AMC is About To Make Paying For Theater Seats More Like Booking an Airline Ticket (theverge.com) 166
Starting pretty soon, some tickets at AMC locations are going to be getting cheaper and more expensive depending on where you sit as the movie theater chain introduces a new tiered pricing scheme called Sightline. From a report: Today, AMC announced its plans to roll out Sightline at AMC, a new pricing structure that will split auditorium seats into three differently priced tiers in theaters across the country beginning this Friday. In a statement about the new program, Eliot Hamlisch, AMC's chief marketing officer, described Sightline as an effort to get consumers thinking about buying movie tickets the same way they might events at "many other entertainment venues." Hamlisch also said that the new pricing structure is meant to give people who have particular seats they like a better shot at securing them and noted that some seats will become less expensive.
Freaking brilliant. (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Freaking brilliant. (Score:4, Insightful)
Increased Labor Costs (Score:5, Insightful)
Also, I love assigned seating and I've never had a problem with someone taking my spot.
But as soon as someone is incentivized to buy a cheap seat and move you're going to have way more people fighting over who actually owns the seat when half the audience buys front row seats and then tries to move into the "open" areas during the credits.
Now you need to start policing the people trying to sneak into first class, which is easy enough on an airplane since you're already paying flight attendants extra to serve the premium cabins.
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The theatre I usually go to has assigned seating. More often that not some asshole is in my seat an won't move. Not yet worth getting an employee and causing a scene.
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The theatre I usually go to has assigned seating. More often that not some asshole is in my seat an won't move. Not yet worth getting an employee and causing a scene.
I would do it just on general principals. Or just sit on their lap.
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> Or just sit on their lap.
I'm doing some research. If the seat steeler had an erection would that be a deterrent or an incentive to sit on their lap?
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> Or just sit on their lap.
I'm doing some research. If the seat steeler had an erection would that be a deterrent or an incentive to sit on their lap?
Depends on the day of the week.
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Parents name is "Major_Disorder", so you never know.
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Sit on their lap and start listing all the things you want for Christmas.
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It's always worth it to get an employee and it only takes a couple minutes. It's quite simple, you just walk up to your seat, see someone is in it and then you say, "Excuse me, I think you *might* be in my seat." With your ticket in hand, you can show them the seat number on the ticket but never hand them your ticket. If they don't immediately say, "Oh, I'm sorry, I'll move" and move then you walk away, get an employee. Tell them what happened, show them your ticket, they'll walk to your theater room and se
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I go to the cinema maybe once or twice a week. Assigned seating was introduced as standard back when I was still in highschool. I've never once come across someone who has refused to move, and has only been in the wrong seat very rarely (like once a year).
You must really live in Arseholeville.
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But as soon as someone is incentivized to buy a cheap seat and move you're going to have way more people fighting over who actually owns the seat when half the audience buys front row seats and then tries to move into the "open" areas during the credits.
2 questions: 1. Who would fight over this knowing that everyone has evidence of exactly who is right and the best possible outcome is you get kicked out without refund?
2. What kind of degenerate arseholes do you live near? Like seriously is what you're saying actually a thing that happens? Which uncivilised country do you actually experience this in?
Now you need to start policing the people trying to sneak into first class
You don't really. Just like airlines don't police people who queue in the premium checkin line because they don't want to cause a scene. But then I live in a ci
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Just like airlines don't police people who queue in the premium checkin line because they don't want to cause a scene.
If you fly a lot you'll constantly see flight attendants kicking people out of Premium Economy.
Re: Increased Labor Costs (Score:3)
Happened to me _once_. More than once, but other times people were either polite or I didn't care to bother (not gona haggle over two seats occupied by a Mom or GP).
But this time, 6 pp, 4 were kids. Our seats were taken by 4 girls: adult, 2 teens, and a kid. Their seats were taken by a bunch of dicks, 2 adults and 2 teens. The lady explained the guys wouldn't move and actually asked her younger teen to ask the older guys again!
