Netflix had received all the flak online last week when their new anti-password sharing model was revealed online, and after they’ve managed to backtrack, another media giant had been called out for trying to squeeze more money out of audiences.
According to Variety, AMC Theaters has revealed that they will be implementing a new pricing model for seats, depending on where you sit in their theater.
Regular seats have been described as Standard Sightline and will cost the regular price of a ticket; seats that are in the very front of the auditorium as well as seats that don’t give a good view of the screen will come cheaper and are described as Value Sightline; and seats at the middle of the theater that offer the best look at the screen have been described as Preferred Sightline and will cost extra.
The practice is currently being implemented in New York, Chicago, and Kansas City, but AMC is said to be planning to implement the initiative throughout all of their branches by the end of the year.
The movie theater is and always has been a sacred democratic space for all and this new initiative by @AMCTheatres would essentially penalize people for lower income and reward for higher income.
— Elijah Wood (@elijahwood) February 6, 2023
I'm an @AMCTheatres A-List member. I saw 30+ movies at AMC theaters last year, and already 7 in 2023. And you know what? The vast majority of movies I've seen had 10-20 people in a theater that holds 150. They're EMPTY.
But go on, shoot yourselves in the foot, AMC. https://t.co/5LXwGc84bZ
— Lauren Miller (@laurenm) February 7, 2023
Regardless, a lot of moviegoers online are angry that AMC is blatantly trying to squeeze more money out of patrons via a method that didn’t even require them to change anything. I mean, it’s great they would be selling bad seats for cheaper, but charging extra for people to sit in the middle of the theater just sounds silly.
People online aren’t having it; and if they could cyberbully Netflix into pulling their anti-password sharing method, they’re hoping they can do the same for AMC.
We don’t know what AMC’s response is yet, but if they’re going to be a capitalist, they should pretty much do it in a way that people don’t immediately see coming.
