‘Lord of the Rings’ star Elijah Wood blasts AMC’s new ticket pricing plan that will ‘penalize people for lower income’:
Hollywood actor Elijah Wood has criticized a major movie theatre chain for its decision to charge different prices for tickets depending on how comfortable and where you are seated in the cinema.
The largest movie theatre company in America, AMC Theatres, introduced its new pricing structure on Monday, under which the price of a ticket will depend on the position of the seat.
The plan, called Sightline by AMC, will increase the price of seats in the middle of the auditorium by one or two dollars while decreasing the price of seats in the first row.
The company will have implemented the price structure for movie showings after 4 p.m. at all of its domestic facilities by the end of the year.
Only AMC Stubs members will be able to purchase tickets for the lowest pricing. The most costly seating will be available to “A-List” subscription membership holders free of charge.
Wood, whose acting credits include the Lord of the Rings trilogy, claimed in a tweet on Monday that AMC’s new ticketing policy has destroyed a “holy democratic place.”
Wood wasn’t the only person to protest to AMC’s plans; many Twitter users also voiced their disapproval of the company’s plans, advocating for a change in the programme or announcing their own intentions to boycott its cinemas in favour of paying a lower price for a decent seat.
Others predicted that AMC’s new approach would “actively damage” the industry and enhance the possibility that theatres would die a “long, slow, torturous death.”
For those willing to pay more for their ticket, many theatre operators, including AMC, offer premium or luxury movie viewings with luxurious seating and other advantages.
While some chains, like Cinépolis, which offers limitless popcorn, in-theater waiters, and gourmet cuisine, exist primarily to provide opulent experiences for moviegoers, AMC’s Prime showings offer patrons extra comfort seating and improved projection technology.