At that point, I heard enough, and wasn't going to send the girl over nor split
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Half the audience can't buy front row seats, becaues each seat is reserved and sold once.
Like the current situation.
If someone is in your seat, you get the attendant.
If someone is not in your seat -- who cares?
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If someone is in your seat, you get the attendant.
And now your min wage AMC employees are put in the position of policing seat assignments.
Re: Increased Labor Costs (Score:3)
Re: Freaking brilliant. (Score:2)
It's quiet obvious. The CEO of a movie theater company hasn't actually sat in a theater for a couple decades. The only shitty rows are those right up front. Beyond that you get the same experience regardless of where you sit. It's all personal preference and even then there are people who actually like the neck cramping front seats.
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Compared to what? Loudly obvious?
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Depending on the screen width vs number of seats, the seats on the side are even more useless the closer you get to the screen. I'm sure there's an angle + distance from the screen formula to sort the bad seats from the good ones.
And don't forget that the further you are from the screen the more pointless going to the theatre becomes, since sitting closer to your big screen at home results in a bigger image.
It's a really good idea, but will their implementation work or will it suck is the real question.
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I have friends who absolutely hate the sides, and I definitely prefer to be in the middle too. In fact, I don't know many people who don't, with a possible exception for those who like aisle seats. But if you arrive early look at where people tend to go when seating is free, it is clear that the most popular spots are in the middle.
Re: Freaking brilliant. (Score:2)
Its also not an issue to "fix" its been decades since I have gone to a movie where seating is an issue
In fact amc is closing locations due to poor attendence
Re: Freaking brilliant. (Score:3)
Yep. Just give me ANOTHER reason not go to to the movie theater.
Dumbasses.
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Yep. Just give me ANOTHER reason not go to to the movie theater.
Dumbasses.
Exactly. Required assigned/reserved seating killed it for me and this won't help change my mind.
[ The least they could do is offer open seating on some days or at some times ... ]
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Make something optional more expensive
Sitting in a better seat in a plane is optional and more expensive. Getting a suite or a room with an ocean view at a hotel or on a cruise ship is optional and more expensive.
A nice restaurant is optional and more expensive than Burger King. A pass that moves you to the front of the line at an amusement park is optional and more expensive.
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Even so, all of the things you mentioned are carefully and competitively priced to avoid the exact problem put forth in GP's post:. Price a discretionary purchase too high and suddenly you're out of buyers.
Re: Freaking brilliant. (Score:2)
Make *anything* more like air travel, and itâ(TM)s not going to do you any favors.
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Basically.
I already need extreme motivation to go to a theater, because I have a good home theater setup which is more comfortable, and most of the theaters in my area are expensive, dirty, and are just an all-around shitty experience.
So yeah, absolutely make it follow one of the worst examples possible: the pricing model of the airline industry where you have a pretty good shot of absolutely nobody on the same aircraft paying the same amount of money to get from the same place, to the same destination, at
Re: Freaking brilliant. (Score:2)
Assigned seating can be annoying (Score:3)
Assigned seating in a movie is annoying when you don't arrive with your whole party. Instead of people grouping together as they arrive, they have to try to coordinate all the seats together. Sports events can dictate that because there are a lot less than movie showings, and seat quality varies wildly.
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It's far better than the alternative, your five person party arriving a few minutes before show time and walking into a theater where the empty seats are only single seats or double seats scattered all over the theater.
At least when you book assigned seats you're guaranteed to sit together even if you arrive during the previews.
Back when we were doing movies in large groups we'd have to arrive 30 minutes before showtime for popular films to have even a chance of sitting together, and even then it was a crap
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We've had assigned seating here since forever. It works well because you can just reserve as many seats next to each other as you need, or at least check if they're available. If the theater is empty, in practice you can just sit wherever anyway.
A few years ago they also started selling more expensive seats for certain rows with larger and nicer chairs, more leg room, etc. I didn't find the upgrade particularly worthwhile, but it wasn't very expensive either, so whatever.
