Marvel
- MoviePass added back the 10 big-city AMC theaters it previously removed from its app in January, the company confirmed to Business Insider.
- MoviePass removed theaters from locations in New York, Boston, San Diego, Washington D.C., and Los Angeles seemingly in an attempt to get AMC to cut the company in on ticket and concession sales.
- Deadline reported that talks between the companies have stalled and not resumed this week.
MoviePass has added back the 10 high-traffic AMC theaters that it previously removed from its app in January, the company confirmed to Business Insider.
MoviePass removed the AMC theaters from locations in New York, Boston, San Diego, Washington D.C. and Los Angeles in January in an apparent attempt to get AMC to cut the upstart company in on ticket and concession sales.
"The theaters were added back Tuesday night. We think it's a great move for both parties as well as the MoviePass consumers," MoviePass CEO Mitch Lowe told Business Insider.
While MoviePass was able to land an exhibitor deal with Landmark Theaters last month, AMC has never been interested in collaborating with the service.
In November, AMC CEO Adam Aron said on an earnings call that "AMC has absolutely no intention, I repeat no intention, of sharing any - I repeat, any - of our admissions revenue or our concessions revenue with MoviePass."
A MoviePass source told Deadline that the removal of these AMC theaters "wasn't so much a ban but rather a test of their consumers' ticket-buying habits." The source claimed that AMC's competitors in those five markets saw "a 23% spike" in overall business through MoviePass following the removal of AMC's theaters in January.
Deadline also reported that talks between the companies have stalled and not resumed as of this week.
Twitter users on Wednesday and Thursday were largely pleased to see the AMC theaters return to the app:
Shout-out to @MoviePass, thanks for adding the recently removed AMC Theatres back! Looking forward to walking a block to see movies at AMC River East again!
- Daniel Pinch (@DanielPinch13) April 5, 2018
@MoviePass Thank You for Landmark theaters and lifting the ban of AMC 21 in Chicago! I will buy my wife a MoviePass as a thank you!
- frank moore (@fitz4naps) April 5, 2018
MoviePass put the lynnwood amc theater back on I'm stoked
- snapdragon (@thoughtandflow) April 5, 2018
The standoff between MoviePass and AMC theaters is over. Now all we need to do is find out how MoviePass makes money and we'll be getting somewhere.
- Coming of Age Podcast (@Comingofagepod_) April 5, 2018