If you see as many movies as I do, you’ve been a member of the AMC Stubs program forever. Even the lowest tier gives you a rebate of 10% off your ticket prices (and sometimes more), a preferred line to get your snacks. Recently they’ve made the $5 ticket price on Tuesday that was previously available only to AMC Stubs members available to everyone. It’s done me well. No complaints.
But their recently added A*List program is heaven for a frequent moviegoer like me. For $19.95 a month, you can see up to three movies a week, including IMAX or Dolby shows. Because it’s so subject to potential abuse, you have to show a photo ID but that’s a truly minor convenience.
If you haven’t signed up yet, and you see the ad on the screen at the beginning of your movie, you can take the ticket you just paid for and get a refund if you sign up then for the A*List program. Since most adult tickets these days after 12pm are $14 or so (at least in Manhattan). At that price, this new program pays for itself if you go to two movies a month. or to one IMAX movie.
Here are two articles about this program and two much smaller ones. Since MoviePass is on its last legs, if not dead, I’ve deleted discussions related to that program.
AMC rivals MoviePass with a $20 monthly subscription. Here’s what you need to know about it.
The service, which begins Tuesday as an extension of AMC’s existing Stubs rewards program, is clearly intended to rival MoviePass, which charges $9.95 per month and allows subscribers to see one film a day. The two companies have had a publicly contentious relationship — AMC threatened legal action against MoviePass last August after the subscription service drastically changed its pricing model, and MoviePass temporarily pulled out of a handful of AMC’s busiest multiplexes earlier this year. [THEN MOVIEPASS CRATERED]
You can see three movies per week.
Subscribers can see up to three films per week, with each week beginning on Friday. That’s less than MoviePass’s one movie per day. But unlike with MoviePass, you can see them in any format (so 3-D and Imax movies are included). You could also see all three films in the same day, which isn’t an option with MoviePass since you’re limited to one movie a day.
Like MoviePass, membership is on an individual basis, so you can’t use your A-List benefits to reserve tickets for other people. Unlike MoviePass, A-List allows subscribers to view the same film more than once.
You can reserve tickets in advance.
This is a biggie. MoviePass subscribers are limited to same-day tickets, which they usually have to buy in theaters (though there are some limited online ticketing options). AMC’s program allows you to reserve movie tickets online and in advance — and pick your seats, if that feature is available at your chosen theater — but you can have only three reservations at a given time.
If you miss a movie you reserved, or forgo a reservation, you’ll forfeit it: Reservations don’t carry over into other weeks.
You do not get a physical card.
Unlike MoviePass subscribers, you won’t receive a physical card. Instead, you’ll use a virtual card through the AMC website or reserve tickets through AMC’s app. This will presumably save A-List subscribers from many of the technical issues reported by MoviePass subscribers, such as a long waits for the cards.
You can see films only at AMC theaters.
This is pretty obvious, but worth noting. AMC is the world’s biggest theater chain, while MoviePass says it’s available at 91 percent of theaters nationwide.
But since the A-List program is an option within AMC’s existing loyalty program — which includes a free and “premiere” $15-a-year version — you’ll be eligible for rewards such as discounted tickets and upgraded concessions. Your membership fee will earn you reward points each month.
How AMC’s new subscription service stacks up to MoviePass and its competitors
By
JACOBPASSY
Grab your popcorn because the battle of the movie-ticket subscription services is ratcheting up.
AMC AMC, +2.15% revealed Wednesday that it will begin offering its own movie-theater subscription service, to be called AMC Stubs A-List, later in June.
[Deleted material.] But MoviePass and AMC aren’t alone duking it out for moviegoers’ attention. Upstart movie ticket subscription service Sinemia, which was founded in Turkey in 2014, recently unveiled a new pricing plan in a bid to take on MoviePass.
Sinemia Chief Executive Rifat Oguz welcomed the new competition, but remained skeptical of AMC’s approach. “AMC’s plan is trying to reach a niche segment of super moviegoers,” Oguz said in statement. “We have been an advocate of sustainable movie-ticket subscription offerings for the last 4 years, and when we look at the details of the AMC plan we fear that this will devalue the movie experience and simply is not sustainable.”
Last year, Texas-based movie theater chain Cinemark CNK, +1.25% rolled out its own subscription service, called Movie Club.
Here’s how these subscription plans compare when it comes to price, benefits and other features:
AMC Stubs A-List: Great value, with a catch
For $19.95 a month (plus tax), A-List members can see three movies a week. Users can see more than one movie a day if they so choose (meaning double-features are a possibility) and see the same movie more than once. Users also can see any type of movie, including IMAX and 3D films, and purchase movie tickets in advance. Benefits reset every Friday, and members must commit to at least three months. Members do not receive a physical card, unlike with MoviePass and Sinemia.
As an upgraded version of the AMC Stubs Premiere loyalty program, A-List affords members all the same benefits including free refills on large popcorn, reward points for concessions purchases, free upgrades to popcorn and drink sizes and a birthday gift each year. A-List members also earn rewards points on their monthly membership fees, but don’t earn points for movie tickets they get through their membership.
Of course, there is one clear downside compared with MoviePass and Sinemia: A-List only works at AMC theaters. Also, there is no option to pay for a full year in advance, though the monthly price is guaranteed for 12 months once you sign up. Nevertheless, the AMC program represents a formidable competitor to MoviePass and Sinemia alike, particularly for those who live near an AMC location.
[Description of MoviePass program deleted by me.]
Sinemia: Tiered pricing
Unlike MoviePass, Sinemia offers a tiered pricing model, with individual subscriptions currently ranging in price from $14.99 a month (for an Elite package that includes three movies a month including 3D films, IMAX movies and more) to $4.99 a month (for a Classic package that includes a single movie ticket to a 2D film.)
The company also has “Sinemia for Two” packages designed for couples that provide equivalent numbers of tickets for two people at each of the different tiers. These plans also come with deals at restaurants and partnerships with ride-share services, to complete the date experience.
Currently, the company offers an expensive unlimited movie plan in Europe, but has said it doesn’t plan to bring that to the U.S.
Sinemia works with most movie theaters and also allows subscribers to purchase movie tickets in advance and online. Sinemia also allows moviegoers to see the same film more than once. Like MoviePass though, users reserve movies in the app and pay in the theater with a Sinemia card.
It’s more expensive than MoviePass, but likely worth it for those who like to buy tickets ahead of time. It’s similarly a better deal for those who like to see the same movie more than once or go to major 3D blockbusters.
Cinemark Movie Club: A limited option
The most bare-bones of all the subscription services, this program entitles members to one ticket to a 2D movie each month for a monthly fee of $8.99. After that, they can purchase two additional tickets at $8.99 each. However, the program also includes 20% off concessions, which can add additional savings.
If they are unused, the monthly credits roll over and are even redeemable for up to 6 months after a consumer chooses to cancel his or her membership. Creditsare applied to members’ Cinemark accounts and can be redeemed in person, online or in the Cinemark mobile app.
And unlike other programs, Cinemark Movie Club members are not locked into a contract, meaning they can cancel at any time.
Abycats' Thoughts 