100% Opinion…but I feel this is coming…

TLDR: I'm anticipating certain seats starting in IMAX and eventually all theaters being more and less expensive based on multiple factors all related to higher and higher demand that the industry can't currently keep up with.

15-ish years ago we all enjoyed this new way of purchasing movie tickets on our phones and getting to pick our seats. It was new and we all loved being able to pick and see ahead of time where we'd sit.

Now it's the only way pretty much to get tickets. Yes you can still buy at the theater but the number of people that do that are steadily dropping.

Fast forward to today. Use The Odyssey as an example…we have prime time IMAX theaters that were insanely sold out opening weekend…EXCEPT for the front two rows…and the reason is obvious: those seats suck and the tickets are the same price as center row. Also, what tickets get bought first? Usually center row.

Now…what if a theater were to say, reduce the price of an IMAX ticket for those worse seats from say $20 to $10 and have there be zero fees for online purchases for those seats, would you buy? Some might say no, but others might just take advantage. And seats at half price still make more money than no tickets at all when it costs the theater the same to show a movie to an empty theater anyway.

And what about the best seats?

I have a client who works in Houston but lives in Florida close enough to one of those 70mm IMAX theaters. He said he'd have paid $100 a ticket for opening weekend because he only had one opportunity to go before having to head back and they were sold out.

Mark my words, this sort of thing is coming. Demand is extremely exceeding supply for some of these higher end theaters and soon enough we're going to see these factors affect movie prices. And once the higher end screens show this works it'll be the same to a smaller extent on regular screens. All these things will be factors:

Big blockbusters vs regular releases
Popular seats vs unpopular seats
Opening weekend vs non-opening weekend
High demand theaters vs regular theaters

Thoughts? Do you agree with me or think movie ticket prices will always be a flat cost no matter what? Would you pay more than others for a movie to have better chances at the best seats or pay less than others because you don't care about having the worst seats?

Now take it even further…what if paying for the best seats also got you say 10% off food, concessions, and beer? These restaurant style theaters have been popular and they're getting smarter about how they operate to not interrupt as much during the movie. Would you buy the best seats if you also got a small discount on food that you'd possibly be buying anyway?

Again, some of y'all would say no. And that's fine. The question is…do you think enough people would say yes?

Some theaters already do this already in the States I think,

I lived in London for 5 years and premium seating pricing was fairly common in cinemas there,

I think this will be only for a few movies, though. We keep hearing about how people don't go to the theater in numbers like they used to.

I've watched a few first run Bollywood movies in the theatre in Santa Clara, CA and in Blacktown, NSW, Australia.

There were lots of Indians in attendance (obviously) and I observed this behaviour at both places. The Indians would sprint (in some cases) to the back row and fill up all of those seats first. Even though objectively, there isn't really any difference between row 6 and row 10, they all had to try to sit in the highest row possible.

I asked my Indian-American co-worker about this phenomenon and he said that it is a cultural thing due to the fact that in India they charge more to sit further away from the screen with the back row being the premium price.

So the perception with Indian movie goers in the USA or Australia is that they're getting a premium seat for a lower price.

I was fine to sit in row 4 with 5 rows of empty seats behind me.

Too late OP, that plan is already in the works...

https://deadline.com/2026/02/amc-theaters-subscription-fees-best-seats-1236736615/

Rex Racer said:

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I think this will be only for a few movies, though. We keep hearing about how people don't go to the theater in numbers like they used to.

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99% of the time the way companies combat reduced consumption is to repackage something as "Premium" and charge more for it. Good luck hoping the theaters decide to reduce costs or limit price escalation to just a few select seats.

I could see the 70mm IMAX doing this, but that's the only format that the demand really exceeds the supply. For instance, when I bought tickets for the Odyssey at the 70mm IMAX in Dallas, the only show time available was 2:30AM.

My wife and I went and saw it last Friday at our regular Alamo drafthouse and I bought tickets 2 days before the showing and had great seats. There were plenty of seats at different theaters across the metroplex. If you tell me I have to pay a premium to sit dead center in the theater, I have zero issue sitting on the aisle.

I think it would be a massive risk for theaters. They finally seem to be getting their numbers back up the last couple of years after the massive dip due to the pandemic. I know my coworkers are always complaining about the cost of taking their kids to the movies. Family of 4 to go see Toy Story or the Minions will run you well over $100 with popcorn and drinks. That's already tough on families.

FL_Ag1998 said:

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Rex Racer said:

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I think this will be only for a few movies, though. We keep hearing about how people don't go to the theater in numbers like they used to.

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99% of the time the way companies combat reduced consumption is to repackage something as "Premium" and charge more for it. Good luck hoping the theaters decide to reduce costs or limit price escalation to just a few select seats.

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They are welcome to it. Even fewer people will go!

wangus12 said:

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I could see the 70mm IMAX doing this, but that's the only format that the demand really exceeds the supply. For instance, when I bought tickets for the Odyssey at the 70mm IMAX in Dallas, the only show time available was 2:30AM.

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100% agree that this is where it'll start.

And overtime I could see a variation of it possibly coming to other theaters. I do not think it would exactly be the same as what would possibly be in place for the 70mm.

I just paid $60 for two IMAX to Odyssey this weekend.

How much more of a premium can it be?

tommyjohn said:

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I just paid $60 for two IMAX to Odyssey this weekend.

How much more of a premium can it be?

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Center row being top premium, very top row being premium and bottom row being less premium.

I would hate for a theater to go the way of ticketmaster. Leave it like it is, price remains the same for all seats and with first come first serve.

Going to increase the # of people who decide they will sit wherever the eff they want.

Theater? ****, you can purchase a 100" TV for $1500.

Theaters will go the way of TV commercials, I predict. And I'm an old.

*******s with phones... talkers... people who have to get up every 10 minutes because they couldn't leave their kids at home, and too-cold AC? Nope. Nothing like firing up the 100 incher... settling back into the recliner... and enjoying a movie absent the bull*****

Theaters. They're still a thing? lol.

JamesPShelley said:

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Theater? ****, you can purchase a 100" TV for $1500.

Theaters will go the way of TV commercials, I predict. And I'm an old.

*******s with phones... talkers... people who have to get up every 10 minutes because they couldn't leave their kids at home, and too-cold AC? Nope. Nothing like firing up the 100 incher... settling back into the recliner... and enjoying a movie absent the bull*****

Theaters. They're still a thing? lol.

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"You see this ticket here?! Its from 1973, its the last theater ticket I ever bought and I don't plan to buy any ever again! You damn hippies with your indoor air conditioning and loud talking! You're not gettin' my business!"

Just ribbing ya. The theaters are getting less of my money every year because of the rising prices, but there are some movies that just demand my attention on something bigger than a TV screen.

JamesPShelley said:

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Theater? ****, you can purchase a 100" TV for $1500.

Theaters will go the way of TV commercials, I predict. And I'm an old.

*******s with phones... talkers... people who have to get up every 10 minutes because they couldn't leave their kids at home, and too-cold AC? Nope. Nothing like firing up the 100 incher... settling back into the recliner... and enjoying a movie absent the bull*****

Theaters. They're still a thing? lol.

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more directed and numerous?