By Katherine Doan

February 7, 2023

SAN JOSE, CALIF. — AMC’s new pricing system will begin charging more for movie theater seats after 4 p.m.

AMC, the country’s largest movie theater chain, announced that ticket prices would be determined by seat location. Seats in the front are less expensive because they are closer to the screen and have a harder time viewing, whereas seats in the middle are more expensive as they have a better view of the entire screen.

Sightline, AMC’s three-tier ticket pricing initiative, will be implemented in approximately 1,000 movie theaters by the end of 2024 for showings after 4 p.m.

The “Preferred” seatings are in the middle of the theaters and will be priced at a “slight premium”. Seating in the “standard” section, near the stairs, will be available for the standard ticket price. The least expensive of the three options is “Value,” which is located in the front rows.

“Sightline at AMC aligns AMC’s seat pricing to a variety of entertainment venues, providing experience-based pricing as well as other ways for moviegoers to discover the best values at the movies,” Eliot Hamlisch, AMC’s chief marketing officer, says in a press release.

The adjusted prices, according to AMC, will be displayed on a seating map.

Theaters in other countries will use similar pricing standards as the United States.

Sightline incentivizes customers to join AMC’s subscription program, Stubs A-List, by providing free “Preferred” seating. 

“This new pricing system will help moviegoers like me get the best seating and viewing area for when I want to watch movies in a theater,” says Riana Ngo, a freshman from Silver Creek High School. “It may be expensive, but I believe it is worthwhile!”