AMC is abandoning its plans to charge more for cinema seats depending on location. But higher prices for mid-mid seats at theaters where AMC has been testing the concept remain in effect this weekend, when “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” are expected to draw large audiences.
AMC Entertainment, the world’s largest theater chain, said Thursday it was “steering away” from a controversial initiative called Sightline, which would price seats at three tiers at night shows. (The breakneck front row was offered $1-$2 discounts, the mid-mid price increases were charged $1-$2, and the rest remained the status quo.)
The concept launched in theaters in New York, Illinois and Kansas in March, to roaring protests from some moviegoers. AMC has always referred to it as a test.
The experiment will end sometime in August, an AMC spokesman said. However, the company plans to launch a new attempt with front-row seats, which often go unsold. Later that year, AMC announced it would do away with the traditional front-row seats and replace them with “large, comfortable, lounge-style seating areas that allow guests to recline all the way back.”
After steadily raising prices at their concession stands, AMC and other theater chains began to focus more on seating to drive revenue growth. For example, multiplex cinemas are increasingly urging customers to buy premium tickets for shows that have extra large screens or enhanced sound systems.
To make matters worse, attendance has still not recovered from the early pandemic, when many theaters were closed for months. So far this year, ticket sales are about 20 percent behind the same period in 2019.
AMC said Sightline did not perform as hoped. Notably, the company “saw little or no additional increase in front-row attendance, even with a price reduction for these seats.” About three out of four customers who previously sat in middle seats paid the premium to continue doing so, AMC said. Some of these people moved to other places. A small percentage have stopped buying tickets from AMC.
Notably, competitors did not follow AMC in re-pricing the seats, making the company less competitive in test markets.
AMC’s plans to halt the initiative were previously reported by Bloomberg News.