AMC Theaters aspires to be like your favorite airline with special seat pricing

The 2023 film box office slate is probably the most robust since the onset of the pandemic. I’m talking Fast X, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and Indiana Jones: The Dial of Destiny are just some movies that will fight to take a piece of your hard-earned money. But before you start computing concessions prices, AMC Theaters has another bright idea to enhance your theatrical experience.

So, if you’ve taken a flight and many major airlines, you are well aware of Economy and Economy plus pricing when it comes to seats. If you want that window seat or somewhere near an exit row, that might be $19 added to your fare. The largest theater chain in the country is planning to do a little bit of the same thing. The new seating plan, "Sightline,” is a pricing system depending on where you choose to sit.

For example, if you choose seats in the middle of the auditorium, they will cost a couple of dollars more. They'll be a little bit cheaper if you prefer seats in the front of the theater. Standard sightline tickets will be at regular price, but if you want to bypass all of this – you have to snag an AMC Stubs subscription (Value and Preferred Sightline). Select AMC locations in New York, Chicago, and Kansas City will have these options starting Friday. Then it will be expanded to all domestic AMC locations by the end of the year.

Sightlight at AMC will be applied to all showtimes that begin after 4 p.m. – not on discount Tuesdays when tickets are $5. According to Indiewire, the price of an average movie ticket has gone up 20% since 2019 to an average of $11. It’s already a process for families to go out to theaters with inflation factors going against them. While the box office is still trying to recoup the money it lost during the height of the pandemic, none of these changes help the consumer. In the battle to keep the theatrical experience alive, companies seem to make it as cumbersome as possible for film fans to enjoy the experience readily.