AMC Theaters Will Start Charging More for Better Seats; Elijah Wood Criticizes Them for Penalizing People with Lower Income
AMC Theaters has announced a controversial new pricing plan that will charge people more money for better seats in the theater. This is seriously one of the dumbest brain-fart ideas that they could have come up with.
This Friday, they are rolling out Sightline at AMC, which is a ticket pricing initiative based on seat location within the auditorium. Moviegoers will be given the option to pay more or less for admission depending on where they choose to sit in the theater. Front row seats will be available at a lower price, while seats in the middle of the theater will be available at a higher price.
This is a great way to drive people away from going to the cinema. It’s also a great way to penalize lower-income individuals, which is exactly what Elijah Wood is criticizing them for. In a recent post on Twitter, Wood slammed them saying:
“The movie theater is and always has been a sacred democratic space for all and this new initiative by @AMCTheatres would essentially penalize people for lower income and reward for higher income.”
He’s not the only one pissed at AMC Theaters. In another post shared by John Rocha, he said:
“Look, this is some classist shit from @AMCTheatres. IMAX, 4DX, 3D, Screen X charging more makes sense since you're getting the film in a new way. BUT this is not the way. Poor people, you sit in the poor section and you rich folks please move the velvet ropes around the...”
I 100% agree with what these individuals are saying. There are going to be three different seat-pricing options. The first is Standard Sightline, described as the “seats that are the most common in auditoriums and are available for the traditional cost of a ticket.” Then there’s Value Sightline, referred to as “seats 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.) The third option is Preferred Sightline, which are the “seats in the middle of the auditorium and are priced at a premium to standard sightline seats.” AMC Stubs A-List members will be able to reserve seats in the Preferred Sightline Section at no additional cost.
Eliot Hamlisch, executive VP and CMO at AMC Theatres said in a statement: “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. While every seat at AMC delivers an amazing moviegoing experience, we know there are some moviegoers who prioritize their specific seat and others who prioritize value moviegoing. Sightline at AMC accommodates both sentiments to help ensure that our guests have more control over their experience, so that every trip to an AMC is a great one.”
The new initiative kicks off on Friday at select AMC locations in New York, Chicago and Kansas City and will be expanded to all domestic AMC locations by the end of the year.
What do you think about AMC’s new cinema seating pricing plan? I hope they rethink what they’re doing, and they might if people stop showing up to their theaters. It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out. I wonder what their spokeswoman, Nicole Kidman, would say about this.