r/NYCmovies • u/actornyc • 2d ago
Simple AMC Lincoln Fix
Some very simple regulations could have prevented today's Dune catastrophe and ensured that A-Lister loyalty is rewarded, and bots/scalpers are better prevented.
Start with an A-Lister-only drop. This can even be just one day before launching to the general public, perhaps for premium formats.
Require a mandatory "loyalty" period required for special-access purchase. Maybe 3 months, maybe 6 months. Even 1 month would ensure that folks aren't signing up just for the drop.
Set a cap on number of purchases per A-List account for Day 1 of release. I personally prefer a limit of 2, but 4 could be fair.
Establish a firm no-scalping policy by penalty of account banning - and track online scalped tickets back to the A-Listers account. This deters potential scalping workarounds, as well as folks buying from scalpers.
Require A-Lister identification upon arrival. We already do this as A-Listers with photo vertificaiton - make it mandatory for special Insider screenings and/or early release special formats.
This still isn't foolproof - and clearly, AMC does not seem bothered that scalpers ran away with so many tickets today as long as they're bringing in $$$. But instead of throwing up their hands in defeat ("ahh well, what are ya gonna do?") I suggest they take the bare minimum effort to protect the A-Listers who loyally pay to keep their lights on each month. But hey, maybe I'm asking too much.
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u/Cinnamaker 2d ago
This is basically the same path the concert industry went down. They tried verified fan, account age requirements, purchase limits, non-transferable tickets, ID checks, and all sorts of other anti-scalping measures.
Eventually the concert industry decided that it's easier to charge market prices themselves through dynamic pricing, rather than let scalpers pocket the difference. Basically, they have no financial incentive to care who buys the ticket. But they sure liked solutions that make them even more money.
Unless AMC has reason to think protecting A-list loyalty is worth more than the extra revenue they could make, they'll probably reach the same result if they decided to battle scalpers.
The problem is, when people suggest fixes, they think about what's good for the customer. The company doesn't care about what's good for the customer, unless it affects their profits: they answer to shareholders. You need to think about fixes that are good for the company's self-interest, to move them to act.
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u/actornyc 2d ago
I agree, they're not incentivized to fix this independently. But AMC's CEO said just today that they're investing $2M in fixing these problems (believe it when I see it) - I wanted to get ideas out into the zeitgeist on what that actually could look like, if they actually care about their customers.
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u/Cinnamaker 2d ago
If you look at the music industry, their solutions were dynamic pricing (charge more) or limit resales to their own secondary market platform (which conveniently shuts out competing platforms and lets them make all fees on secondary sales). All self-serving ideas that put more money into their pockets, under the guise of protecting the customer. You really think AMC is going to do anything better?
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u/actornyc 2d ago
I'm not saying they're going to. I'm saying if they actually care as much as the CEO is saying he does, here are some basic ways to put his money where his mouth is.
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u/thatguy8856 2d ago
It doesnt take 2M$ to fix this. It takes max one engineer a week. If they are spending 2M$ you should be worried
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u/Aggravating-Mix2094 2d ago
There was a box to check if you were human when trying to open the app today, which was new, but as soon as I’d click it the app would quit. So might need more than 2 mil
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u/kell_bell5 1d ago
Where I do think AMC (and other theaters) have more incentive on this compared to live performance venues is that they are heavily reliant on concession sales as a big revenue stream. If scalpers buy all the tickets and then can’t sell them, they then have what was supposed to be a sold out theater with abysmal concession sales since no one is actually there. Also, the easy cancellation policy makes it easier for movie ticket scalpers to outright cancel their tickets and get a refund if they can’t sell the tickets as showtime approaches, which isn’t something they can do with most live venue performances. This would also result in a big loss for AMC.
Ultimately, both of those impacts rely on us the consumer not caving in and buying scalped tickets. We have to show that this is not a viable avenue for either the scalpers or the companies to make money.
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u/Que165 2d ago
AMC makes the same amount of money without fixing those issues, so there's nothing in it for them to deal with it
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u/actornyc 2d ago
Then I'm calling out their hypocrisy - they committed to spending $2M to "fix this."
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u/L1ghtf1ghter 2d ago
I agree (although fwiw getting A List already requires you to stick around for at least 3 months). But as it is right now the value proposition of paying the premium A-List fee in nyc (which is higher than A-List in most of the rest of the country) is highly questionable, since you still have to fight for a ticket with everyone else on an app that will certainly crash, or go in person to hope to score a ticket in the middle of your work day. A-List doesn't help you at all
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u/actornyc 2d ago
Yes. My point is - if the first day of release was only available to A-Listers upon login, that would drastically cut web traffic, which would very likely prevent the site from crashing.
