emptyscreenings.com surfaces AMC showings with zero advance ticket sales by ZIP code, letting users find private-theater screenings on demand.
Key Takeaways
Roughly 10% of AMC showings sell zero tickets; the site indexes this gap in real time.
Search is ZIP-code-based with a fallback “Show all screenings” mode for broader results.
Data reflects advance online sales only, not walk-up box office purchases.
Hacker News Comment Review
A real debate exists over signal validity: many buyers still purchase at the box office, so zero advance sales does not guarantee an empty room.
Commenters split on desirability: noise-averse viewers see private screenings as a feature; others find an empty theater isolating rather than appealing.
The self-defeating dynamic was raised: the site publicizing empty showings may fill them, eliminating the core value proposition.
Notable Comments
@mzelling: “this site will probably defeat its purpose” – discovery drives the very crowding users want to avoid.
@kelnos: Alamo Drafthouse SF box office nearly always unstaffed, supporting the claim that advance purchase is now dominant behavior.