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We've had assigned seating here since forever. It works well because you can just reserve as many seats next to each other as you need, or at least check if they're available.
Agreed, this is great. You don't have to arrive extra early and sit in the theater eating disgusting popcorn to have seats together with your party. You can buy tickets ahead of time at the counter or online; then just walk in and sit in your seats. No need for the adverts for whatever inane trash is playing next season.
I genuinely do not understand what OP is mad about. Just buy your friends their tickets and they pay you back. If you don't trust them to pay up, why would you want to sit with them? They ca
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It's far better than the alternative, your five person party arriving a few minutes before show time and walking into a theater where the empty seats are only single seats or double seats scattered all over the theater.
Arrive earlier, problem solved.
Re:Assigned seating can be annoying (Score:4)
The whole point is to not have to do that as I have better things to do with my life than watching theater commercials for 30 minutes.
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It's a young person thing to do. Any reason to get out of the house and away from parents. As soon as you get your own place, a lot of those types of things plummet in value.
my ticket is free (Score:5, Insightful)
...because my seating is not in their disgusting ripoff theater.
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Home theater tier for $0 instead (Score:5, Insightful)
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I think that you can buy quite a few movie tickets for the price of a home theater, even with today's ticket prices...
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My entire setup cost less then $2000 and I've had it for many years. I also get to watch whatever I want, whenever I want on it. I have my computer hooked to it so anything that's streamable can be displayed on my setup. I also have my xbox hooked up to it. Worth every penny.
I've also had this system for quite a few years. It's awesome. Enjoy your movie theater experience though.
Yes take an idea and make it dumber (Score:3)
Many people complain that the movie going experience is not what it once was. Some theaters have responded by making the experience a bit more premium. The one near me has assigned seating but all seats are the same price. It also has food and drinks you can order from your seat. The tickets prices are higher than a chain but I feel the tradeoff is worth it.
I like assigned seating as I can see if only terrible seats are left or if there are enough seats for my group for a showing. Different tier pricing is just a dumb idea trying to get more money.
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I don't get theaters at all.
The price of a large screen 4k TVs is super low. I setup a 85" screen with theater seats and 5.1 + atmos. I can pause when I want, my food is what I want, and the volume is where I want it. I find a theater to be worse in all measurable ways.
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I don't get theaters at all.
The price of a large screen 4k TVs is super low. I setup a 85" screen with theater seats and 5.1 + atmos. I can pause when I want, my food is what I want, and the volume is where I want it. I find a theater to be worse in all measurable ways.
I would argue that profits are measurable. :-D Oh, you mean the *customer experience* is worse in all measurable ways. Yes, can't argue with that.
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I haven't seen a movie "on time" in years. FOMO is just something advertisers push. Not really missing out on something if I can just watch it few months later. It's just a movie.
Avatar is probably the only movie in the past decade that would even be worth a movie ticket, strictly because of the 3d and all that jazz.
P.S. Still haven't seen it but maybe when it lands on a streaming platform or makes it to dvd or bluray. Until then, I'm fine waiting.
P.S.S. I just saw Top Gun 2. So glad I didn't waste any mone
Re: Yes take an idea and make it dumber (Score:2)
Assigned seating good. I won't go if I can't pick my seat in advance.
Price differentiation for seating bad. I won't go if they do that.
Next up: Yield Management! (Score:2)
You'll see demand pricing based on current sales, and "flexible" zones. Ticket prices will start to vary depending on when you purchase them (7 day advanced sale required!) Oh, you want the seats with the non-sticky floors? $10 extra!
I rarely go to a theater now - this would guarantee I don't go ever.
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So like venues like theaters and shows? (Score:2)
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Or are we going to see more fist fights
If you're seeing fistfights because someone wants to steal your assigned seat the problem isn't a lack of an usher, it's that you live in a country full of arseholes.
Your scenario isn't anything that plays out in civilised countries, many of which have had assigned seating in cinemas for decades.
