Current:Home > ScamsAMC Theatres will soon charge according to where you choose to sit-LoTradeCoin
AMC Theatres will soon charge according to where you choose to sit
View Date:2024-12-23 19:22:42
AMC Theatres will begin setting their ticket prices according to where patrons choose to sit in the auditorium, under its Sightline initiative, the company announced Monday.
Seats on the front row are considered Value Sightline seats and cost less, while seats in the middle are called Preferred Sightline and will cost more. The remaining parts of the theater are Standard Sightline seats and will cost the price of a standard admission ticket.
The move comes as movie theaters struggle to compete with streaming services and overcome pandemic-era aversion to large, indoor spaces — not to mention the fact that Hollywood is making fewer movies for theatrical releases. AMC lost nearly $700 million in the first three quarters of 2022, $1.27 billion in 2021 and $4.6 billion in 2020.
But variable pricing like this only works when demand is close to supply and when it's done in a way that doesn't antagonize customers, says Barak Orbach, a professor of law and business at the University of Arizona. AMC has neither factor in its favor, he says.
"The reality of movie theaters in the United States is that the overwhelming majority of shows are more than half empty," Orbach says. So, unless it's a blockbuster movie's opening weekend and theaters are packed, a lot of people will just buy a less expensive ticket and then move to a higher priced seat, he says.
On top of that, a lot of moviegoers weren't happy with the news.
One Twitter user shared a photo of an empty theater and wrote, "AMC theaters after people refuse to pay for premium seating and $20 for popcorn and a drink."
Another wrote, "Buying a third-class ticket at AMC to see the re-release of Titanic."
"When pricing conflicts with perceptions of fairness, people are less willing to pay them," Orbach says — especially because people can just stay home and watch movies on streaming services. He says the move could generate hard feelings toward movie theaters in general and negatively affect the industry as a whole.
Those who are members of AMC Stubs A-List, the top tier of the company's reward program, can select Preferred Sightline seats for no extra cost.
Sightline-priced tickets will apply to all showtimes after 4 p.m., but is not applicable during the company's $5 Discount Tuesdays.
The new pricing structure has already been rolled out in select markets across the country, and will be implemented at all locations before the end of the year.
"Sightline at AMC more closely aligns AMC's seat pricing approach to that of many other entertainment venues, offering experienced-based pricing and another way for moviegoers to find value at the movies," Executive Vice President Eliot Hamlisch said.
But those other venues host events have traditionally been special occasions, like concerts and live theater, says Alicia Kozma. She researches the media industry and is the director of the Indiana University Cinema.
People are "being priced out of one of our most basic pastimes, which is meeting up with friends or going with their family to see a movie," Kozma says.
She says the move seems designed to get people in wealthier markets to sign up for AMC Stubs, which costs about $20 to $25 a month — and makes the company money, especially if people don't use their subscription.
"It's pretty disrespectful to audiences," especially in places where the only movie theater is AMC, Kozma says.
veryGood! (88)
Related
- Love Actually Secrets That Will Be Perfect to You
- Former Wisconsin prosecutor sentenced for secretly recording sexual encounters
- Former Wisconsin prosecutor sentenced for secretly recording sexual encounters
- An Oil Industry Hub in Washington State Bans New Fossil Fuel Development
- Bohannan requests a recount in Iowa’s close congressional race as GOP wins control of House
- 3 women killed, baby wounded in shooting at Tulsa apartment
- A Legacy of the New Deal, Electric Cooperatives Struggle to Democratize and Make a Green Transition
- The Biden administration demands that TikTok be sold, or risk a nationwide ban
- Olivia Munn began randomly drug testing John Mulaney during her first pregnancy
- Judge says he plans to sentence gynecologist who sexually abused patients to 20 years in prison
Ranking
- KFC sues Church's Chicken over 'original recipe' fried chicken branding
- AAA pulls back from renewing some insurance policies in Florida
- New Federal Report Warns of Accelerating Impacts From Sea Level Rise
- BET Awards 2023: See the Complete List of Winners
- South Carolina to take a break from executions for the holidays
- For Emmett Till’s family, national monument proclamation cements his inclusion in the American story
- Rare pink dolphins spotted swimming in Louisiana
- The Fires That Raged on This Greek Island Are Out. Now Northern Evia Faces a Long Road to Recovery
Recommendation
-
Stock market today: Asian shares meander, tracking Wall Street’s mixed finish as dollar surges
-
For 40 years, Silicon Valley Bank was a tech industry icon. It collapsed in just days
-
$58M in federal grants aim to help schools, day care centers remove lead from drinking water
-
Apple iPad Flash Deal: Save 30% on a Product Bundle With Accessories
-
NYC bans unusual practice of forcing tenants to pay real estate brokers hired by landlords
-
Inside Clean Energy: Warren Buffett Explains the Need for a Massive Energy Makeover
-
The unexpected American shopping spree seems to have cooled
-
Mom of Teenage Titan Sub Passenger Says She Gave Up Her Seat for Him to Go on Journey
Like
- Kalen DeBoer, Jalen Milroe save Alabama football season, as LSU's Brian Kelly goes splat
- Video: Carolina Tribe Fighting Big Poultry Joined Activists Pushing Administration to Act on Climate and Justice
- Warming Trends: Telling Climate Stories Through the Courts, Icy Lakes Teeming with Life and Climate Change on the Self-Help Shelf