AMC Theaters Sightline Ticket Prices with “Screen Sightline” Pricing
Theater chain AMC Entertainment is implementing higher ticket prices with new three-tier pricing based on how easy it is to view the screen from your seat.
Calling the plan “AMC Sightline,” the chain will charge more for seats that are within the screen’s “preferred line of sight” and less for third-tier seats in the fenders or front rows. The second level is defined as “standard line of sight”.
Preferred seats are usually those in the middle of the theater, where audience members don’t have to sit sideways or stand to enjoy the show.
The new ticket prices will not be charged to “Stubs A-List” members, who will automatically be assigned first row seats, to encourage customers to join the program.
AMC Theaters announces a new ticket pricing initiative that allows customers to pay based on their seat location. @reevewill has what you need to know. https://t.co/eBIPLwRPFc pic.twitter.com/jb1ShokJIE
— Hello America (@GMA) February 7, 2023
The Sightline at AMC pricing plan is set to roll out to select theaters as a test. The channel did not reveal a list of participating venues. The initial rollout is expected to continue throughout 2023.
“Sightline at AMC aligns AMC’s seat pricing approach more closely with that of many other entertainment venues, providing experience-based pricing and another way for moviegoers to find value at the movies,” said Eliot Hamlisch, executive vice president and chief marketing officer of AMC Entertainment. “While every seat at AMC offers an incredible cinematic experience, we know that some moviegoers prioritize their specific seat and others prioritize value movies. Sightline at AMC takes both sentiments into account to help ensure our customers have more control over their experience, so that every trip in an AMC is a great trip.
AMC recently sold a stake in its company to Saudi entertainment company Saudi Entertainment Ventures (SEVEN) for a $30 million cash injection to help prop up the financially struggling channel. The company then divested its venues in Saudi Arabia to SEVEN as part of the deal.
Theaters have been through tough economic times over the past six years. Analysts say between 2018 and 2022 movie theater attendance fell by half, and that decline began years before the pandemic further complicated the financial picture with mass closures. Pandemic hysteria still resonates in the industry today. Even a year after the pandemic year of 2020, half of American moviegoers said they were still avoiding theaters in 2021.
Yet the numbers have been declining for some time. In 2018, movie theaters earned $11.9 billion in revenue. In 2019, that amount fell to $11.3 billion. Naturally, the pandemic years have been a disaster for theater chains. But the full non-pandemic year of 2022 was still not over, grossing just $7.4 billion, a big mistake by analysts who predicted a domestic box office of $9.2 billion for that year. .
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