A new article from Variety’s Rebecca Rubin (find it here), is showing that the biggest theater chain in America doesn’t understand what theater goers want. Do you remember three years ago when AMC introduce a plan to charge different prices based on where you sat? So the best seats in the house would cost the most money? Joke is on them though because I always sit on the edge!

According to Rubin, AMC is going to revisit this idea but, instead of the Sightline program of three years ago, they’re introducing a “perk” for AMC Stubs A-listers and Premier members. The “best seats in the house” will be initially reserved for the patrons who pay for those two tiers of their program. After a certain amount of time before the show starts, the member exclusive seating will open up to the general public but the timing of this is unknown at this point. This new phase of their Stubs program is set to roll out some time this year.

My preferred AMC in Saratoga, CA. Picture coutesy of their website.

The Stubs program started back in 2011 as a points program and A-list began in 2019. A-listers can pay anywhere from $19.99 to $27.99 a month depending on where you live and we (yes, I’m a member) get some pretty nice perks. I pay the more expensive of the prices becaues I live in California but even at that price I can see up to 4 movies a week in any format and I get a discount on certain drinks and snacks.

But this isn’t an add for AMC. This is a critique. This is a knockdown drag out expose! Okay, not really an expose since I’m not doing any investigative journalism. But it does sound cooler that way, right?

“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 only by our A-List and our Stubs Premiere members – that’s the two VIP tiers within our Stubs program – at no added charge at AMC.” Adam Aron, the chairman of AMC said on an earnings call.

Aron, the CEO not the Pokemon, states that basically they believe this step will be valuable to their more frequent guests and will bring brand loyalty to AMC. Really, Adam? You’ll never evolve into Adam Lairon at this point and forget ever seeing your final evolution Adam Aggron.

Adam Aron picture courtesy of The Guardian. Aron the Pokemon picture courtesy of The Pokemon Database.

I feel like a broken record at this point as my last two articles have mentioned the problems facing theaters these days as well as what should be done to fix it. Don’t tell my bosses at ReelRank News, they may start to realize I’m a one trick pony and fire me.

Author”s handsome picture.

I spend a lot of time on FilmTok, the movie side of TikTok, and one sentiment I see brought up again and again by different creators is the frustration with theaters and the lack of etiquette. And this problem isn’t anything that can be narrowed down to anything specific. People of all walks of life have forgotten how to act in movie theaters and what I hear over and over again in the movie sphere is people wanting theaters to do something.

Even the last bastion of hope for a peaceful theater experience, the Alamo Drafthouse chain, has fall from grace. Not only did the company suffer a few strikes back in 2025 for unfair labor practices (read about the Colorado and New York strikes), but recently they have changed their cell phone policy (read about it here), which was one of my favorite parts of their theaters.

My favorite Alamo Drafthouse in the Valley Fair mall in Santa Clara. Picture from their website.

If you can’t stay off your phone, don’t go to the theater. It should be easy. But it’s not because people are rude. So the Alamo Drafthouse theaters would confront people who were talking or on their phones one time and if there was a second offense, they would kick them out and ban them.

But now that’s changed a little. If you don’t know, you can order food at these theaters and, during the movie, you would write your order on a piece of paper and press a button and a staff member would come and get it. But now there’s no more pen and paper and anytime during the movie you’re to use your phone. Frankly I blame Sony for this. They bought the Alamo Drafthouse back in 2024. (read about it here)

So AMC thinks that the way to bring people back to theaters is by blocking off seats and Alamo Drafthouse said “hold my beer.” Though in their defense Alamo Drafthouse claims they have rules to keep people from scrolling on their phone and then claiming they were ordering (read their rules here)

These stuffed suit CEOs and other people making decisions for these huge companies have one thing on their mind. Money. But what these decision makers don’t understand is that a great way to make more money is to deliver a better product. I know, it sounds counterintuitive, but it works.

Moviegoers don’t need reserved seating or to be able to order food from their phone. We need to know that when we go see a movie that it can be an immersive experience