AMC is switching to tiered ticketing, with premium seats costing more. Sightline at AMC will provide seating priced according to the view of the movie screen, with sections designated Value Sightline, Standard Sightline and Preferred Sightline. AMC chief marketing officer and EVP Eliot Hamlisch said Sightline’s “experienced-based pricing” puts movie ticket sales more in line with the way seats are priced at other entertainment venues, such as those featuring music and sports. Sightline at AMC has launched in select markets and the company expects it to expand to additional AMC and AMC DINE-IN locations through 2023.

“AMC plans to launch Sightline at AMC in New York, Chicago, and Kansas City this Friday, with hopes for a nationwide rollout by the end of the year,” according to The Verge.

Standard Sightline features the most common seats in auditoriums and are available for the traditional cost of a ticket. Priced less than Standard, Value Sightline seats are in the front row and include select ADA seating. They are available only to AMC Stubs members, including the free AMC Insider tier.

Preferred Sightline seats are in the middle of the auditorium and priced at a slight premium over Standard. While pricing wasn’t detailed, AMC said its Stubs A-List members can make reservations in the Preferred section at “no additional cost.”

The Sightline at AMC program kicks in after 4:00 p.m. at participating locations and is not available on AMC’s Discount Tuesdays. “While every seat at AMC delivers an amazing moviegoing experience, we know there are some moviegoers who prioritize their specific seat and others who prioritize value moviegoing,” Hamlisch said in an announcement.

“Assigned seating in movie theaters has become fairly commonplace in recent years, but the same is less true of tiered pricing for screenings that aren’t exactly offering up all that much of a different experience at those different price points,” The Verge writes, adding that “it’s easy to see how the program could also make the movies feel weirdly split into first, second, and neck strain classes with many of the same headaches that come with air travel.”

Particularly at less crowded seatings, The Verge speculates it is “difficult to imagine how AMC plans to make sure that Value Sightline folks don’t end up sitting in Preferred seats.”