Has MoviePass become so powerful with consumers that major theater chains are psychologically heading over the edge? That point may have already been reached if the rumors about the AMC theater chain are true. The rumors began within the AMC Stubs Reward Program by members who recently have received a survey. Among the question was what their seat preferences were and how much were they willing to pay for reserving selected seats within the theater. Twitter chatter has already taken the next step, taking the results of the survey and making it a new AMC policy.
If price and location are two of the key criteria, then it follows that the price of the best seats (in the middle of the theater) will require a premium price — higher than the current first come, first served approach that has been around for decades. It may be a way to generate new revenue, or it might be one way to limit the impact of MoviePass, prohibiting its tickets to be used for premium seats. Another possibility is to raise the ticket prices and force MoviePass to do the same, which would cause membership to plummet.
What theater chains may be counting on is MoviePass, like many other Internet trendy businesses, will not be around for long. Beyond the iffy business model, members really have little concern for the brand other than that it is a name to remember for cheap movie tickets. It could be called El Kabob for all they care. Sooner than later someone will come along and do it better or cheaper, and MoviePass will be the MySpace of theater tickets brokering.
But AMC has shown how bad of an idea this ploy actually is. Many people avoid going to the theater because there is always someone annoying (or worse) who will take a 2 hour movie experience and turn it into a horror show for the rest of the audience. If adults want to go somewhere where screaming, unruly children are, they likely have a friend or neighbor they can visit without having to pay for the chaotic ambiance. To pay even more for an unwanted, live surround sound experience is as bad a business model as MoviePass.
Another question is how AMC will enforce the seating arrangements. Maybe they are going the way of music concerts, where people huddle together in groups to make sure their territory isn’t violated. There is a reason front stage tickets cost more, and why if you are in the nosebleed sections where you sit really doesn’t matter. But while music concerts are to be heard, theaters are all about the visuals. For some concert goers it is impossible to be too close, but the front seats in theaters are usually the least populated.
We will wait to see what will come of this rumor — if anything. Maybe AMC will select certain theaters as a test market to see where the idea goes. Not all AMC Stubs Reward Program members received a survey, so it needs to be determined if they chose specific members for a reason or was the survey a result of random selection. People who attend a movie once or twice a year are not likely included in the survey, so targeting the frequent moviegoers would make sense if the purpose of the survey was to find ways to minimize the impact MoviePass has had on AMC.
More information is needed before jumping to conclusions, but it seems clear MoviePass has gotten AMC’s attention.
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