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Topic: AMC's new luxury seats not aging well

Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."

Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001

posted 07-07-2015 12:31 PM

I had no idea just how abusive customers can be with movie theater sets until my late friend who managed our Carmike theater showed me some examples. Some of the wear and tear is just outright vandalism. People knife up seats, stub lit cigarettes out on them and even tear off arm rests.

The tears and cracks in those leather seats at that AMC location could be caused by elements on customers' clothing. Some people like to stuff their mobile phone in the back pocket and then sit on it. The phone and/or its case is getting gouged into the seat.

It's kind of nice to be able to watch the movie in a big recliner, but I would trade that for a regular theater seat if the savings was getting put into the sound and projection.

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Mike Blakesley
Film God

Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99

posted 07-07-2015 12:58 PM

I think people are more abusive to theater seats than they are to car seats. First, many times they allow themselves to "drop" into the seat. Then they sit there for two hours squirming around (I think people tend to sit more still in car seats). They put their feet on the seats in front. They spill stuff. They have pens, knives, or other hard objects in their pockets. If the movie is boring maybe they'll pick at the seat seams or something. And of course you have vandalism happening too -- which can also occur when the movie is boring. (I don't think anybody vandalizes their own car seats.)

And kids -- well they are adult type abuse on steroids.

I would guess the AVERAGE car seat doesn't get sat in for more than a few minutes a day during commutes. I know my own pickup, I probably drive it less than a half hour per day. Whereas the most popular rows of a busy movie theater get sat in and abused for several hours a day, every day.

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Frank Cox
Film God

Posts: 2234
From: Melville Saskatchewan Canada
Registered: Apr 2011

posted 07-07-2015 01:58 PM

When I set up my theatre 20-odd years ago, I purchased used seats (and a bunch of other stuff) from a theatre that had gone bankrupt a short while before, so I have no idea how old they actually are.

Today, about 70% of my seats bottoms (at a guess) are still covered in the original upholstery that was on it when I got them, and I have never had to re-upholster a seat back at all.

I have had to replace several of the springs that make the seat bottom fold up, though. Probably 50% of those springs have broken at one time or the other.

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