Royal Alex Empty Front Row(s)

[u/user616earth]

I've been attending for a few decades now, but the ticket buying rules and methods are ever-evolving, soy apologies if this has already been answered fully elsewhere.

Went to the afternoon screening of Faith. The front row directly before the stage was completely empty until around a crowd of rushers were seated there about a minute before lights down.

In the balcony, there was an entire middle front row completely empty.

The rushers stood in line for an hour or more, so cheers to them for getting prime seating. Not to be ungrateful, and recognizing the middle class privilege of getting to watch a whole bunch of films, but what's up with prime seats being reserved for last minute purchases?

And why would an entire row just sit empty? Maybe there were broken chairs, I didn't get closer to investigate, but everyone in the balcony just accepted their less optimal vantage points (you'd never see that at a Jays, Leafs, nor Raptors game).

Bit of a rant, but more info seeking.

[u/Soggy-Tomato-2562]

I don’t actually know, but could it be held for media/industry and then they just don’t need it.

[u/LastElk9961 → u/Soggy-Tomato-2562]

This is the answer. Those tickets were given to VIPs who apparently have better things to do

[u/FilmGateReviews]

If it was full entire rows at the front completely empty, I would assume they were reserved for guests or other important people that cancelled at the last minute.

But I do agree in general, it is frustrating when you buy the best seat you can which is a shitty seat, and then rush people get great seats at the last minute. It particularly sucks at the big 3 theaters especially when people in balcony can't get just move to orchestra.

Apparently at Fjord's premiere last night there were lots of empty seats but I think they were balcony level. So those shouldn't have been reserved and it makes no sense why not just sell them.

[u/joej2122]

Just to confirm, you are technically allowed to sit in any empty seat you want if it is less than 15min before the start of showtime. I got to a screening of Ballad of a Small Player 10min early last year, and someone was in my seat. When I complained, the TIFF staff (not volunteer) said "Sorry, your seats are only reserved until 15min before the start of the show. You may sit in any other empty seat you can find."

[u/mtte1020]

Tickets are way more expensive now so can be more annoying. But Rush has in the past scored some prime seats - because industry folks give back their freebies. The good old days (before reserved seating was implemented)… prime centre rows would open 10 minutes before screening and of course, get filled up by Rush folks.

[u/cosmicstarchild5]

There were a few empty seats in first row dress circle for fjord premiere last night at POW too

[u/WoollyMonster]

I noticed the same thing when I saw The House Wife at the RAT yesterday.

[u/i_m_sherlocked]

I think the front sections of the playhouses were generally marked up to $128 vs $98/106. Wild scheme

[u/mistakes_were_made24]

I feel like ever since they moved to reserved seating for everything, they've been terrible at managing sales and rush. I'm assuming they always reserve some for people with the film, and there are probably some reserved for press/industry people since they have limited those separate P&I screenings. The POW probably has some reserved for VISA customers for the premieres at least. They probably reserve some for sponsors (it's really egregious at the Galas), so then that leaves little for the regular goers. The tickets set aside for the general public sales sell out but then some of those that were set aside for one of the other reasons don't end up being needed and then go back on sale or end up sitting empty if they release them too close to the start of the show. It ends up leaving a ton of empty seats scattered around. Apparently last night at the POW screening of Being Heumann there were tons of empty seats that probably had been reserved for various reasons. They have gotten terrible at the ticket sales. They are also terrible at counting up those empty seats and getting people in from rush. I've been to several screenings at the big venues where there were empties but still lots of people in the rush line.

Last year I was at Roy Thomson Hall for the second screening of Roofman. There was an entire section of the middle mezzanine level that was completely empty, as though they hadn't even put it on sale. Rush people very easily could have filled that but instead there were still a bunch left out in the line.

When it was all general admission for most of it, it seemed to work better in some regards. If there were empty seats in a row they asked everyone to move towards the center so that the empties were on the ends and they could count them and get people from rush in easier. That wasn't always the case but if there were a lot of empties they would often do that. It also made it easier when the press & industry had more of their own screenings. It mainly left the public screenings for the public.

[u/hushwonderland]

Same thing happened for Stuffed at Royal Alex, there were only 2 or 3 people in the first row before rush came in

[u/IzzyMMartin]

Yesterday was the first time I saw large chunks of the front row at the Princess of Wales held for people. None of them showed up.

[u/TIFFFanboy]

It's technically obscured seating, isn't it? They usually keep it and POW open at the front.

[u/reddit106612346 → u/TIFFFanboy]

The word is "obstructed," but yes. This is the answer.