Starting Friday, moviegoers in Manhattan will know exactly where they’re sitting when they go to their local AMC theater.
The company announced Wednesday that starting Sept. 2, those who attend movies at AMC theaters will be able to choose the exact location of where they sit when they go to the movies. While this is already present in 125 locations across the country, Manhattan will be the first major market where all of the AMC locations will assign seats.
There are seven different AMC locations in Manhattan that will now observe the company’s reserve seating policy. According to AMC executives, this move is perfect for those in Manhattan headed to the movies.
“As we look at markets where we can begin to make reserved seating prevalent, there’s no better place to start than Manhattan, where a trip to the movies often means a subway or cab ride,” says U.S. Operations EVP John McDonald. “Reserved seating lets moviegoers pick the exact seat they want when they make their movie-going plans and provides our guests with the confidence that their specific seat will be waiting for them when they arrive at the theater.”
Manhattan isn’t the first market to have reserve seating, but it is the first to have the policy set across an area. The locations that have used it so far have mostly been fancier theaters with recliner seats, but now this is coming to a wider geographic location.
Aside from the recliner seats and reserved tickets, the No. 2 movie theater chain in the U.S. is trying a number of different tactics to increase sales. There have been some failures, like the attempt to have texting-friendly theaters, but also some successes, like an app that allows viewers to order food from their seats. This all comes as the movie theater industry competes with the likes of T.V., Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu and is looking to find new ways to draw people in.
As someone who has been to an AMC theater with these new features, I can say the experience is better. It’s nice to know exactly where you are going when you enter the theater, instead of having that inevitable search in the dark crowd for the perfect seat. On top of that, the reclining seats also make for a much better experience. Props to AMC for thinking of the viewer. Now if only Hollywood can rebound from a summer of flops.
[Deadline]
