I’ve only been to one theater that has this in Chicago, but I’ve always liked it. Once you get a feel for where you like to sit, it’s much better than just hoping that good seats will be open - you can actually look through screenings until you find seats you want.
Of course, if you make a mistake, then you pay for it. A friend of mine got us Harry Potter tickets and thought she bought second row, second section seats. They were just second row and it was a nightmare. Decent movie, though.
I’ve never been to a movie with assigned seating, but I have a question for the OP:
Now that you know which seats you’d prefer, wouldn’t assigned seating make it easier to get seats you like? (Assuming you can buy them ahead of time, anyway.)
I don’t go to plays or sporting events, but I strongly prefer general admission for concerts.
The only place I’ve seen assigned movie tickets was in Hong Kong, about 10 years ago. My brother was living there & appreciated being able to book online in advance.
I can see this going the way of the airplane: aisle & premium seats going for a premium price. I don’t like it.
My husband is extremely crowd-averse & therefore we go mainly to artsy movies or wait for the crowds to die down before seeing a mainstream blockbuster. It kinda sucks, but then one of my first jobs as a teenager was at a movie theater, so I got used to sitting in the front row or on the floor at the back during breaks.
95% of all German movie theaters have assigned seating. I like it for all the reasons mentioned in this thread, but not having it would not make me quit going to the movies - a week after opening, few movies are so popular that you can’t freely pick your seat anyway.
[mini-rant]For all the threads in the past about rude noisy movie-goers, sticky floors, and the general effed up experience of going out to a movies, you’d think people would welcome the attempts by theaters to elevate the experience![/m-r]
Another long time Arclight fan checking in -
That’s my take on it, the theaters have heard all of the complaints and they want to make the movie-going experience more enjoyable. Assigned seats is just one way to accomplish this. You can buy online, pick your seats, and show up right before the show starts knowing you will have a good seat. This process tends to filter out the unwashed masses. What’s not to like?
What theater is this?
The IMAX here (downtown Sacramento) has assigned seating. It’s very nice. It is the only movie theater I have been in with assigned seating.
A few theaters in NYC experimented with this but none of them kept the idea. You may think with the live theatre with assigned seating that it would work.
One problem is that people would not buy tickets if they didn’t see seats they wanted. So you were only getting around 90% before people started balking.
You want good seats? Get there early.
I’d take a guess that it might be the Icon on Roosevelt road in the South Loop. That’s the only theater that has assigned seating I know about, other than the IMAX at Navy Pier. I’ve seen quite a few sneak previews there (I’m seeing Moneyball there tomorrow night, with Jonah Hill scheduled to be there) but I would probably never go there for a regular showing, mainly because I live and work way north and it’s weird to get to. It’s worth it for a free screening, but not for a normal viewing.
We have assigned seating here - book online for the seats you want and pay at the same time.
It’s fantastic. As we take the baby we always choose back row aisle (makes it easy of baby is acting up)
I saw the 6th Harry Potter movie on opening night, in a regular theater, and it was probably the least pleasant movie-going experience of my life. Crammed tightly in to a line for an hour in a sea of loud and obnoxious strangers, finally getting in to the theater just in time to have no decent seats in blocks of 3+ available.
In contrast, I saw the last HP movie on opening night as well - but in a theater with an upper tier where the seats were assigned. We got there just a bit early, waited outside the theater - in an open area, without any strangers shouting in my ears or sweating on me - and leisurely made our way to the seats we’d chosen weeks earlier about 5 minutes before the previews started.
I’ve been asked to pick seats for assigned-seating sessions for years, being able to do it on a picture is helpful. Theater seats sizes aren’t so different from one to another, I know which distances and angles I and my usual guests like.
The last three times I’ve bought theater tickets (which are always assigned) were over the internet, three different systems. All involved chosing seating area (determines price), then picking individual seats, and if I didn’t like the seats available in one area I could go back and pick a different one.
It has started tainting cinema going in Australia. I get the impression the cinema do it to cram everyone in the back to cut down on cleaning.
First time i was asked where I wanted to sit I said, " Away from everyone else."
The girl laughed and I pointed out that I was serious. I hate talkers and eating is only forgivable while watching less serious fare. We ended up with a nice buffer zone around us.
We went to see the final Harry Potter movie at one of the deluxe theaters [Foxboro] in the reserved seating, had a lovely dinner while watching the movie. The seats were a bit larger and more comfortable than the regular cattle class seating, we got to pick where we sat, and were comfortable. It was well worth the extra $10 per ticket.
American movie lover here, and I have never, ever been to a movie theater with assigned seating. I can see some of the advantages, as mentioned upthread, but I don’t think I’d like it. Maybe I could get used to it, though.
The Canal Place Theatres in New Orleans is like this – the chairs are bigger and more comfortable, you can pick your own seating location, and there is a full menu to dine while you watch. Not my favourite place to go, but I could see it as a great date-type thing.
Oddly, I think every theatre in the area serves alcohol around here – a New Orleans thing, I guess.
It’s all assigned seating in Thai cinemas and has been as long as I can remember.
As mentioned, it is very common in Europe and Asia. It has it’s good and bad parts. In general, it makes going to the movies seem more special which maybe cuts down on the talking during it (maybe).
They gave it up. I’m not sure when, but they no longer have assigned seating there. There’s even a sign up advertising that fact so they must have gotten a ton of complaints.