I’m no fan of this change coming from AMC. Despite the goodwill of many individual investors having saved AMC theaters through a hard situation in 2020 and 2021, the cinema chain is sticking it to consumers.
It has always been that when you bought a movie ticket, you bought a good view if you were early and you enjoyed the same price as everyone else. Now, that may be changing as AMC looks to charge consumers based on the location of the seat. I pray they charge huge amounts of money for teenage couples wanting to buy seats on the back row, but otherwise I find this to be a really poor attempt at squeezing more money out of consumers. And don’t get me wrong — I understand AMC is a business that needs to make higher revenues. My issue with this particular strategy is that it regressively penalizes the movie-viewing experience of those who can’t afford the best seats. I think there are better ways than pushing the poor to the walls.
AMC is introducing "Sightline," a new ticket pricing strategy that will price seats based on location in theater.
Value: First few rows
Preferred: Middle of theater, best view
Standard: Most seats in theaterProgram is in select markets, will be expanded to all by end of year. pic.twitter.com/eL4K7SQOxq
— Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin) February 6, 2023
So count me as a critic of this one. And if AMC is paying attention, here’s how I would go about increasing revenues rather than this plan:
- Begin charging a higher rate on PG-13 and R rated films, but leave the G and PG alone.
- Add an extra fee on reservations, but allow customers to pick their seats. Then when reservation customers arrive, provide them with a discount card for future popcorn purchase (reservation customers are more likely to return, popcorn is a great incentive with almost no cost).
- Add a significant extra charge for movies on their preview and opening night dates.
But hey, that’s just me. And I’m not actuary.
So what do you think of AMC’s change? Is it something that might dissuade you from going to a movie? Let us know in the comments below. And, as always, keep reading That Park Place!
