AMC will no longer charge more money for better seats, although it may continue to offer less optimal seats at a comparative discount. The “Sightline at AMC” program is no longer in play.
As reported by TheWrap in early February, the program left most auditorium seats priced as-is, while “value seats” at the front of the theater were cheaper while “preferred sightline” seats in the middle of the theater were priced at a slightly higher level. This did not apply to Tuesday (when all tickets are discounted as is now standard at most major chains) or shows before 4 p.m.
Oh, and the cheaper seating prices applied to those in AMC Stubs or Insider members while the more expensive pricing did not apply to AMC A-List members. If that sounds more complicated than you previously thought, well that’s probably partially why the program is being discontinued.
However, AMC has claimed that 75% of guests who previously sat in the “Preferred Sightline” section continued to do so even with a price upcharge. Ninety percent of guests continued to buy tickets at AMC, choosing either the premium seats or other available seats. AMC also saw little to no increase for front-row seating despite the price markdown.
As the program comes to an end in the coming weeks, AMC will pivot its focus to testing a different type of spacious front-row seating, large lounge-style seats which recline all the way back, but the initiative will not roll out nationwide.
Not unlike Regal and AMC’s attempts to charge slightly more for tentpole movies, launched in March 2022 before the release of “The Batman,” the tiered pricing seemed to have done little more than create negative publicity even while general consumers went about their business regardless of the changes.
That most consumers chose the seats they otherwise would have chosen implies that online handwringing didn’t correlate with general audience concern. Nor did it move the needle in terms of selling more tickets in the front rows.
Time will tell whether the allure of upgraded seating and an experience potentially closer to a planetarium than a conventional movie theater will entice curious moviegoers to take a chance on that very front row. Come what may, one can imagine that’s an interesting way to watch, for example, “2001: A Space Odyssey” or “Star Wars.”