Go ahead and try it. (Score:2)
The front eight rows in a theatre have always been a ridiculous travesty of experience, permitted only because the demand was so high and the comparison to the home experience was favorable. Now I'm hardly alone in having a home experience that in most ways is superior. Cranking up the price on an "acceptable" seat is a non-starter for me for sure. You can make the ticket for a shitty seat one dollar, and I'm out. Actually, I wouldn't even take a free one.
I have exactly ONE film on the horizon that I'm ente
Great business plan (Score:2)
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this will sure convince them to make the move. Genius; sheer genius.
The introduction of assigned seating was the single best improvement to happen to the cinema going experience. Yes, it is actually a genius idea to copy the success of others.
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this will sure convince them to make the move. Genius; sheer genius.
The introduction of assigned seating was the single best improvement to happen to the cinema going experience. Yes, it is actually a genius idea to copy the success of others.
Assigned seating is one thing; assigned seating at different prices is a different animal.
Re:Great business plan (Score:5, Interesting)
The introduction of assigned seating was the single best improvement to happen to the cinema going experience.
Not for my mother. She's 5' 0" tall. There have been many times tall people (individual/groups) have sat in front of her and blocked her view. Assigned seating seriously limits her relocation options.
Cinemas compete with Home Viewing (Score:2)
get consumers thinking about buying movie tickets the same way they might events at "many other entertainment venues."
Good luck with that. Unlike a live performance where you have to be there to see it, cinemas are competing with home viewing. I put up with having to pay more for a seat which does not cut off blood flow below my knees when flying only because I have no choice. All this is going to do is persuade more people to watch films at home by making cinemas either more expensive or less enjoyable (or both).
"Make the experience more like flying ..." (Score:2)
Make the movie going experience more like flying is not the win someone thinks it is.
Seriously - I'm not afraid of actual flight but the arriving hours early for security theater screening and being shoehorned into seats so shallow that my knees already are right up against the back of the next seat (I'm 6'2") and the cost of a seat with any more leg room is way beyond my budget... so I HATE flying - I will drive pretty serious distances rather than fly - just because they give a worse experience than they
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To me, premium economy is well worth the price.
I'd like to see this realistically happen (Score:2)
Every time I go to a theater, there's always a single ticket taker located directly after the box office. It's usually a teenager who really doesn't care anyway. So now, rather than that, they'll need to have ticket takers assigned to each theater making sure that each ticket holder is sitting in their assigned seats? Doubt it. Outside of the premier showing of a given movie, I don't see this changing anything. Just pay for the cheapest ticket and sit wherever you want.
Fundamental misunderstanding about the economics (Score:4, Informative)
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I HAVE to book a flight, not a movie ticket... (Score:2)
There are big differences between airline tickets and movie tickets. If the theaters treat you like the airlines treat people, their theaters will be empty.
Your title says it all. There's a fundamental misunderstanding in that a movie ticket is a luxury and a flight is a necessity. I can't swim across the ocean. No boat can get me there in time. Even if I could drive there, it's a difference between hours and days. As much as I hate air travel, I don't realistically have a choice.
Movies? I can wait 6 months.
Another fundamental misunderstanding: Movies are MUCH less "must see" than they used to be. Less and less people enjoy movies these days. T
put in dolby atmos and make center $20-$30 seats (Score:2)
put in dolby atmos and make center $20-$30 seats
Assigned seats are good (Score:4, Insightful)
At my favorite theater, some screens have assigned seats that you pick either online or at the box office, and I like it. You don't have to arrive 30 minutes before the 30 minutes of previews to get a decent seat. As far as pricing according to location goes, I don't really have a problem with that either. Movie ticket prices are still relatively low overall (I paid more as a kid, adjusting for inflation), and the economics of varied seat pricing are common sense.
AMC begs you to let it die (Score:4, Funny)
Scene: AMC wakes up in hospital. Slowly realizes where it is. Realizes that it's self-inflicted gun shot wound to the head was successfully mended by ER doctors.
AMC: OH COME ON!
