AMC Theatres’ subscription service has over 175,000 subscribers

Universal

• AMC Theatres’ subscription service, AMC Stubs A-List,
  has 175,000 subscribers after five weeks.
• That’s ahead of expectations, as AMC projected the
  service to hit 500,000 subscribers in its first year, the
  company said.
• The announcement comes on the heels of MoviePass’
  continued cash-flow problems.
• MoviePass is raising its monthly price and restricting
  big films for the foreseeable future.

As one movie-theater subscription service suffers, another is
growing rapidly.

AMC Theatres announced Tuesday that its new subscription service,
AMC Stubs A-List, had garnered over
175,000 subscribers since its launch five weeks ago.

The announcement comes on the heels of competitor MoviePass’
continued woes. MoviePass rose to prominence last year when it
lowered its monthly subscription fee to $9.95 for a movie a day
in theaters. Many consumers were ecstatic and felt the deal was
too good to be true. But times have changed. 

Business Insider first
reported on Monday that MoviePass would no longer buy tickets for
the rest of the summer’s big releases, and might continue to
restrict big films for the foreseeable future. And on Tuesday,
MoviePass confirmed that it would raise its monthly price to
$14.95 while restricting first-run films with wide releases
for at least their first two weeks in theaters, in an attempt to
set the company up for “future sustainable growth.”

AMC said the surge in membership was above its expectations, as
it projected the service to hit 500,000 subscribers in its first
year and 1 million by June 2020.

“We are nothing less than ecstatic about the early consumer
response to AMC Stubs A-List, which encourages
moviegoers to come to the theatre more often, bringing their
family and friends with them,” AMC CEO Adam Aron said in a
statement. “With more than 175,000 members enrolled in just five
weeks, the growth of AMC Stubs A-List has far exceeded our
projections. We also find it reassuring that we consciously
designed AMC Stubs A-List to be a profitable program with a price
point that is loaded with consumer value while also being
sustainable for us and for our guests.”

AMC Stubs A-List is a new tier
to its AMC Stubs program. The A-List plan costs $19.95
a month, and includes many features that MoviePass does not, such
as being able to buy a ticket in advance; premium tickets (IMAX,
3D); being able to see the same movie more than once; and
concession perks like free refills on popcorn.

Of course, you do have to go to an AMC.