AMC’s Subscription Service Sees Big Spike

AMC Theatres announced on Wednesday (Sept. 26) that its AMC Stubs A-List, which launched three months ago, has seen membership sign-ups from August and September outpace the company’s expectations, with more than 380,000 moviegoers now part of the subscription service.

In a press release, the company said the member count has increased by 120,000 during the past six weeks. “With 380,000 members enrolled in just three months, AMC Stubs A-List is demonstrating that it encourages moviegoers of all ages, locations and backgrounds to come to movie theatres more often, and they’re bringing family and friends along with them,” said Adam Aron, AMC chief executive and president. “The early success of this program is evident as AMC is projecting an attendance increase at our U.S. theatres for the first time in three years. This is very good for AMC, and very good for our guests and movie studio partners.”

According to AMC, A-List members are seeing a wide variety of movies, including more than 363 different titles in less than three months. What’s more, AMC said members who join the service pick up the frequency in which they sees movies. More than 45 percent of members were not signed up to the AMC Stubs loyalty program, noted the report.

The update comes on the heels of another recent announcement, in which AMC said its 12-month protection guarantee (from the date of a member’s enrollment) against any increases in A-List monthly pricing has been broadening to provide more value to members.

AMC’s success with its subscription is in stark comparison to MoviePass, which has suffered during the past few months. MoviePass parent Helios and Matheson’s shares have fallen from a price of more than $2 in January to two cents in late August. In June, NASDAQ informed the company that its shares could be delisted from the exchange if it does not go back up to $1 per share or more by Dec. 18.