AMC Theatres unveils $20-a-month rival to MoviePass

AMC Theatres, the world’s largest movie theater chain, has unveiled a $20-a-month subscription service as a rival to the flagging MoviePass.

The theater chain Wednesday unveiled a new service to its loyalty program, AMC Stubs, allowing subscribers to see up to three movies a week for a monthly fee of $19.95. That’s more expensive than the $9.99 monthly fee for MoviePass, but AMC’s plan gives access to premium format screenings such as Imax and 3-D.

The new subscription model is the latest salvo in a heated battle for what the movie business most craves: frequent moviegoers. AMC, which has blocked MoviePass sales at some of its theaters, has been a vocal opponent of MoviePass’ model. But subscription services are popular among millennials, who have proved difficult for theaters to attract.

AMC Theatres Chief Executive Adam Aron pointedly noted Wednesday that AMC’s program was set at “a sustainable price.” Since MoviePass slashed its monthly fee, questions have mounted over the long-term viability of its economics.

“AMC Stubs A-List is being taken to market at more than double the price of that charged by some of our competitors,” Aron said in a conference call with investors. “A good deal to consumers to be sure, but being done at a sustainable price point where we can be very confident that we will be profitable across the membership base and, in turn, that we can share that increased profitability with our studio and premium format partners.”

“Other discounters, by contrast, will continue to be hemorrhaging cash,” Aron added.

MoviePass has attracted 3 million members, but the stock price of the service’s parent company, Helios and Matheson, has dropped from $38 a share to 44 cents a share. MoviePass pays full price for tickets and sells them at a discount in order to capitalize on user data.

The AMC Stubs A-List membership plan, which also features concessions discounts, will debut Tuesday. Unlike MoviePass, subscribers will be allowed to see all three movies on the same day, if they wish, and can watch the same movie repeatedly. Viewing opportunities won’t carry over if a subscriber sees fewer than three films in a week.

AMC is estimating that subscription members will see an average of 2.5 movies a month. The theater chain expects that the service could cost it $5 million to $10 million in ticket revenue in the next six months, but that those losses are worth future gains.

UPDATES:

12:05 p.m.: This article was updated with additional details and context, as well as comments from Aron.

This article was originally published at 7 a.m.