Whelp... one way to get me to never give you money (Score:5, Insightful)
I guess I'm out. Making my experience painful just to buy a ticket? Yeah, I'd rather not. I have 50+in TVs all over my house (and decent sound systems), I don't need to find parking or fight traffic, and popcorn and candy is cheap from my own kitchen.
What's next? Call them "event tickets" and offer them exclusively through Ticketmaster? AMC seems to be deftly unable to read the room.
Seems like a great idea to me (Score:2)
As long as you are also making some seats cheaper, it's a nice way for some people with less money to be able to afford going to a movie.
They already have more expensive tickets for thugs like reserved seating or iMax, so to me it seems pretty natural that with reserved seating you could change the fee depending on you taking up premium seating locations or not.
Movie theaters have to change, as they did with reserved seating, and this seems like another good way for theaters to bring in more people but also
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As long as you are also making some seats cheaper
Like that is going to happen.
"Hey! LOOK! FREE SEAT!" Forgetting to mention that they jacked the price another $5.
Make an already terrible experience even worse. (Score:5, Insightful)
Movie theaters are already a terrible experience. Start out with standing in a line waiting to buy the overpriced tickets, then get inside and buy even more overpriced concessions. Then go into a darkened auditorium with a floor covered in a thin veneer of spilled soda, bits of popcorn, and discarded containers and food wrappers left under seats that are somehow less comfortable than those at your local DMV. Then watch 20 minutes of ads, a half dozen previews for some other movies, and then spend the next couple of hours trying not to think about getting up to go to the bathroom. And now the plan is to manufacture a false sense of exclusivity in this already crappy environment by charging more for certain seats?
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Re: Make an already terrible experience even worse (Score:2)
I have heard of these types of theaters before, but I already have a decent sized 4K TV, reclining leather theater seat couch, and a pretty thumpy Bose sound system a friend gave me. I can get up anytime in the middle of a film and come back to it. And I can have all the popcorn, soda, and Red Vines I want for half the cost of a medium soda at the theater.
There is just no motivation to go to a theater anymore, at least for me.
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Uhhh, you can get the same from Costco for about $2000. Stop being ripped off by WorstBuy
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So you're talking about 8K then? Should have said that then. And last I checked, 85" 8Ks are more like $6500. So what are we talking about?
Just where are you getting 8K media? What's the point of 8K until there's something you can watch on it? The demos are pretty, but beyond that...
Will they also overbook showings? (Score:3)
That'd be funny if they were forced to auction off [fodors.com] people's bought seats when overbooked.
Nothing new (Score:2)
In colombia, since time inmemorial, the movie theater is divided into two parts, the 2/3 closer to the screen are cheaper than the 1/3 farther from the screen. There is no reason to think that other parts of the world are similar...
So... welcome USoAns to the rest of the world, I guess?
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This is not going to go down well with a people who never has had to pay extra for a slightly different seat when they are already pissed at ticket prices.
regal cinema (Score:2)
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Like Disney (Score:2)
They're starting to sound like Disney in their fight with Universal.
e.g. So you want to go to the Magic Kingdom?
You'll need to
1. Purchase a park ticket
2. Make sure its on a day with park pass availability
3. Make a hotel reservation
4. Wake up at 7AM to purchase and make your initial Lighting Lane selections (a service that used to be free).
5. You want food? Well you better make those dining reservations 2 months ago or you're not getting in.
Oh, and the price of your theme park ticket will change depen
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But stay away from Disney anyway. It completely shit. Over crowded. Over priced. No good rides.
Take my money - please! (Score:2)
The obvious solution to falling box office numbers (Score:2)
Perhaps not entirely insane (Score:2)
Previous posters make good points that making the movie-going experience more like going to the airport is absolutely the wrong thing to do. But it has been some years since I've waited on line (buy tix online) and getting assigned seats. So knowing ahead of time I'm going to have crappy views, or get a drink in my neck tends to make me simply skip going. Would saving a few dollars per ticket (family of four) coax us to see a couple more movies ... perhaps. When I was younger and poorer, absolutely.
