AMC's Manhattan Theaters to Adopt Reservation-Only Seating

NEW YORK, NY — One of New York City's largest movie theater chains is switching up its seating policy. As of Friday, Sept. 2, all AMC theaters in Manhattan will adopt reservation-only seating.

The days of simply walking into the theater, spotting a good seat and claiming it are over. Now moviegoers will be required to select a seat at the time of purchasing their tickets, whether online or in person at the box office.

“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,” said AMC executive John McDonald in a press release. “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 already offers reserved seating in 125 of its nationwide locations, including recently renovated Manhattan locations on the Upper West Side and East Village, according to the press release. The theater chain also uses reserved seating in IMAX and Dolby Cinema auditoriums.

AMC has nine different Manhattan locations, all of which will switch to reservation-style seating:

• AMC 84th Street 6: Upper West Side, 2310 Broadway
• AMC Village 7: East Village, 66 3rd Ave. (11th St.)
• AMC Loews Lincoln Square 13: Upper West Side, 1998 Broadway
• AMC Empire 25: Midtown, 234 W. 42nd St.
• AMC Loews 34th Street 14: Midtown, 312 W. 34th St.
• AMC Loews 19th Street East 6: Gramercy, 890 Broadway
• AMC Loews Orpheum 7: Upper East Side, 1538 3rd Ave. (86th St.)
• AMC Magic Johnson Harlem 9: Harlem, 2309 Frederick Douglass Boulevard
• AMC Kips Bay 15: Kips Bay, 570 Second Avenue

Photo: Flickr user Rob DiCaterino via creative commons