C.D. Reimer

As an AMC Theatres shareholder, I got a free single Gourmet Oreo Popcorn. I took advantage of that offer when I saw “Cocaine Bear” last weekend.

The single serving of the Gourmet Oreo Popcorn came in a tall cup. The Oreo cookie crumbs had a rich flavor that tasted better than the Most Oreo Oreo cookies. The cold unsalted and unbuttered popcorn tasted like flavorless marshmallows.

Would I pay $10 to $12 for this? No.

Since I stopped drinking sodas six months ago, movie theater food tastes bad anyway.

The alternative to AMC’s Sightline location-based seat ticket prices is the Stubs A-List program. Pay $25 per month to see three movies per week in any format at no extra charge. If you do watch three movies per week, your average ticket price is $2.

Why would AMC give away tickets for the cost of slightly more than one ticket per month?

Movie theaters don’t make money on ticket sales. Studios take up to 60% of ticket sales for the opening weekend and reduce their take over time for a movie.

Movie theaters do make money on concessions. The next time you pay $15 for food and drink, $5 is the cost of goods, $5 is labor, and $5 is profit. Almost everyone buys food and drink at a movie theater.

As a Stubs A-List member, I watched 39 movies for an average ticket price of $8 in 2022

NOTE: Check out the longer version of this short video.

“Sightline” is a good name for AMC’s new location-based seat pricing. Renovated theaters have the new Signature recliner seats that are wider and more comfortable. They also sit higher than traditional theater seats to have a better “sightline” to the screen.

A renovated theater has half the number of seats found in a traditional theater. With fewer people watching movies, theaters are no longer for the unwashed masses. AMC is catering to the dedicated audience that enjoys watching a movie on the big screen.

Most comments I’ve read about the price changes come from people who haven’t been to a movie theater in decades.

The last movie theater I went to that had “sticky floors” showed two movies for five bucks in an old playhouse in the late 1990s. You can bet that some of the stickiness on the floor wasn’t from spilled sodas.

NOTE: Check out the longer version of this short video.

AMC is introducing location-based seat pricing called Sightline. Where you sit inside the theater determines whether you pay more or less for a ticket.

• The Value Sightline seats are in the first row before the big screen. Those tickets are $2 less than the regular ticket price.
• The Standard Sightline seats are in front and on the sides. Those tickets are at regular ticket price.
• The Preferred Sightline seats are in the middle. Those tickets are $2 more than the regular ticket price.

If the regular ticket price is $15, value seats are $13, standard seats are $15, and preferred seats are $17.

The new seat prices are for showings after 4:00 PM in New York City, Chicago, and Kansas City. The new pricing will roll out to the rest of the United States throughout the year. Doesn’t apply to Discount Tuesday or AMC Stubs A-List members.

NOTE: Check out the longer version of this short video.