No way am I going to pay EVEN MORE to sit where I want.
If this doesn't hasten the demise of movie theaters, I don't know what else will. Utterly HORRENDOUS. How many are just going to say "I'm fine staying home".
The cheapest tickets will now be called the “Value Sightline.” Where are these located? You guessed it – the painful front row where you end up having a sore neck and a migraine for 3 days because of the awkward angle you’re sitting at for hours. No surprise they’re putting the cheapies there.
The most expensive option? Of COURSE it’s right in the middle. This is the comfortable, direct line-of-sight viewing experience that every movie fan wants. This will be called the “Preferred Sightline” tier and it’s now going to cost you more.
The third-tier is the “Standard Standalone” which will be the rest of the seats and will be available for the traditional cost of the ticket. So, these are presumably the ones in the back and on the side.
Keep in mind this is happening at a time when the window between films being in theaters and then on streaming services is tightening ever so quickly. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve said, “I’ll just wait till it comes out on streaming.” Higher prices and more hassle for something that is supposed to be a luxury and not a necessity, is a gamble that may turn out the way AMC originally intentioned.
It's almost as if they have a death wish for their industry.
How is this a good thing for consumers...unless people go to an empty show, pay the cheaper rate, then just move into empty better seats. Of course, if there's anyone else there, that will go down well with the customers paying the higher fee.
If the younger generation wants to throw its money out the window and support this type of thing, then more power to them. Aside from seeing part 2 of DUNE I will not be anywhere near theaters (last one I saw in the theaters was either DUNE part one or Kong vs Godzilla...can't remember which one cam out last). And when I go see DUNE part two in theaters, I will be quite happy sitting in the back for regular price.
How the hell are they gonna enforce this? Unless it's a sold-out show, people just tend to plop down wherever. If they hire more employees to police theaters and enforce people taking the seats assigned to them, isn't that gonna erase whatever mild profit they get from jacking up prices on the "good" seats?
Anyways, my regular theater is a National Amusements (plus the Dedham Community for arthouse stuff), so this isn't gonna affect me.
