For almost a year now, movie fans have been enjoying the benefits of MoviePass, a subscription service (and by most accounts a wildly unsustainable business model) letting people see a movie a day for the flat fee of about ten bucks a month. Now, AMC has looked at the company’s popularity, and grouchily said, “We want in.”
Of course, the theater chain’s version of the plan is markedly different. Variety reports AMC is set to launch a $19.95/month service (ten bucks more than MoviePass) that will allow members to see up to three movies a week (MoviePass allows one a day) at any AMC theater (MoviePass is accepted at almost any that that accepts Mastercard). However, as an effort to combat comparisons like the ones we just made in the above sentence, the new subscription plan (dubbed the AMC Stubs A-List) permits users to attend premium format screenings like IMAX, RealD, and Dolby Digital. MoviePass only allows people to see 2D films, a.k.a. the overwhelming majority of screenings. Additionally, AMC made sure to deliver a fuck-you to MoviePass in its press release by calling its plan “sustainable.”
Still, it’s a step in the right direction, given the ever-rising costs of going to the movies. (And also given AMC will be tracking less of your personal data than MoviePass, though probably not much less, let’s be honest.) Plus, there are some convenient upgrades with AMC: You don’t have to be in the vicinity of the theater to book your ticket, you can see the same movie more than once, and hell, you can see all three movies on the same day if you so choose. Now, if they could just add a feature to reserve a seat nowhere near any asshole who feels the need to talk, look at their phones, or bring plastic-wrapped candy with them to noisily unfold throughout the whole film.