Most moviegoers are now used to buying specific seats when they go to a premium theater. Starting later this year, however, at AMC theaters the best seats in the house will be reserved for those who pay a subscription fee and, in some cases, that fee will come on top of the regular ticket price.
“Later this year, AMC will introduce preferred premier seating, where we will block and reserve the best seats in the house in our theaters to be accessed first only by our A-List and our Stubs Premiere members — that’s the two VIP tiers within our Stubs program — at no added charge at AMC,” the company’s CEO Adam Aron announced during and earnings call today. “We will assure the best seats in our auditoriums are held, at first anyway, for our best customers.”
A Stubs Premiere subscription costs $17.99 for a year. It will allow AMC patrons to reserve from the block of premiere seating, but they’ll also have to pay the full freight of a regular ticket price on most days of the week.
An A-list subscription ranges anywhere from $19.99 to $27.99, depending on where in the U.S. you live. In addition to preferred seating reservations, subscribers also get admission to four films every week. So if you spend more than, say, $200 at the movies every year it might be a good deal for you — or if you want to ensure the best seats in the house.
Critics might say this is yet another example of airline style add-on fees: think $25 for a checked bag, $10 for wifi and $20 for advanced seat selection. Exhibitors will argue they’re providing a service that some people value more than others and pricing it accordingly. What is true is that there are additional savings that come with both Premiere and A-list subscriptions.
Those include half-priced movies on Tuesdays and Wednesday, waved concession service fees, no added fees for premium formats and waved online ticking fees.