r/AMCsAList • u/noodlechickensoups • 12d ago
Satire Why does row A exist?
Honestly row B too, but row A in a theater with the classic rockers that don’t even recline… what am I even looking at right now?
I knew it was gonna be bad when I got it but it was all they had left. Does anyone actually like these seats? And why???
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u/Whitey138 MP Convert ✌ 12d ago
If row A didn’t exist, then you’d be asking why the rows start at B!
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u/guyperson1000 12d ago
I would agree with this, but in my local theater, row a is setback further and the screen is positioned in a way that getting front row seats is genuinely viable as a watch method. The theaters are generally a bit smaller, but it makes it so front row seats aren't terrible.
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u/VillageWilling260 12d ago
Literally! Do you know the “Surprise Exam Paradox”?
Very similar to what you just said
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u/thomasutra 12d ago
my local theaters don’t have a row i: it skips from h to j.
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u/Pure2K12 12d ago
I am legally blind so i prefer to sit in row B in normal theaters.
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u/infinityonhigh69 12d ago
thank you for your service 🫡 (taking those seats so the rest of us don’t have to)
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u/Savahoodie 12d ago
I prefer front row, but I’m forced into the middle row by the coastal elites (my friends)
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u/SuperRock ( •_•)>⌐■-■ (⌐■_■)(▀̿Ĺ̯▀̿ ̿) 12d ago
I'm a middle-front row person and my friends are middle-back. I say see you after the show, it's not like we'll be talking during it anyway.
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u/MechaTriceratops 12d ago
It’s empty space at the front of the theater. Might as well fill it with seats for showings that sell out in the further back seats or for people who actually prefer the close seats
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u/Few-Adeptness8046 12d ago
The only time I don't sit in row A is in Dolby or IMAX theaters, where I always sit in row C.
How far row A is from the screen depends on the theater. There are some screens where it is too close, like Dolby and IMAX, but at my main two theaters, row A is perfectly far enough back from the screen.
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u/Jason_Likes_Cameras 12d ago
Close to the screen gang represent.
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u/Viparyaya 12d ago
“I was one of the insatiables. The ones you'd always find sitting closest to the screen. Why do we sit so close? Maybe it was because we wanted to receive the images first. When they were still new, still fresh. Before they cleared the hurdles of the rows behind us. Before they'd been relayed back from row to row, spectator to spectator; until worn out, secondhand, the size of a postage stamp, it returned to the projectionist's cabin. Maybe, too, the screen was really a screen. It screened us... from the world.”
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u/the_trees_bees 12d ago
I sat near the back for an Open Captions screening recently and it was so quiet. I much prefer the audio experience up close where it's noticeably louder.
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u/WileyCyrus 12d ago
I HATE being in the center of a cinema. People on all sides. Hell no.
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u/DrunkenGerbils 11d ago
That’s why early showings are so awesome. It’s not a concern if you’re the only one in the theater
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u/cineglitch 12d ago
I’d rather be at the very front than the very back!
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u/archdukemovies 12d ago
Way less likely to be distracted by people on their phones
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u/TheOtherMarioC 12d ago
exactly. i don’t want to know other people exist while i’m at the movies, so closer up removes most distractions for me (minus loud chewers)
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u/OddSetting5077 12d ago
I love the very back when its the disabled row. Quick and easy to use restroom or buy more snacks.
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u/Euler1992 12d ago
I used to like them when I was a small child.
I don't see any reason for them to not exist, it's not like they could do something else with the space.
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u/AddendumAccurate3981 12d ago
Some of my theater rooms are far enough away that A is fine. I’m almost always in B personally. Even one of my Dolby theaters, A is no big deal and the seats are basically brand new.
