Never mind, AMC isn’t going to charge more based on seat location
Sightline at AMC has been discontinued after the theater chain realized people really don't want to sit in the front row
Aux News Sightline
Well, it turns out a tiered ticketing system isn’t the way to save the theatrical experience. AMC announced back in February a new plan to charge more for better seats in the movie theater (and charge less for those craning their necks in the front row). That plan apparently didn’t work out so well, as Variety reports that it’s scrapping the tiered tickets and moving on to a new scheme to make front-row seats more attractive.
According to Variety, the Sightline at AMC program successfully enticed people to cough up more for better seats, but it couldn’t manage to get people to pay less for worse seats. “To ensure AMC’s ticket prices remain competitive, the Sightline at AMC pilot program will come to an end at participating locations in the coming weeks, and the initiative will not roll out nationwide,” the company conceded in a statement.
The Sightline program wasn’t particularly popular—Elijah Wood denounced it as undemocratic—but the fact of the matter is, theaters need new schemes to get butts in seats. Luckily, Sightline pointed AMC in the right direction: “AMC is applying its learnings as it pivots to its next innovation—enhanced spacious front row seating with extensive seat recline,” its statement revealed. “Large, comfortable lounge style seating areas will allow guests to lay all the way back and relax. The angle of the seats will also make it more enjoyable to watch movies from these front row seats closest to the screen.”
AMC already offers a range of reclining seats at many of its locations, and that’s for a regular ticket in the middle of the theater. One can only imagine what the front-row lounge will look like; perhaps a new Nicole Kidman ad is in order, in which we see the lounge in action.
11 Comments
Sounds tricky to implement correctly but…wow, unusually intelligent response from a corporation. Make the product better? Crazy talk, usually!
Good.
The new and improved seating experience:
Which seats are the “best?” From my experience teens, at least, like to sit in the front row for action/superhero flicks. Some folks always sit in the last row. I’m a little past the middle. If it’s crowded we take what we can get.
You would think that our university’s auditorium would charge ticket prices according to seat location. I always wish for that, anyway. But they’re all the same – too much. Scoundrels.
Generally speaking, the seats radiate out from the center of the theater, with a slight bias toward the front. In my Dolby theater, which I think goes back to row J, E8 and E9 will be the first sold seats and people will starts to pick and choose around that are until it’s mostly filled in before moving back and outwards. Plenty of people prefer back row seats or even aisle seats, but they’re a minority, and at least in big theaters, the front rows almost always sell last.My best seat is whichever one I can get that’s not near anyone else, but in popular movies where there’s no choice in that I like to go a little further up, to the third or fourth row.
2/3rds back in the middle is the theoretical “best seat,” as that is the spot from which the sound is mixed in production.
I didin’t think of that. My SO is a former audio/visual director and a musician so I should have. Thanks.
It would be cool if Netflix and the others would charge me less for watching at my computer screen since I’m done messing with a regular tv. But no. Like they care about my back.
I think this plan just didn’t have enough to distinguish it from other miserly options. I, a world-class cheapskate, would absolutely pay less for a shitty seat in the theater. Especially since, as noted by many, I could just move once the movie started to an empty seat in a better position. But A-List effectively makes each movie I see under $4 a ticket, and even if I didn’t see enough movies to do that, I would only see movies on Tuesdays when they’re ~$6 instead. I have to imagine that most people like me have already solved the “movies are too expensive problem” with one of these solutions, and paying maybe $2 less than a standard ticket has no appeal.
Also a cheapskate and proudly wielding my frugality.
It didn’t help that instead of “we’re making the crappy seats cheaper”, they went with “we’re making the good seats more expensive.”