AMC Theatres is once again testing the waters to see if moviegoers are willing to pay higher prices for better seats at its theaters.
News of the chain’s plans to revise its seating strategy arrived in a message shared by CEO Adam Aron during a recent earnings call (via The Hollywood Reporter). After facing backlash for its now-cancelled Sightline initiative, which would have seen better seats made more expensive, the movie theater company says its preferred premier seating will reserve spots for A-List and Stubs Premiere members when it rolls out 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 by our A-List and our Stubs Premiere members — that’s the two VIP tiers within our Stubs program — at no added charge,” Aron said. “At AMC, we will assure that the best seats in our auditoriums are [held] — at first, anyway — for our best customers. We think it will be a considerable consumer benefit that our most frequent guests will notice and greatly appreciate, further cementing their brand loyalty to AMC.”
AMC’s “best customers” are those who pay a premium price to access benefits made available at supported theaters, including size upgrades for concessions, waived fees, rewards points, and, on the high end, access to four movie showings a week. Of its four available member tiers, Aron says only its most expensive offerings – the $18/month Premiere Stubs and the $20 to $28/month A-List – will be able to take advantage of preferred seating.
His comment suggests the “best seats” will eventually be made available for all movie fans regardless of their status. However, it’s unclear how long viewers would need to wait to land their preferred spots without paying extra.
Meanwhile, notable blockbuster movie experiences often sell out theaters weeks before they premiere, with many others likely to at least see spots located in the middle of the auditorium filled first. Like Avengers: Endgame before it, the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday will surely see moviegoers hopping into queues to try and nab the best seats. The new strategy will make securing spots opening weekend even more complicated, especially for those who can’t afford to spend the extra cash for better seats.
AMC has continued to experiment with its version of the theater experience in recent years. The company announced in 2025 it would be cutting Wednesday ticket prices in half in an effort to fill more auditoriums during the week. It followed that announcement by revealing that viewers would sit through more commercials ahead of their chosen movies before eventually announcing it would also be trimming its preshows.
Last February, AMC raised prices for its A-List members while altering benefits by allowing subscribers to see four movies per week instead of three. As the company introduces its preferred premier seating, it’s unclear if it also intends to increase prices yet again.
Photo by Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images.
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
