AMC is trying to appeal to the MoviePass crowd with a "sustainable" price plan.
The company's new Stubs A-List program costs $20 (plus tax) a month for three movies a week. It offers features MoviePass has since dropped, such as multiple viewings per day and repeat viewings, plus you can use it for premium Imax, Dolby Cinema, RealD 3D, Prime and BigD showings.
This move comes after MoviePass dropped AMC from its theater list when AMC tried to block it. AMC issued a press release saying it would consult its lawyers to prevent MoviePass subscribers from seeing movies in its theaters.
The subscription is part of the company's AMC Stubs loyalty program, so you get those benefits -- VIP service, savings on snacks and no online ticketing fees -- as well as a pass on the $15 Premiere annual fee. You can book online in advance and get reserved seating via app or web, for any AMC-branded theater in the US. There's a minimum three-month commitment.
You can sign up when the service rolls out on June 26.
There are some caveats. For instance, while you can see multiple movies on a single day, you have to leave a two-hour gap between each, which makes scheduling awkward. And you don't earn AMC Stubs points for tickets reserved through A-List. You can only have three reservations at a time, and if you miss a reserved showing it's still subtracted from your big three. And the $20 price is only guaranteed for a year from sign-up.
There are some reasonable exclusions from the program, including Imax VR, private screenings, movie marathons and double features, sports viewings, select showtimes of certain foreign language films and more.
The "week" starts Friday mornings, which AMC says is to coincide with Friday night premiere schedules, and there are no blackout dates. AMC's fraud prevention means you'll have to present your digital membership card and photo ID in addition to the ticket, and only the A-List member will get the benefits.
MoviePass keeps playing with my heart: But I'll never cancel.
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