Tired of getting stuck with a seat so close to the movie screen that Spiderman looms larger than King Kong?

Then Landmark Theatres has your ticket with your seat number printed on it. And in the near future so may several other theater operators.

After a slow start, reserved seating at movie theaters is taking hold in Los Angeles, with the 12-screen Landmark opening last week at the Westside Pavilion and two other reserved-seat theaters on the way.

“People like the feeling of knowing they are not going to get shut out of getting great seats for their film, no matter what time they show up at the cinema,” said Wanda Whitson, director of corporate communications for National Amusements Inc., which offers reserved seating at the Promenade at the Howard Hughes Center in Westchester. Arclight Cinemas in Hollywood also sells reserved seats.

But reserved seats are often more pricey seats costing one or several dollars more than the average $10 seat at the neighborhood multiplex. That’s mainly because it takes more time and manpower to sell reserved seats, and ushers typically are on hand.

The seats are aimed at discerning, oftentimes older crowds, who may not be drawn to huge blockbusters but instead seek out more intellectual and artistic fare.

Reserved seating is gaining popularity, and may continue to grow as baby boomers age. But many in the industry doubt it will ever replace festival seating as the norm. It could be a significant niche, however. Even if the two reserved-seating theaters still on the drawing board are completed one by Mann Theaters Inc. at the Oaks mall in Thousand Oaks and another by Arclight operator Pacific Theaters Corp. at the Sherman Oaks Galleria the region will have fewer than 100 screens offering reserved seating, assuming no more are added.

“I think reserved seating is going to be for the niche audiences only,” said Ken Gillett, senior vice president at Santa Monica-based Macerich Co., a mall developer that owns the Westside Pavilion and the Oaks. “It goes back to matching the product for a specific community and for a specific customer.”

Head start

The new arrivals follow the introduction of full-scale reserved seating by the Arclight Cinemas in Hollywood in 2002. The Arclight features upscale concessions such as gourmet coffee and alcoholic beverages that are demanded by more discriminating moviegoers.

Ted Mundorff, chief operating officer of Landmark Theatres, said that when his company was planning the new screens at the Westside Pavilion to replace the company’s old movie house at the mall, the success of the Arclight was noted.

“Everyone said you have to have reserved seating and that was the driver for it,” Mundorff said. He added that his chain does not plan to include reserved seating in its four other Los Angeles-area theaters, which are all smaller movie houses.

Both the Landmark, owned by Todd Wagner and billionaire Mark Cuban, and the Arclight cater to older moviegoers from the films they screen to the food for sale at concession stands. While the Arclight screens Hollywood blockbusters, it also shows independent films. The Landmark focuses on independent films but also shows major-studio films, too.

A ticket to a movie at the Arclight costs $11 on a weekday and $14 on the weekend; a movie at the Landmark costs $11. And while the price of a normal movie ticket has risen steadily in the past few years, a seat can still be had for $10.

(Pacific Theaters, a subsidiary of Decurion Corp., declined to comment for this story.)

The other theater owners offering reserved seating operate similarly. National Amusements owns the Bridge theaters at the Promenade at Howard Hughes Center and has operated three reserved-seat screens at the 17-screen movie house since its opening in July 2001. It was the first to sell reserved seats in town, at least in modern days, but its offering was more limited than the Arclight.

Tickets for reserved seat screens there cost $2.25 to $3.25 more than tickets for traditional seating at the Bridge, depending on the day of the week. An Imax theater at the Bridge also has reserved seating.

“The feedback we receive from our patrons on assigned seating has always been overwhelmingly positive,” said Whitson.

The operators of reserved seat theaters are not only making more money on the seats but also on their concessions. The idea is that by assuring customers that they will have good seats, they will take more time to spend money at the concession stand.

And common in all of the high-end, reserved seat movie houses are upscale offerings. Arclight got attention for its gourmet sausages in 2002, and now the Landmark offers Peet’s coffee, La Brea Bakery pretzels and imported chocolates in lieu of the usual sweets and treats. And while popcorn is still available at these theaters, the Landmark even includes a few 21-and-up screens where alcohol can be consumed.

“It involves arriving at a location, having a great meal and having a great glass of wine and snacks and arriving at a theater at a leisurely pace,” Gillett said.

An L.A. phenomenon

The national movie house chains have opened other reserved seat theaters across the country. For example, National Amusements opened a Bridge theater in Philadelphia in 2002 and Fort Lauderdale-based Muvico Theaters Inc. will open a high-end theater at the Meadowlands entertainment complex in New Jersey that will include reserved seating.

However, Los Angeles is the epicenter of the phenomenon.

Two things have driven that fact: The city is still the entertainment capital of the world, where people take movies seriously. Also, as always, traffic plays a role.

“Part of it has to do with the difficulties of getting around the area,” said Patrick Corcoran, director of media and research for the National Association of Theater Owners. “Traffic can be beastly. If you have reserved seating you drop off your car and you walk right into the theater.”

Locally, the reserved seat movie houses appear to be paying off. National Amusements said the Bridge is performing well and Corcoran said that the Arclight is “among the top grossing theaters in the country every weekend.”

Gillett said that Macerich could add reserved seat theaters to some of its other properties. The Westside Pavilion is Landmark Theatres’ first attempt at a reserved seat movie house and the company could also include more reserved seating at future projects.

The industry assumes that as baby boomers age, they are more inclined to go to theaters with reserved seats. As a result, more reserved seat theaters will pop up both locally and nationally.

“If you look at the population trend, the youth market will continue to grow. But as a percentage of the market, it will shrink,” Corcoran said. “The largest growth market will be the boomers. They are getting older and will have different expectations and needs. A lot of companies see that and are looking to get those people back into movie theaters.”