My hometown's movie theaters do not have assigned seats, but I recently went to a movie theater that printed your seat assignment on your ticket. If it were a system that lets you choose your seat when you buy your ticket, that might be okay, but I don't like automatically assigned seats.
The movie theater I went to assigns seats systematically--you don't get to choose where you want to sit. The first person to purchase a ticket for the screening gets the center seat in the center row and then seat assignments fan out from there, filling the theater from the center out.
I can see how that system provides an incentive to get there early to get a good seat. People will buy their tickets as early as possible to get those good seats because if they're late, they'll have to sit in the fringe seats.
That system isn't horrible, but I'd rather not have assigned seats. While it might be fair that the earlier you buy your ticket, the better seat you should have, there's a nice level playing field in buying your ticket and then filling seats on a first come, first serve basis. I'm regularly in the movie theater 20 minutes before the movie starts, and even earlier if I think it's going to be busy. I go early so I can have a better pick of seating, but I also don't mind spending the extra time there. I don't mind the previews, or even the pre-previews they show now, and my friends and I can always fill that time with conversation.
Walking into a movie theater, popcorn in hand, and looking up at the available seats is part of the experience of going. It's not as much fun stepping up the aisles, moving directly to your assigned seat.
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