This is better.
I do and I don’t like it. My local theater is one of the busiest theaters in the country, so if I want to see the next big Star Wars, MCU, DC movie, I need to buy my tickets weeks in advanced. If I forget or wait too long, the entire weekend might already be sold out. Again, this can be weeks in advanced.But, being able to buy seats and show up right when the movie starts is great when you’re able to get them.
I do and I don’t like it. My local theater is one of the busiest theaters in the country, so if I want to see the next big Star Wars, MCU, DC movie, I need to buy my tickets weeks in advanced. If I forget or wait too long, the entire weekend might already be sold out. Again, this can be weeks in advanced.But, being able to buy seats and show up right when the movie starts is great when you’re able to get them.
Heat maps! Now that’s how to use your data! I’m amused at the idea that in researching this, someone basically had to be a weatherman for asses.
It’s not literal… They just look at the number of times each seat is booked.
That one guy wearing three coats is really throwing the whole system off.
eh, he’s cancelled out by the three kids wearing one coat.
Vincent Adultman only goes to R rated movies.
Or is he farting and keeping the seat really warm?
I realize this is basically sunk cost now, as most AMCs have been renovated fairly recently, and they don’t have the money to do it again anyway, but why did you put the seats there to begin with instead of putting them further back? As someone who occasionally does sit in the front row, I think the smaller rooms are just fine at Row B, and maybe a little stuffy at Row A. The premium screens are not good experiences at all in the first two rows. But everyone has always known that the front seats are terrible, so if you’re not going to make them better, why put them there at all?
My local is probably at least a top 25% earner and maybe gets above 90% occupancy about 5% of the time, with only a few of those being premium screens that are actually somewhat limited by supply instead of opting for the 6:30 standard showing when the 5:30 is full. If they just ripped out the first two rows of the Dolby and IMAX rooms, they’d probably lose less than 200 tickets per year from people who want to see a movie, but can’t get a seat on opening weekend and decide to go to a competing theater instead. And that’s being generous, since even MCU movies are barely hitting 90% on opening weekend now. You maybe get one movie a year that actually sells out completely, and in those cases you could always open another showing.
In the LA area, the Arclight model was that the front row of seats was never closer than the screen was high. It worked very well — although, that meant fewer seats/rows overall, so the price of each seat was higher. But, it was worth the experience and wasn’t a huge burden.
I love the front row. The debilitating neck ache that follows lets me know I’m alive.edit: please for the love of jesus fucking christ ungrey me already.
Why don’t they just sell front row seats at a reduced cost? Selling cheaper is better than not selling at all, right!?
That’s what he’s talking about.
No, it’s not. He’s talking about RAISING the prices for middle seats, not lowering the market rate cost for first row seats.
If they were really smart, they would have reduced the price for the crappier seats, then waited a little while to quietly raise the price of all the seats later. They’d end up in the same place, but with less ill will from the customers.
He discusses the alternative of raising the price of all seats by the same amount in response to inflation, vs raising the price of some seats more while keeping others the same.
Raising the prices of movie tickets according to inflation IS FUCKING INFLATION
Yes, it’s inflation, whether a price increase is real or nominal is only determined once you adjust for inflation.
“whether a price increase is real or nominal” lol get fucked
You should count your wealth in pennies (or perhaps half-farthings, depending on where you live) to feel richer.
From AMC’s website. This means lower prices for the front row(s), but one must join their club at the free level at least:Value Sightline
– these seats are in the front row of the auditorium, as well as select
ADA seats in each auditorium, and are available at a lower price than
Standard Sightline seats. Value Sightline pricing is only available to
AMC Stubs members, including the free tier membership – AMC Insider.
