AMC Decides to Change Ticket Prices

 https://variety.com/2023/film/news/amc-theatres-ticket-price-seat-good-bad-movie-business-1235515632/

    AMC Theaters announced that they will be introducing a new pricing strategy. They want to begin

charging three different prices for tickets based on the best sight lines. The tickets are no longer for the movie, rather you are renting the seat for the duration of the movie, and the price will be dependent on the location of that seat within the auditorium. 

    There will be three tiers, the cheapest tickets will be the Value Sightline (front row seats), followed by Standard Sightline ("most common" seats), and the most expensive will be the Preferred Sightline (seats in the middle of the auditorium). 

    AMC plans to expand the new pricing strategy to all domestic theaters by the end of the year. 

    I'm not particularly a fan of the new pricing strategy even though it is not new. Concerts, sporting events, and other venues have always charged based on location. The "nosebleed" seats are the furthest away from the stage or activity, while the closer seats are typically preferable and therefore cost more. 

    Plays, musicals, sporting events, and concerts require live performances and are usually more expensive. Movies are cheaper and a more accessible form of entertainment. It is usually a big deal and requires planning to go to a concert, but anyone can easily decide to go to a movie, and it doesn't require much planning. 

    I think movie theaters should not charge based on location. Movies are different than live events and therefore should be treated like it. 

    I don't like the idea that movie theaters, which have always been a more accessible version of live entertainment, are now going to be less accessible for some viewers. Low-income families and audience members will be essentially "punished" and made to watch a movie with the worst sightline. I'm sure there will only be a few dollars difference between the tickets but with inflation and rumors of a recession, people are cutting back on unnecessary spending, and in many cases, "unnecessary spending" is equated to entertainment budgets. 

    People need entertainment and this is just another step to push people away from it.