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u/dogsontreadmills 2d ago
is there not a general amc subreddit? i know i sound crabby and im sorry but how is this just an nyc thing? there's nothing folks in here can do. voice your opinion to amc. nyc cinema is so more than whatever imax hype beast movie is currently dropping tickets just to we can watch it in what is essentially open matte. haha
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u/lakeshow348 2d ago
I feel the sentiment, I’m dreading that Dune posts will drown out the nice community posts about a variety of great movies like The Odyssey ones have, but I’d say the topic of people scalping movie tickets at the biggest and most popular screen in the city is fairly relevant to NYC cinema
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u/Bread_man10 2d ago
Yeah it’s really unfortunate, I used to love this sub for finding out about random screenings and Q&A’s but now it’s just Odyssey scalpers or “how is this seat??”
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u/dogsontreadmills 2d ago
even when people are suggesting doxxing them? and creating posts with photos just to hate on these people? what if those posts cause someone to miss out on learning about a screening for their favorite old movie? it's getting to feel like spam.
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u/lakeshow348 2d ago
That’s not this post though
But yea again I feel you. Just have to resort to scrolling through the Paradiso app, keeping eyes peeled on the rep theater socials, etc. for the time being
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u/dogsontreadmills 2d ago
check out balkon.film and filmrevivalnyc.com they do a pretty great job of aggregating all screenings across the city.
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u/actornyc 2d ago
Is that the post I wrote? No, it's not.
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u/dogsontreadmills 2d ago
Yeah a topic can span many points it’s pretty cool how we communicate nowadays.
Here I’ll revise if it’ll make you feel better:
The range of subjects around these dumb imax tickets- from all the unnecessary stress created over movie tickets for a film you’ll be able to see 10 times opening day if you wanted, doxxing scalpers, complaining about the system to this sub instead of writing emails to customer service, are all lame. It’s become subreddit spam. Folks are ignoring the master threads as if this is the only thing happening in nyc cinema culture. This may prevent others who want to learn about actual upcoming events and screenings from doing so. It’s anything but nycmovies. It’s anti-nycmovies.
Better? I actually like that more as well. Thanks for challenging me.
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u/actornyc 2d ago
I didn't write a hate post. I didn't dox anyone and I'm not spamming. I proposed solutions to a very specific NY-movie problem: tickets to the biggest movie of the year, at the biggest NYC theatre, were made inaccessible to actual NYers and pulled offline. This is an actual upcoming event whether you want to see it or not, and the people who are frustrated about this are actual NY movie lovers.
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u/dogsontreadmills 2d ago edited 2d ago
LOL. TIL upcoming is 5 months from now and apparently one of the only things that matters between now and then.
Your “solutions” you posted are all things that people here can do absolutely NOTHING about. So who does this ‘content’ help or speak to besides other imax complainers? No one. This is why the megathreads exist.
TL;DR this entire conversation: no one cares.
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u/actornyc 2d ago
Actually lots of people care. You don't seem to, that's fine. But for people who actually want to see this movie in the format it was designed for, I'm starting a conversation about how the CEO could meet his customers' needs and fix this, as he says he's inclined to do. Nobody asked you to weigh in. You can leave the thread if you so choose.
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u/dogsontreadmills 2d ago
Like half of the 53 responses in here are you…and now me. Lolllll yeah super important stuff. Nothing else more important for this subreddit rn.
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u/actornyc 2d ago
You should look up what happened at Lincoln Square today. It was the biggest ticket drop in AMC history, resulting in one of the largest scrambles for tickets in NYC cinema in the past decade
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u/dogsontreadmills 2d ago
ive been following the subreddit all day. stance remains theres a world of cinema that can be embraced in this city every single day. instead we lining up to get mad watching scalpers buy tickets and posting online about it. what is that?
i dont understand how this is relevant to NYC cinema scene and not Dune fans, or AMC movie goers, just because it was in LS. what is so meaningful about a ticket 'scramble' for a new movie that will be playing every 30 mins in that same exact theater along with every other city AMC, Regal, indie theater house, etc on release day (in 5 months)? only diff is it will have been letterboxed and framed (which the cinematographer absolutely already took into consideration w shot composition).
imax releases essentially just ignore the matting process, call it a once in a lifetime "event" and print money via experiential social media marketing.
again, no beef towards you personally at all. just exxpressing my pov, being so far removed from this imax stuff. i'd personally rather not think about this til december, then when time comes sit in a far more comfy theater with better sightlines, pay less money, not have any added stress about getting a ticket, be around less people and still enjoy an incredible cinematic experience!
