While the pandemic's economic toll has been felt just about everywhere, it certainly hasn't hit every industry equally. The travel and tourism sectors have been decimated, and any sort of entertainment that required a crowd to gather has been out of the question for some time now.
As most of us wait for the vaccination efforts to allow a return to theaters, one Japanese theater chain is trying some innovation to allow crowds to return.
For those who love to snuggle up with a special someone at the movie theater, this seating design is far from ideal.
But the little private areas built into some of the seats at Japan's Aeon Cinemas do exactly what's asked of them: creating a barrier between viewers.
You get to have a bit of elbow room, a cup holder you can't possibly mistake for someone else's, a little shelf to stash your snacks on, and a comfy seat to sit in — not to mention the piece of plywood separating you from the guy smashing popcorn into his mouth like Cookie Monster in the next seat over.
No more having to drape your coat over your seat like a sucker.
What's the cost for Aeon's "upgrade seat"? A measly 500 yen, which translates to about $4.50 tacked on to the price of your ticket. Seems like a pretty small price to pay!
However, some of the seats will be blocked off to "thin out" the crowd. But, located about halfway up the theater, the upgrade seats do guarantee a good view of the screen.
What do you think? Would you pay a little extra to sit in your own little booth at the theater? Let us know in the comments!
h/t: ITmedia