Oh my fucking god I cannot believe dumbasses here are still defending a corporation losing a couple of dollars but I guess we’re still hereSO glad you did the research of going onto their damn website to copy and paste a paragraph, thank you. Great use of your work time. AMC is betting that rubes like you will take $1 less off their ticket to crane their neck at the screen for 2.5 hours, great fucking detective work. You also have to sign up for their shite app to do so. Please by all means enjoy sitting in the front row of an empty theater for a discount off of your stale ass popcorn while the rest of us watch movies at home in our pajamas with non-exorbitant beer prices.
JFC, you are a walking open nerve. Providing clarity isn’t being a ‘rube’.
It sounds like he’s talking about raising the prices on other seats and trying to make people think they won. The front seats aren’t exactly discounted. Their prices just haven’t gone up…. for now.
In the context of inflation, prices remaining the same in nominal terms is actually a cut in real terms.
Yes, in the context of inflation, which is what we hear all the time. There has been inflation in every decade. So in real terms, already overpriced movie tickets are getting even more expensive. I’m glad I found a local one that still has $11 tickets.
In real terms some seats are getting more expensive.Inflation has occurred in every decade for quite some time. You used to be able to see a nickelodeon for a nickle, you used to be able to buy candy for a penny, and I remember I could get a can of soda from a vending machine for a quarter. None of that is sufficient to establish an increased price in real terms.
So you’re defending the arbitrary rise in prices?
What makes it “arbitrary”?
The fact that it’s not necessary?
In the context of inflation, keeping nominal prices the same is equivalent to a price cut in real terms.
The way they presented it when they first rolled out this plan a few weeks ago was that the front row would be cheaper. And everyone said well obviously that just means the front row will stay the same price it is now and all the other seats will get more expensive, they won’t lower the price of the front row. And lo and behold that is exactly how it will be implemented now.
Why is this article slamming AMC? remember COVID happening and theatres losing a tonne of money. Stop being a baby and complaining about paying for art.
Is the implication here that art should be free? Because that’s pretty shitty and tone deaf.
People do not seem to understand the concept of artists getting paid. After I went to theatre school people at parties would always be like “perform a song!” or they’d ask me to do jokes from my stand-up set. The hell? I’m trying to relax at a party and people ask me to perform my job as though I’m some dance monkey? You’re a welder I realize your at a party but go grab your equipment from your car and show me an ARC weld. Like screw off? People have this really really weird mentality that art is free. It’s not fucking free guys. You aren’t entitled to free art.
No one is saying art should be free. I think it’s reasonable to ask why a product’s price is being jacked up with no discernible improvement. And yeah, you can say it’s inflation, but no one has to be happy about inflation.
Also, I’m not really feeling the “inflationary times cause costs to rise” thing. Costs are rising because people setting the prices are raising costs. Don’t blame nebulous “inflationary times.” You and others who control the means of production are choosing to raise costs to keep your profits high. Which is fair enough. I get it. But say what’s going on; don’t act like you are not an agent in this operation.
WTF are you talking about?
Is GhostDad CosmicGhostRider’s Dad and you’re his Dad’s Ghost?
A friend made a dumb joke that the sequel to the Sidney Poitier directed and unfortunately Bill Cosby starring movie Ghost Dad should be called Ghost of Ghost Dad.
Actual dialogue from the film… “You’re not my Ghost of Ghost Dad!”
sequel to the Sidney Poitier directed and unfortunately Bill Cosby starring movie Ghost Dad My brane dun broak.
That doesn’t rule out any relation to CosmicGhostRider, perhaps a CosmicGhostDad or a GhostDadBiker in the future of the fictional sequel franchise.
Swear to God, dude walked into a downed power line or something last week.
It’s in the article title: “Rich man cries about not making enough money so he raises prices”.“It’s inflation”, he says, failing to realize that he’s contributing to it while trying to jack up the prices. Watch him guilt us for watching movies at home via streaming now when the “expensive seats” have all been taken in his theater chain.But no, sure, hire Nicole Kidman to assure us that butts in seats is the norm.
The theater isn’t the art. lol The reason he has to raise prices is that people are learning that theaters are becoming mostly unnecessary now. They’ll pay to see the big action blockbusters, but they can get as good or better of an experience with the quieter movies on their high-definition TVs at home.