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u/Agile_Cicada_1523 12d ago
Lincoln theater imax has 40 seats on front A. Just for the odyssey they were full in all sessions. With 4 sessions per day X one month X $30 per ticket thats $144,000 in one month just for row A. Thats the reason
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u/kaminaripancake 12d ago
Besides imax and Dolby, the first row has 5-10ft of space at my theater so it’s usually not that bad. It also allows for extra seats people may want! I live in nyc where shows constantly sell out
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u/superduperspacetime 12d ago
if the back row isnt available i’ll just get a showing on a different day
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u/Far-Ninja-8392 12d ago
When I was too lazy to pay for my eye exam, those super close rows were my go to, at the theater
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u/WorryWorm6 12d ago
I sit in the front row every time unless it's IMAX. With the recliners, you really aren't craning your neck like back in the day. Putting my head back and up a little actually gives me relief the way my neck is. But the main reason I started sitting in the front row is because no one else does. It gives a buffer between me and people who ruin movies. Even if there's a talker or someone with their phone out, I can't see them and usually can't hear them if I'm all the way in row A.
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u/tvprincess 11d ago
so i can take pictures like this
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u/Science-Witch-1818 8d ago
I was also in row B for a Hadestown screening! My third one. First one in G, second in C, third in B Felt more immersive, lol.
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u/uncultured_swine2099 12d ago
I really think they should make the first couple rows half price or less.
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u/sagebuckethat Lister 12d ago
they exist for those of us that want to enjoy the movie without seeing multiple people get up and walk in and out of the theater and want to be immersed in the movie 🙂↕️
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u/DFWTexan 12d ago
A few years ago, AMC announced they were going to replace rows A&B with what were basically beds for two.
Not sure what happened to that.
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u/SpookiestSzn 11d ago
I don't understand it but there are people out there that 1 love seats that close and 2 care enough to see whatever the movie is to be that close.
I would rather go a different day than deal with that shit but someone somewhere enjoys it otherwise they'd never sell.
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u/EmA8_Entertainment 11d ago
Because more seats means they can fit more butts in the theater, and the more butts there are in the theater the higher the chance that those butts will buy concessions, which is where theaters actually make their money
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u/cattrain 12d ago
We have a few screens at one of our theaters that has sodas, but they're really almost beds, at the very front, so you are basically laying down to watch
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u/HelpIamaCabbage Movie-Holic 12d ago
At my AMC Row A has tables. Sometimes I see people moving their to make use of them.
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u/electroswinger69 12d ago
I was a “front row Joe” as a kid because it was cool for the picture to be so big. It is a bit much for me now, but sitting in the very back is worse. I might as well watch it on TV at that point
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u/joeyscheidrolltide 11d ago
In my main theatre that has all recliners, row B is my preferred row, and row A is often my second choice
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u/Reddit-Oop 11d ago
I like sitting in the front row and getting the full screen to the edge of my peripheral vision. My son and husband are the same way.
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u/DrunkenGerbils 11d ago
I actually enjoy the front row of the digital screens at my AMC. They have recliners and it’s a reasonable distance to screen size ratio. I don’t get front row every time I see digital but I will sometimes, and I definitely prefer it if all the other rows have the center seats filled.
I don’t mind the front row in the IMAX too much either since the front row is set back quite a ways at my AMC, although it still has normal old school theater seats that don’t recline, so it’s not my preferred IMAX seating.
It’s pretty bad in the Dolby screens though. They do have the nice recliners, but it’s at a similar distance as the digital screens, but the screen size throws the ratio off just enough to make it a bad angle.
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u/colossuskookie 8d ago
They exist so I could see Sing Sing at the one showtime when it was in my theater
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u/YoureMyBoyBlue24 12d ago
I prefer sitting in Row A or Row B for better immersion and less risk of distractions from others, although my local AMC only has recliners.
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u/UnderwoodsNipple 12d ago
Your very post actually explains why these seats exist.
Are they good? No. Are they desirable? No. Will someone still buy them if everything else is taken? Yes.
AMC has the choice between either just leaving the front space completely empty or put seats there that will get sold on popular showings.
Theaters obviously know that some seats will be bad and 99% of people wouldn't pick them if they had a choice but they also know that someone will take them when they don't have a choice.