I just went today and holy cow. They’ve taken out 50% of all rows and there are fewer seats per row. They have been replaced with lazy boy like recliners. I spoke with the staff on the way out to find out why they did this. They said that’s the way theatres are going and the attendance is up 60%. They’ve also added a bar area. I read about this when I got home and it started 2 years ago, with completion over 5 years. It said attendance is upward to 80%.
My matinee was $9.25!
So, what are your thoughts on this? I don’t go to the movies often, maybe 4 times a year at most, so the cost won’t stop me. What might give me pause is the limited seating for new popular releases. Also, I fell asleep in that lazy boy today…
I like going to a competing brand because they have $6 Tuesdays for nearly all movies. Regular seats are $11 or so and that just seems high to me. Live community theater is about $15 around here and seems a much better value.
They do have “adult” theaters where alcohol is offered and seats are more expensive. I’ve never gone as I don’t drink anyway and believe they are charging a premium for the seats. The movies are those that are popular new releases, not porn. I have no idea how attendance is. They are building a ton of luxury condos in the area and there’s construction everywhere and parking is challenging as well.
A lot of theaters have gone the ‘stadium seating’ route and the like, because movie theaters are facing dropping attendence, a lot of people are waiting for it to be in streaming or on dvd to watch them at home. Theaters are experimenting with ‘dinner and a movie’ (and AMC theater a bit of a trip from me has that), some are experimenting with having booze available, and it is all to attract more people.The price of a movie theater ticket is such (talking regular admission, around where I live it is easily 12, 13 bucks) that they have to justify the higher prices, and I think also that choosing between waiting to see it at home on a comfortable sofa, with a large screen tv and great sound system but waiting X months was becoming more and more desirable over being crammed into the local multiplex that has seating that reminds you of a typical airline these days, in a crackerbox theater where you can hear half the other movies and are about as charming as a home warehouse store, so they are actually trying to entice customers to come. When I routinely saw movies in NYC, I loved going to something like the Ziegfeld theater, that is close to the theaters of old then the multi multiplexes they have on 42nd street these days.
Our AMC in Southern California has been like this for a couple of years. Ticket prices are $15. I don’t see many people having a drink at the bar or in the theatres. My H and I go to Saturday or Sunday morning movies before noon and only pay $7.50 at AMC. I do like the comfy recliners!
All our movie theaters have stadium seating except the small indie theaters that show mostly small films. Tickets are $13 at regular theaters but only $9 at the indies (which were once just one huge theater but now are 8 or so mini’s.) We almost always go to the indie theaters because that’s where the movies we like to see are shown.
We have no cheap theaters showing second run movies. Near my mom in Florida there are several $2 movie theaters.
This along with fears of aggravation from inconsiderate folks who don’t put away their cellphones/play with smartphones with glaring light while the movie is playing has been the reason why I rarely go to the movies anymore.
It’s actually a surprise I saw two movies within a span of 4-5 months…and the last one was marred by a parent who was playing with her smartphone while the movie was playing. And that is even after several people including yours truly asked her to cover it so the glare won’t affect us…especially considering we paid $20 to watch the movie in 3D.
Incidentally, the 3D feature in the NYC AMC theaters is a nice added bonus, but not something I’d spring for if my friends weren’t going for it and I haven’t seen a movie in a theater in a few years.
I don’t see me ever having a drink there. It’s right out in the open by the entrance. We have an artsy theatre that has a bar room that serves bar food. It’s located in a fashion type mall, and I’ve been to that one a few times before the show. It’s closed off and semi roomy.
Personally the seats won’t bring me out more. I thought they were fairly comfy before.
I don’t like the movies with food theatre. Having someone walk back and forth in front of me, then trying to pay my bill when the movie is still on…nah. I did it once, wasn’t my thing.
That’s pretty cool that theaters are moving to recliners. I haven’t been to a mass-market theater for probably 10 years due to the cramped seats, crowds, and noisy/obnoxious patrons. We swiitched to iPic theaters and never looked back - you buy your tickets and choose your specific seats online, and they have waiters that come and take your order and bring you food/drinks. We only go to 2-3 movies a year so we like to make an event out of it.
My kids still go to movie theaters (stadium seating in very nice surroundings) for date nights, but dh & I don’t. I’m far more comfortable at home and don’t mind waiting a few months to watch new movies. We can buy new movies on dvd or Blu-ray for less than the cost of two tickets, but often choose to rent them from Amazon.
I dislike those recliner seats - they make my back hurt even more than the cheap upright seats in the second run theater down the road that tries not to turn on the heat in the winter or the a/c in the summer. And don’t get me started on mandatory 3D glasses…
I personally enjoy going to the movies although I am picky about what I will see in a theatre and the kind of theatre. We only went to AMC once last year on New Year’s Eve as it had been closed for renovation. I didn’t realize that it was stadium seating with recliners till we bought the tickets but I thought it was a little weird and truthfully I didn’t find it all that comfortable. We have a large mulitplex with good sound that we enjoy but we also mostly go to what is actually more local for us, a small theatre that shows only indie films and documentaries. Sometimes with limited options movies come and go so quickly there are movies we would have enjoyed seeing in a theatre but cannot get there in time before they are gone. The Viggo Mortensen film is a good example, it came and went so quickly.
We also only see about 3 movies a year in a theater, but just last Friday we went to see a film that’s not in wide release, at a theater which is the only independent left in the area, and is beloved for being older and quirky. They had just installed the new seats! Seems like they have been well received by patrons.
We have an AMC which recently opened with about 16 screening halls with the stadium reclining seats. They also show imax movies. It is always busy. Ticket go up to $14 but I purchase passes from AAA or go to the matinee which is $7. We also have an Angelika theatres nearby that I have not been too but they have gourmet snacks, sandwiches, beer and wine that you can take into the theatre with you.
About 1/2 hour away is a rundown theatre that has $2 Tuesdays otherwise the movies are $5 a ticket. The movies shown maybe about 6 weeks old but not bad for the price. Lots of students go there.
There is a Movie Museum in town that shows a bunch of unusual movies and recliner chairs. Tickets are about $5 or $6 and you reserve a specific seat and showing.