As of Friday, AMC Theatres is bringing reserved to all of its locations in the Manhattan borough of New York City.
This option, which allows guests the chance to select a seat in their favorite area of the theater before arrival, is already common at other theaters across the country, including 125 AMC locations. The feature has been typically reserved for more upscale, renovated theaters, which often include recliner seats, as well as Imax or Dolby Cinema screens.
While AMC offers reserved seating in approximately one-third of their locations nationwide, this marks the first major city where all AMC theaters have converted to a reserved option. AMC 84th Street and AMC Village 7 already offered this amenity, but now AMC sites across Manhattan will offer moviegoers the opportunity to determine their seat in advance.
While some guests may find reservations frustrating when left with only seats in the front row to choose from, the reaction to this upgrade has been largely positive.
“As we look at markets where we can begin to make reserved seating prevalent, there’s no better place to start than Manhattan, where a trip to the movies often means a subway or cab ride,” AMC exec vp of U.S. operations John McDonald said Wednesday in a statement. “Reserved seating lets moviegoers pick the exact seat they want when they make their movie-going plans and provides our guests with the confidence that their specific seat will be waiting for them when they arrive at the theatre.”
AMC has selected the Manhattan market as a testing ground for expanding reserved seating.
