Want to grab the best seat in the house at your next screening of "Avatar"? Get ready to pay up.
AMC Theatres, the nation's largest movie theater chain, has announced plans to change the way that it prices tickets. The company on Monday revealed a new initiative called "Sightline at AMC," which will eliminate the one-price-fits-all approach to selling tickets.
Under the new model, AMC will divide up an auditorium's seats into "Standard Sightline," "Value Sightline" and "Preferred Sightline" tiers.
The "standard" seats, which AMC identifies as "the most common in auditoriums" will be available for the normal price of a ticket. "Value" seats, meanwhile, are identified as those in the front row, and will be sold "at a lower price" than the normal ticket cost.
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Moviegoers who select seats "in the middle of the auditorium" will be hit with a "Preferred Sightline" upcharge, which AMC describes as "a slight premium" in price.
Theaters in New York City, for example, will see a $2 surcharge for centrally located seats, while front row seats are $2 cheaper.
Money Report
A seating map will show the price differences when customers are purchasing their tickets.
In a statement, AMC chief marketing officer Eliot Hamlisch framed the move as a way to bring movie theaters in line with other entertainment venues where ticket prices range in price depending on where you sit.
"While every seat at AMC delivers an amazing moviegoing experience, we know there are some moviegoers who prioritize their specific seat and others who prioritize value moviegoing," he said.
Sightline pricing won't apply to matinee showtimes before 4 p.m., AMC noted in its release, and customers who pay for AMC Stubs A-List memberships will be exempt from any charges.
The new system will go live in New York City, Chicago and Kansas City on Friday, and will extend to all American AMC locations by the end of 2023.
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