If done
Will seats in near-empty theaters be cheaper? (Score:4, Interesting)
This could be really interesting if dynamic seat pricing also considers how full the theater is. My wife and I normally go to movies in the early afternoon, because they're a little cheaper (matinee pricing) and very empty... and since she doesn't work outside the home and I work from home it's easy for us to go while most people are at work. Often we're the only two in the theater, and it would clearly be to the theater's benefit to cut the price even further if they can fill enough more seats.
I'm sure there's some "reserve price" below which the theater won't go because of the costs of cleaning up after guests and the wear and tear on the seats, but I'll bet it's quite a bit below the matinee price. I expect they need to keep the matinee price relatively high because there are movies which sometimes fill the matinee seats, so if lower prices at the less-popular films could increase attendance enough to boost profits, it would make sense to do that. Actually, "matinee" pricing should probably disappear entirely; if a theater is nearly empty at 7 PM, you might as well sell the unused seats cheap, as long as it's above the aforementioned floor. Dynamic pricing would seek to set a price that would fill the theater regardless of time of day.
From my perspective this would probably be a bad thing. I can afford paying a few bucks more, and we like going to near-empty theaters. Though I guess if the price were cheap enough, I might buy a block of seats all the way around us...
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Dynamic pricing would seek to set a price that would fill the theater regardless of time of day.
From my perspective this would probably be a bad thing. I can afford paying a few bucks more, and we like going to near-empty theaters. Though I guess if the price were cheap enough, I might buy a block of seats all the way around us...
I'm told by the people who think theaters are still worth going to "for the experience" that you're doing it wrong. You're supposed to squash yourself into a roomful of strangers so you can listen to them cheer inappropriately at shit that shouldn't be cheered, laugh at things that aren't funny, and fuck around with their phones if they're bored. If you're going to an empty theater, you might as well stay home.
A spectacularly large screen can be had for less than what most people pay for two months of ren
Theatres are a relic of the past (Score:2)
The problem with AMC is that they have a dying service, a relic of the past. They're trying their best to make it better and optimize it, at least from their point of view, but whatever they do it won't really matter in the end because people will always go with the path of least resistance.
Here's my point of view on the "Theatre experience":
- You need to plan in advance for the day and the hour the movie happens to be playing.
- If it's winter, you may need to shovel your driveway and clear the snow off you
What is worth paying anything for? (Score:2)
I see the movies coming out and nothing seems worth my time. For the few that are actually good, by the time I hear about them, a rip is already available on the Internet and I can watch for free at home in a more comfortable environment. FWIW, I put all the money I used to spend on theater tickets into my Plex system and VPN subscription.
Why does the leopard keep eating my face? (Score:2)
No one wants to go to the theater anymore and I don't understand why!
The poor poor people (Score:2)
Yet another company thinking about how to make more money from the richer folks, rather than continuing with a more equal & equitable flat system that lets give everyone the same shot at the "good" seats.
Once again, fuck you if you're poor!
"Yes, you can watch the movie, but only from the **bad** seats!"
Bleak (Score:2)
Yeah, sounds great.
Hey, just gives me more reason to rejoice (Score:2)
Just converted my 4k smart TVs into an 8,192 x 4,320 video wall. I can play movies in a single window, or stretch them across all 4 screens. I can pause the action when I want, go to the bathroom or raid the fridge, or switch to something else without worrying that I've wasted money on transportation, a ticket, and concession prices for cheap stuff like popcorn.
It's also totally awesome for flight sim. Got me back into gaming after almost 2 decades.
Two things (Score:2)
In my opinion, there are two things theaters REALLY ought to do:
1. give every single chair its own pair of armrests. I mean, seriously. WTF was every theater in America thinking when it ripped out all the old seats, converted to stadium seating, replaced them with new reclining seats that were twice as wide, and... still, they have only one goddamn fucking armrest between two adjacent seats? Not only should each seat have its own pair of armrests, there should be a little vertical divider panel that goes up
Nope (Score:3)