AMC Is Going To Start Charging More Money To Sit In The Middle Of The Movie Theater And Offer Discounts On Front Row Seats

SOURCE - The country’s largest exhibition chain is rolling out Sightline at AMC, a ticket pricing initiative based on seat location within the auditorium. Moviegoers will have the option to pay more or less for admission depending on where they choose to sit in the theater. In effect, 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.

The 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.

This is going to fuck everything up. I like sitting in the front row of the theater when I go. I know people say it's too close but I feel like the screen is swallowing up the world. I love it. Not only that but because I'm the only psycho that likes that, there are no strangers around me. I can stretch out and give my coat it's own chair. It's great. I feel like a king. 

Now it's going to be all these bargain hunters swarming in that area to save an extra buck or two. My empty paradise is now gone. 

Victor J. Blue. Getty Images.

From AMC's perspective, I wonder how well this will work. If the theater isn't full, why would people stay in their assigned seats at all? If someone doesn't like sitting in the front, they'll just move to the middle if no one is sitting there right? I guess for the big tentpole Marvel movies when the place is sold out, they'll have to sit where they are assigned but for most of the time, people will just buy the cheaper ticket and just move. Is AMC going to have ushers constantly make sure people are in the correct seats? That should make for a nice movie experience for everyone involved.

I get that AMC is trying desperately to get any extra revenue it can. The movie theater business seems pretty fucked. Regal Cinemas just closed 39 theaters last month including some pretty big ones in New York and near Fenway in Boston. Avatar did huge business last month but it was one of only seven movies that even grossed $11 million for all of January. In 2019, you had 17 movies hit that mark in January.

I'm devastated to see it happen in real time but it feels more and more like the cinema is going the way of the milkman. I'm sure they will exist in some capacity for the rest of my life (remember, I'm old). However, movies being a thing that people do regularly already seems to be fading quickly. It's probably better that we can stream movies from home but it also feels so much less special.