Elijah Wood Blasts Movie Theaters For Targeting Low-Income Households
Elijah Wood publicly went after AMC for their new plan to adjust ticket prices based off of line of sight.
The Lord of the Rings and Sin City star Elijah Wood is calling out AMC Theatres for the planned restructuring of their ticketing payment tier. As we recently reported, the massive theater chain is making moves to change how their tickets are sold, with cheaper seats coming with a smaller dollar sign than those in the direct center. In a Twitter post, which you can see below, Elijah Wood called out AMC Theatres for their latest practice claiming that it would “penalize people for lower income” while those who rake in a “higher income” would be treated to the best seats.
In his tweet, Elijah Wood called the cinema “a sacred democratic space” for all of its patrons, holding tightly onto his belief that prices shouldn’t be based on where seats are located. The topic became hotly debated in the comment section with followers chiming in that this is the way it has always been for other entertainment venues such as sports stadiums, Broadway theaters, and concerts, so why shouldn’t it be the same for movie theaters? Another follower challenged Wood’s belief that it was “income” based writing that it was rather “based on willingness to pay.”
Still, the Maniac star fought back against those with opposing viewpoints, commenting that while this ticketing system is what’s used for sporting events, concerts, and the like, it’s not something that’s been practiced in cinemas, and nor should it be. Elijah Wood also responded to the income argument, writing that while “willingness to pay” and income disparity are not the same thing, it will still affect those who make less money in worse ways than those who earn a higher salary. He added that he’s not completely sold on the idea that this change will better anyone’s movie-going experience.
Whether Elijah Wood approves or not, AMC Theaters will be going live with what’s being dubbed as their Sightline initiative this Friday at select cinemas before launching nationwide later this year. Three levels make up Sightline with Standard Sightline, Value Sightline, and Preferred Sightline forming the tiers and mapping out how much each cost. As one could guess, Value will be the cheapest with Preferred situated in the middle and surrounding areas, and Standard presumably being aisle seats as well as those further back in the theater.
When it comes to a career in film, Elijah Wood has had a long and illustrious one that began when he was just a child. Next up for the actor, he’ll appear on the big screen in The Amazing World of Gumball: The Movie and Macon Blair’s reboot of the cult-favorite The Toxic Avenger. Fans of Yellowjackets were more than thrilled to learn that the celebrated actor would also be bringing his talents to the show’s upcoming second season.
With such a lengthy list of credits under his belt, it’s understandable why Elijah Wood wants everyone to be allowed to see the magic of the cinema from any seat in the house. With AMC announcing their new initiative as last minute as it gets, we imagine that the Green Street Hooligans actor won’t be the only celebrity to criticize the cinema juggernaut’s latest money-making move with the chain left to make the final decision of keeping their plan or scrapping it.
