AMC's movie-theater subscription service racked up over 175,000 subscribers in its first 5 weeks, as problems continue for MoviePass
- 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 movies 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 movies for the foreseeable future. And on Tuesday, MoviePass confirmed that it would raise its monthly price to $14.95 while restricting first-run movies 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.