Moviegoers looking for good seats soon will have to pay more at Kansas City-based AMC Theatres. The three-tiered seating system announced this week includes “value sightline, standard sightline and preferred sightline sections,” according to a company news release.
The seats in the middle will now run at least $2 additional.
“Standard Sightline seats are the most common in auditoriums and are available for the traditional cost of a ticket; Value Sightline seats are primarily in the front row of the auditorium and are available at a lower price than Standard Sightline seats; Preferred Sightline seats are typically in the middle of the auditorium and cost slightly more than Standard Sightline seats,” it said.
“Sightline at AMC more closely aligns AMC’s seat pricing approach to that of many other entertainment venues, offering experience-based pricing and another way for moviegoers to find value at the movies,” said Eliot Hamlisch, executive vice [resident and chief marketing officer. “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.”
Not everyone agrees and the announcement has many upset.
“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,” actor Elijah Wood, of Lord of the Rings fame, tweeted.
“Me: An avid movie theater go-er. Me now: You know what waiting for streaming ain’t that bad,” actor and director Stephen Ford added.
Entertainment news outlet PopWrapped slammed the company’s decision, chiming in with a heated take, writing, “AMC is not only putting the last nails in their own coffin, but crawling inside of it and shutting the lid, too.”
–Dwight Widaman | Metro Voice