Jesse what the fuck are you talking about?
Not wanting to pay more for specific seats in a movie theater is not at all the same thing as saying that art should be free. Not even remotely close. I don’t know how the hell you made that leap. Do you have undiagnosed head trauma?
Dude…I’m begging you to have a cogent take this week.No one is talking about getting “free art,” and AMC is not the artist. Like, at all.Me? I’d rather rent the flick for a fraction of the cost of a ticket, watch it at home, and not get gouged on incidentals. Artist still gets paid that way.It isn’t like people bitching about this are saying “Quick! To BIT TORRENT!” They’re saying it’s a dumb pricing plan for a vendor (not creator) of art.
I think it’s very childish of the A.V. Club to position this article as tho AMC are the assholes.
You’re just supposed to lick the corporate boot, not swallow it whole.
Yeah you’ve fucking made that very clear in your 5 different responses. Learn how to use the internet grandpa, or better yet, get the fuck off of it and stop defending millionaires for wanting more money at our expense.
I’ll stick with Alamo Drafthouse.
…which charges different prices for different movies at different times of the day based on demand?
Doesn’t the Alamo also have assigned seating?Also aren’t tickets at the Alamo more expensive then AMC normally?
Always more expensive, except when AD has some special catalog showing.
To the best of my knowledge, yes and yes. Not sure if the OP was trolling or unaware of what people are actually complaining about.
“To my best of knowledge…”
Ok, so you have no experience with your original statement.
B’ahah, you’re real salty about this.As someone who has been to MULTIPLE Alamo Drafthouses, you’re wrong. Better?
Yes they have assigned seating at all the same price. No one seat is more expensive than another.
Yes Alamo is more expensive than AMC because you’re getting full table side wait staff service.
“Yes Alamo is more expensive than AMC because you’re getting full table side wait staff service”We don’t have an Alamo in my area but one of the longest running independent bar/restraunt theaters that follow that model in my area has the cheapest tickets in town. The owner has said he’d charge less if the studios would allow it. They make their money with the bar.And they have honestly really built up. When they opened 20 years ago they were in a small strip mall theater with a couple old screens but they have ended up growing to multiple locations with multiple screens. Premium seats, good food and the booze isn’t even that overpriced(especially if you hit the weekday bar deals). It could be the areas too. This is suburban Chicago so rent is probably cheaper then most Alamos(since they are usually in downtown areas)
All theaters charged based on time of day. It’s called a matinee. And I’ve NEVER seen an increase of tickets prices due to demand. Show me any proof of this.
Alamo Drafthouse charges different amounts for evenings during the week and evenings on the weekends. But yeah, that’s my point – It’s the same thing that has always been when you buy tickets for stuff.
Glad I live close to a Marcus and an independently owned and operated movie theater.
Yeah, we have a very small chain of two(I think it use to be 3) theaters called Hollywood Blvd and Hollywood Palms in the Chicago south west burbs. They are a bit of a hike for me these days but they are still some of the best places to see a movie. They were one of the first Bar and dinner movie theaters on the scene in the early 2000s and they really built on that success. They keep ticket prices low because they make their money on the booze and food.
It sucks that movie theaters are expensive. That’s why I rarely go.But is it because “AMC is greedy”? (All corps are greedy! All of them) My understanding was that it was more about how the movie studios dick them around on how much it costs to show a movie. They can’t reduce prices, or they wouldn’t make enough to give to Disney to show the movie.
Is any of this all that new? It might be new to movie theaters specifically, but surely, most people have bought tickets for concerts or shows with similar pricing. If you’re someone who is seeing enough movies to really notice the difference in price, you’re either already in A-List or should be. If you’re not, you likely won’t notice the difference. If it matters a lot to you, the lower price seats will be available.This feels like one of those things where the people the most annoyed by it are the people using the product the least.