AMC Seating Price Changes
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 09: People walk outside the AMC Empire 25 movie theater in Times Square amid the coronavirus pandemic on March 09, 2021 in New York City. It has been one year since COVID-19 was first reported in New York City. After undergoing various shutdown orders for the past 12 months, the city is currently in phase 4 of it’s reopening plan, allowing for the reopening of low-risk outdoor activities, movie and television productions, indoor dining as well as the opening of movie theaters, all with capacity restrictions. (Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images)
April 3, 2023
AMC announced it will increase ticket prices based on the popularity of their seats. The new pricing system is called Sightline.
This will be used at all their locations throughout the United States by the end of the year. The new prices have already been implemented in New York City theaters. “Value Sightline” tickets are now the more affordable seats which are the ones that are situated closer to the screen. The “Preferred Sightline” tickets are the more comfortable seats in the middle of the theater.
These changes include a two dollar decrease in the “Value Sightline” tickets and a one dollar increase to the “Preferred Sightline” tickets. These rules do not apply to showings before 4 pm and any tickets sold on Tuesdays.
There has been a lot of controversy regarding the unfair advantage this will give to wealthier people. Considering a trip to the movies is already expensive with not only the cost of seats but also the expensive food costs. This is going to make it harder for lower income families to experience a night out at the movies.
AMC is reportedly making these changes to make up for lost profits during COVID-19. The pandemic conditioned the public to replace theaters with streaming platforms, so even after things went back to normal, people no longer felt required to pay to watch, when they could do it from the comfort of their couch