AMC Reverses Boneheaded Plan to Charge Different Prices for Seats

AMC Theatres is backtracking on increasing its prices for some seating options after the company realized it didn’t make a difference for customers. The company launched a price upcharge at select theaters earlier this year, charging customers more money for “preferred” seating.

At the time, AMC said preferred seats would be located in the middle of the theater, costing customers a “slight premium” fee in contrast to its least costly “value” tier for seats in the front row, while the “standard” tier would cost the same amount as the traditional ticket and would cover the majority of the seating options. But what AMC didn’t realize was that the change in prices wouldn’t change what the customer wants.

The company tracked its AMC Stubs members to see if they adjusted their seating preferences in light of the new program, but found that out of every four members who had purchased preferred sightline sections before the program, three of them continued to choose those seats regardless of the upcharge. Meanwhile, it reported that there was virtually no interest in the reduced pricing seats and only one out of every 10 stubs members chose a seat outside of the preferred section.

So what does this mean for AMC’s Sightline initiative? It means it’s discontinued less than six months after the company said the program would be rolled out at all of its 1,000 movie theaters across the country by the end of 2023.

Price gouging based on seat location is uncommon in U.S. theaters, making AMC stand out albeit in a negative way. The company received criticism from moviegoers and celebrities alike, with Lord of The Rings trilogy star Elijah Wood writing on Twitter in February, “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.”

It appears that AMC expected other theaters to compete with its Sightline seating initiative, saying in its press release that it is discontinuing the program to compete with other movie theaters. “Competitors did not match either initiative, of raising or lowering prices based on the location of the seats,” AMC wrote in the release. It continued, “To ensure AMC’s ticket prices remain competitive, the Sightline at AMC pilot program will come to an end at participating locations in the coming weeks, and the initiative will not roll out nationwide.”

Instead, AMC says it is pivoting to yet another opportunity to restructure its theaters to include large, lounge-style reclining seats located in the front row, which “will allow guests to lay all the way back and relax.” AMC’s new endeavor will begin testing in late 2023, and while it does seem to be a desirable addition to moviegoers’ experience, the company is still a little late to the party.

Cinemark, which operates 318 movie theaters in the U.S., first installed reclining seats in 2015, and by 2017 it saw its sales increase by 50%. Attendance at Cinemark theaters continues to grow, jumping to 109.3 million in 2022 from 73 million patrons in 2021, Statista reported.

“Seating is the single most important initiative relative to our expenses,” Cinemark Holdings’ former CEO Mark Zoradi told The Wrap in 2017. “They get used to it and can’t live without it,” he added.

Now that AMC has announced it will head in the same direction as Cinemark, the question still remains if having one row with reclining seats will compete with cinemas whose entire seating capacity houses plush recliners. Only time will tell.