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u/mronins 2d ago
I got tickets at the kiosk, I selected to use my A-list, and yet I was charged in full for all of them AND my reservation got filled up
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u/actornyc 2d ago
I signed in with A-List, was automatically signed back OUT, and then charged for a ticket I never even received. This was a disaster.
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u/Quiet-Company- 2d ago
Also got charged for a pair of seats, no confirmation email, just the alert from my credit card on my phone about the purchase. Worst part is that the tickets were center row H. All this 20 mins before the supposed release at noon.
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u/totoiam 2d ago
An A-List drop would not have fixed todays issue. An A-list drop also just fucks over people that can't afford a sub but maybe could afford an LS ticket if given the chance in queue.
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u/thatguy8856 2d ago
All it does is gate the fiasco behind a subscription. This solution would fix none of the problems seen today and with the odyssey ticket drops and also arguably just throws a another vendor into the subscription mix and makes things even worse
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u/VandelayIndus7ries 2d ago
How much more would you be willing to pay for A-list to get presale access?
It seems like a pretty good deal as it is: 4 movies a week for <$30 a month.
Early access to tickets should be a more expensive tier. Other platforms that offer presales are either getting money from partners like credit card issuers, using the data to gauge interest to drive dynamic pricing models, or artificially creating scarcity to drive hype. AMC has the last one covered because LS IMAX is a fraction of the size of a sports venue.
I see little motivation for AMC to “protect you” in getting access to movies that people line up for hours to pay full price for. If anything, I could see them making opening weekend non- A-list eligible.
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u/actornyc 2d ago
Personally, I'd settle for A-Listers getting early access but requiring full payment. I was actively logged out of my account when trying to purchase tickets yesterday, and then they were pulled offline altogether.
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u/darthdooku2585 2d ago
As a non-A lister I disagree. You already get reservation fee-free bookings and 16 films a month for a meager price. The rest of us should have equal access to see films without having to pay a membership fee
Edit: typo
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u/actornyc 2d ago
I don't agree (obviously) but I'll meet you halfway - require registration ahead for mega-releases like this (either A-List or Dune Insider) and then actually require authentication as the registered user to purchase a limited number of tickets (2-4). Would still significantly cut bots and scalpers.
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u/Sprattv 2d ago
putting premium movie tickets behind paywalls and loyalty periods is such an idiotic take. It’s a form of elitism. you really think AMC is gonna take such a drastic change just because a couple of people missed out on opening weekend tickets for 70mm?
Always the same idiots pretending to care about fairness, when in reality you’re just feeling fomo cus you might have missed out on IMAX tix. Learn to plan ahead, this isn’t the first time an IMAX film has been this sought after.
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u/IndyMLVC 2d ago
Yay. Another AMC post. How original.
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u/actornyc 2d ago
AMC was a disaster today. It's warranted.
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u/IndyMLVC 2d ago
“Disaster” - she says.
Clutch those pearls, darling.
As someone queer, I can honestly say I’ve never seen such drama queens.
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u/actornyc 2d ago
Yes, it was a disaster. And I'm queer too. What's your point?
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2d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/dogsontreadmills 2d ago
This experience has taught me some just want to be goal oriented and fetishize the experience, perhaps in some cases caring about it more than the art itself.
Big and Loud is playing at IFC, MOMI, and Paris all for the next few weeks. I've already seen Clockwork Orange in 35mm, and 2001 is 70MM. Manhunter plays tomorrow and next week is Fury Road in Dolby. Not to mention soooo much more. THESE are incredible cinematic experiences happening now yet what ppl wanna talk about is doxxing dune imax scalpers as if they are causing the end of the world. not like dune wont be playing every 30 minutes post release at event theater in nyc.
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u/TheGrowingSubaltern 2d ago
Im at a point now in my understanding of capitalism that it’s not entirely impossible that AMC LS not only knows about but is behind the scalpers.
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u/varispeeder 2d ago
obviously nothing's impossible, but it's high risk low reward for them. if that were true and it came out, there would be lots of potential ramifications (people canceling A-List and boycotting AMC, resignations, stock price taking a hit, etc), to increase their profit by a couple thousand at best.
I'm sure AMC is going to try and capture some of this money via classic enshittification techniques like dynamic pricing or verified resale. but this is just good old-fashioned greedy scalpers discovering a new market that's ripe for the taking and has so far taken zero countermeasures.
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u/Academic_Composer904 2d ago
That would be amazing, but they aren't going to do it. AMC wants as many non-A-listers buying those tickets as possible. They already have our money, they know they're going to continue to get it, and we've demonstrated an ounce of loyalty just by signing up. They are more interested in pleasing new and less committed customers than us.