Top movie ticket puts you far beyond the cheap seats

By Angel Jennings Globe Correspondent / August 6, 2008

When Showcase Cinema de Lux opens its doors at Patriot Place on Friday, moviegoers will have a choice to make at the ticket counter: coach or first class.

• Photos Patriot Place grows

Just like coach-class airfare, a standard ticket will reserve a seat inside the new Foxborough movie theater, which houses a restaurant, food court, several conference rooms, seating areas for children, and a reading room for adults.

But for an extra $10, patrons can upgrade: securing a spot in leather loveseats, where hosts serve cocktails, and gaining access into the Lux Level, a posh upstairs lounge overlooking the lobby's baby grand piano.

"You will never have to leave the theater," said manager Sheri McConaghy. "In fact, you will never have to leave your seat unless you have to use the restroom."

Facing growing competition from DVDs and the rise of home theaters, movie theaters increasingly are adding amenities such as bars and food to attract more moviegoers.

"People are watching more movies," said Perry Lowe, a marketing professor at Bentley College and a former theater owner. "But they are watching fewer movies at the movie theaters. The movie theater is becoming an endangered species."

Hoping to stem dwindling attendance at its 15 theaters in Massachusetts, Dedham-based National Amusements created the upscale concept at Patriot Place. The theater is the second in the Boston area to feature such premium amenities, but it's the first in New England to implement the luxury feel throughout the theater. The pilot program, launched at Showcase Cinemas Randolph in December, has the Lux Level and food court but no piano and lounge space.

National Amusements said the theater is part of its plan to "transform the theater into a community entertainment destination."

"We want people to come to the theater even if they are not going to the movie," said company spokeswoman Wanda Whitson. "There is something for everybody - lounges, shopping mall within walking distance, and the stadium."

National Amusement, the fifth-largest movie theater chain, said it plans to open another luxury theater next year in Dedham.

But some moviegoers are not convinced the amenities will bring more bodies into the theaters.

Hanging out with two friends at Showcase Cinemas Randolph yesterday, Linda Tiller of Sharon chose to watch the film "Hancock" from the regular cloth seats instead of paying $10 more to sit in the cushioned loveseat. She said receiving the VIP treatment at theaters does not draw her to the movies.

"If it is a good movie, we will go," she said. Her friends agreed.

Angel Jennings can be reached at ajennings@globe.com.