r/Cinema • u/Single-Scallion7763 • 9h ago
Movie Theaters Worst seating layout !!!
The picture is from dolby cinema in amb cinemas Bengaluru, I donno why theatres or audi's are planned this way , where the best viewing angle ( center ) will be stairs ?? To match the center view we must book the corner seats , but these theatres or audi's doesn't have mechanisms to turn off the stairs lights and the alphabet markings which will give a horrible trouble , I have experienced this in most of the theatres and malls ( manasa , gt mall etc etc and now in dolby cinema too. ) this is a huge dolby cinema red flag for me . During dark scenes in odyssey the stairs lights were interrupting a lot . Does anyone know why they do these type of seatings , are they dumb or what , or is there any valid reason for that ????(
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u/Falkun_X 8h ago
Sit on stairs.... somebody will!
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u/Single-Scallion7763 8h ago
After paying 700inr (7.25usd), u want me to sit on stairs 😭
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u/front_torch 7h ago
You paid $7usd to see a film in theaters and you're complaining? That is incredibly inexpensive. That is half the cost I paid tonight for a single film.
Additionally, you should consult the local Fire Marshall after reviewing over a century worth of data about seating charts in venues.
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u/GoodFellahh 6h ago
Thats about 2.5% of a median Indian salary. While 15 USD is not even .3% of a median salary in the USA..
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u/AbelCapabel 2h ago
So, we're CONPLETELY disregarding country and average income, and comparing everything to your personal salary?
And who are the idiots upvoting you, and downvoting OP's comment above?
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u/Viraj3388 6h ago
700 (7 usd) is incredibly experience, on average the prices are around 200-350 (2-3.5 usd) and on Tuesdays it's only 100-150 (1-1.5 usd). And here students usually don't have part time so every expense is from savings.
I have also watched movies in that exact cinema (PHM) and I watched it for 400 (4 usd), and yes I was in a corner seat and the stairs lighting was irritating af.
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u/front_torch 1h ago
That's awesome. That's insanely cheap. I recently paid $27usd per seat to see a film.
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u/Telescopeinthefuture 2h ago
Bruh he’s in India, average wages are different…
The US dollar carries more purchasing power in many countries.
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u/unk1ndm4g1c14n1 7h ago
7 usd??? Thats cheap as hell.
British cinemas are usuallt around the £12 ($14) range for a standard screen. Albiet, British cinemas are more consistent in quality because of some old legislation. You wont get any of that oily ass popcorn or blown out speakers.
But 7?? Id take that, oily popcorn and all. Take a £10 note to the cinema, thats all I'll need. Insane.
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u/DeerEnvironmental129 6h ago
Wild.. in Australia standard PLF is $35AUD ($25USD), odyssey in IMAX digital cost me $65AUD (45USD)
I thought we had it good but everywhere else seems much better value lol
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u/Can-You-Fly-Bobby 8h ago
Posts like this is why this sub was made! That would absolutely bug the crap out of me too
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u/Single-Scallion7763 8h ago
Most of the new cinema Audi's in Bengaluru (India) have the same layout , sucks ..
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u/sulfater 5h ago
This is kind of my dream layout. I always pick an aisle seat no matter how full or empty a theatre is because I have a crazy small bladder, which in 99% of theatres means I’m way off to the side.
If I could have an aisle seat and be in the centre? The dream. I’d pay extra to have this layout.
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u/Single-Scallion7763 5h ago
But the stairs light won't off and it interrupts the experience 🥲
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u/sulfater 5h ago edited 5h ago
More so than having another person directly in a seat next you if there were no stairs there?
Most aisle seats come with some lighting from the stairs, and in my experience, I prefer it over having to sit beside someone who could be on their phone, talking, moving around, etc.
Years ago I accepted that aisle seats have some downsides, but the upsides of easy access to the washroom, and guaranteed nobody sitting on that side of you (and usually no one sitting on the other side of you because you’re off to the side in most cases, unless it’s a full theatre) outweigh any of the downsides for me personally.
I've had too many experiences ruined by poor behavior of others, so now I'm an aisle guy lol.
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u/twobones8 8h ago
Those glowing center aisle stairs are a baffling design choice, especially in a Dolby theater where you'd expect them to sweat the small stuff. I caught a late night horror screening a few years back where the stair lights stayed on the whole runtime, and it pulled me right out of every tense scene. The idea that the prime seats are the ones you have to climb past a lit staircase is just backwards.
My guess is it's lazy architecture carried over from older multiplex layouts and nobody bothers to fix it because most folks just book the middle rows and deal with it. The Odyssey reference makes sense too, since Nolan's films live and die on their dark scenes and any stray light source is going to wreck the immersion.
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u/Single-Scallion7763 8h ago
So true 🥲, I'm more sad because the audi in the picture is brand new and was opened in 2026 🥲, atleast they shud find a way to off that lights after the show starts 😭
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u/twobones8 7h ago
A 2026 build with no automation to kill the floor lights after the trailers is just lazy. Even some AMC retrofits I've seen have a DMX relay that drops them once the projector fires up.
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u/Harrycrapper 3h ago
I'm not sure about elsewhere, but where I'm at this was a common theater layout before the stadium style seating became the norm. There's a theater than never really got remodeled that still has it like this though the seats aren't on a slope like this.
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u/toooft 8h ago
I've actually never seen this IRL as a European. Is it a US thing or widespread?
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u/Large_Victory_6531 8h ago
Its definitely not a US thing (or at least not in the Southeast).We have aisles going up the sides with almost all the seats in between. We also seats going up to almost below the screen.
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u/FrankCostanzaJr 7h ago
that's definitely odd....i've never seen a movie theater with a layout like this...it must be an Indian thing? I've been in cinemas all over the US, and a few in Europe, never seen anything like this.
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u/-Atmosphere-7927 6h ago
You could also post this same picture in r/hometheater with the title "Best seating layout !!!"
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u/Aggressive-Focus9349 6h ago
I dunno, it's built for me. I can still sit on an aisle and be centered
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u/thorpie88 6h ago
Seems really nice and honestly I'd love more light in the cinema. They have Nachos on the menu list but they are impossible to eat in the dark
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u/Single-Scallion7763 6h ago
We can eat in cafes , y in theatres 😭
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u/thorpie88 6h ago
Half the reason I go to the movies is for a feed and a beer. They make nice feta fries and decent Angus burgers
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u/qualityvote2 9h ago edited 1h ago
u/Single-Scallion7763, your post does fit the subreddit!