A Movie Theater is Switching Their Seats to Recliners

Don't you just hate it when you get to the theater and you are stuck with an uncomfortable chair? That may change.

AMC theaters are trying out a new approach to the comfy chair situation. They are renovating 1,800 of its almost 5,000 auditoriums in the U.S. to outfit them with recliner-style seating. While the chairs will increase in size and comfortability (and appeal), this is also means that there will be fewer seats in the new auditoriums, decreasing capacity by anywhere between 50 and 70%. In some theaters, this means fewer than 70 seats will be available.

With fewer seats, there's fewer tickets to sell, and AMC can charge more for the amenity. The company will not be adding the additional $1 or $2 to ticket prices until about a year after the change, in order to condition customers to desire the new seating arrangements.