Movie theater assigned seats - what if someone is sitting in your seat?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's not that easy to confront. One time someone was sitting in my seat and I was too scared to say anything so I just left the theater bawling.

What are you concerned will happen?

Why are you harassing me? This whole conversation is making me cry.

[Anonymous]

I absolutely hate prebought, theatre assigned seats, I hate buying them, and I hate sitting in them - all those little groups while there are long rows of empty seats. It is human nature to want to sit where you are most comfortable, away of busy teens with their phones, or whole families with children. They are happier and I am happier. It is annoying enough that I have only gone to one movie the whole year. Who needs it? I don't. Yesterday evening, my daughter bought seats for Little Women. Our entire row was entirely sold out, while there were several rows right below us sitting empty. Management of seating doesn't make the consumer happy, only the management. So I am fine with movie theatres going out of business.

[Anonymous]

We have asked people to move and generally they do. Actually, when DH is with us, they always move. On the rare occasion, someone doesn’t move voluntarily, we’ve contacted an usher and they made the person move. It’s a little uncomfortable, but they are so clearly in the wrong that they usually don’t say a peep even if looking daggers.

We’ve also happily swapped one seat to accommodate people who couldn’t buy two seats together and end up on either side of us.

[Anonymous]

I love assigned seats. No need to get to the theater early for a chance at decent seats.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If the theatre isn't packed, we just sit wherever. It's an $8 ticket. Nobody cares. Only the movie theatres seem to like this assigned seating.

If the place is packed then say "Oh, I think this is my seat, but maybe I'm confused - what does your ticket say?"

Speak for yourself. I LOVE assigned seating, especially for popular movies. A little planning ahead and I sit exactly where I want without having to show up early to get in line, etc.

We also love it! We rarely got to the movies and having pre-selected seats reduces some of the stress of parking, getting snacks, dealing with the bathrooms, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I absolutely hate prebought, theatre assigned seats, I hate buying them, and I hate sitting in them - all those little groups while there are long rows of empty seats. It is human nature to want to sit where you are most comfortable, away of busy teens with their phones, or whole families with children. They are happier and I am happier. It is annoying enough that I have only gone to one movie the whole year. Who needs it? I don't. Yesterday evening, my daughter bought seats for Little Women. Our entire row was entirely sold out, while there were several rows right below us sitting empty. Management of seating doesn't make the consumer happy, only the management. So I am fine with movie theatres going out of business.

You do realize if you purchase your tickets in advance, online, you can select your seats? So you can pick the empty row you desire. Win!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I absolutely hate prebought, theatre assigned seats, I hate buying them, and I hate sitting in them - all those little groups while there are long rows of empty seats. It is human nature to want to sit where you are most comfortable, away of busy teens with their phones, or whole families with children. They are happier and I am happier. It is annoying enough that I have only gone to one movie the whole year. Who needs it? I don't. Yesterday evening, my daughter bought seats for Little Women. Our entire row was entirely sold out, while there were several rows right below us sitting empty. Management of seating doesn't make the consumer happy, only the management. So I am fine with movie theatres going out of business.

You do realize if you purchase your tickets in advance, online, you can select your seats? So you can pick the empty row you desire. Win!

The point is that there are always rows of empty seats. Don’t be difficult and go off on a tangent.

[Anonymous]

Interesting, I had to ask a couple today to get out of my seat. First time it’s happened but since the only open seats are in the front row (does anyone ever seek those out?), I had no problem asking them to move.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I absolutely hate prebought, theatre assigned seats, I hate buying them, and I hate sitting in them - all those little groups while there are long rows of empty seats. It is human nature to want to sit where you are most comfortable, away of busy teens with their phones, or whole families with children. They are happier and I am happier. It is annoying enough that I have only gone to one movie the whole year. Who needs it? I don't. Yesterday evening, my daughter bought seats for Little Women. Our entire row was entirely sold out, while there were several rows right below us sitting empty. Management of seating doesn't make the consumer happy, only the management. So I am fine with movie theatres going out of business.

You do realize if you purchase your tickets in advance, online, you can select your seats? So you can pick the empty row you desire. Win!

The point is that there are always rows of empty seats. Don’t be difficult and go off on a tangent.

+1. I hate pre-bought, assigned seats, too. For me, it takes the spontaneity and joy out of deciding to go see a movie on a whim. And, I can't stand that I am not able to move freely around the theater to find a seat most comfortable for me. It's all conditioning us toward a more commoditized future to me, anyway. Soon, the more premium seats will cost more. Only those willing to shell out extra $$$ will be able to sit in the "better" seats, just like the airlines now do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If the theatre isn't packed, we just sit wherever. It's an $8 ticket. Nobody cares. Only the movie theatres seem to like this assigned seating.

If the place is packed then say "Oh, I think this is my seat, but maybe I'm confused - what does your ticket say?"

Why position it like you made a mistake? Weird.

"Hi, my ticket says this is my seat. Please move."

DP. Your statement is quite confrontational. The first poster's isn't. I would use the first poster's statement every time. People these days are very unpredictable and you never know who is going to go loco.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I absolutely hate prebought, theatre assigned seats, I hate buying them, and I hate sitting in them - all those little groups while there are long rows of empty seats. It is human nature to want to sit where you are most comfortable, away of busy teens with their phones, or whole families with children. They are happier and I am happier. It is annoying enough that I have only gone to one movie the whole year. Who needs it? I don't. Yesterday evening, my daughter bought seats for Little Women. Our entire row was entirely sold out, while there were several rows right below us sitting empty. Management of seating doesn't make the consumer happy, only the management. So I am fine with movie theatres going out of business.

You do realize if you purchase your tickets in advance, online, you can select your seats? So you can pick the empty row you desire. Win!

The point is that there are always rows of empty seats. Don’t be difficult and go off on a tangent.

+1. I hate pre-bought, assigned seats, too. For me, it takes the spontaneity and joy out of deciding to go see a movie on a whim. And, I can't stand that I am not able to move freely around the theater to find a seat most comfortable for me. It's all conditioning us toward a more commoditized future to me, anyway. Soon, the more premium seats will cost more. Only those willing to shell out extra $$$ will be able to sit in the "better" seats, just like the airlines now do.

You can still walk into a theater on a whim and buy a ticket right at or after showtime. We’ve done it. There is no difference except you will be asked to select your seat at that time. It will take an additional 15 seconds. Much better than trying to scan the crowded theater for the best seat.

Those of us who attend sporting events, concerts, or plays/musicals are accustomed to paying a bit more for premium seats. It seems fairer to pay more for the best view and less for a poor one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Interesting, I had to ask a couple today to get out of my seat. First time it’s happened but since the only open seats are in the front row (does anyone ever seek those out?), I had no problem asking them to move.

Stoners.

Our multiplex always has a couple people in the front row and they look high as hell.

[Anonymous]

You punch them in the face, hard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If the theatre isn't packed, we just sit wherever. It's an $8 ticket. Nobody cares. Only the movie theatres seem to like this assigned seating.

If the place is packed then say "Oh, I think this is my seat, but maybe I'm confused - what does your ticket say?"

Were movie tickets really only $8 way back in 2018?

[Anonymous]

NP. To the haters--you do know that all but the most niche, art-house films usually show at more than one movie theater, right? If a theater's assigned seating or ticket price policies aren't to your taste, do vote with your feet and go to another theater without those things if you can. If you live somewhere that there's only one movie theater you're stuck, I guess, but if you're in the DMV area, you have other options. I have three theaters within 15 minutes of my house in NoVa that do not use assigned seating, and about five larger theaters that do use it. If you hate it so much, shop around instead of grousing.