AMC Opposed to MoviePass Sub Scheme

16 Aug, 2017 By: Stephanie Prange

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AMC Theatres has come out in opposition to a MoviePass subscription program that would offer consumers the ability to see up to 365 movies a year for a monthly fee of $9.95.

“A small fringe player in the reselling of movie tickets is not in the best interest of moviegoers, movie theatres and movie studios,” according to a press release from AMC.

AMC is “consulting with its attorneys to determine if or how AMC can prevent a subscription program offered by MoviePass from being used at AMC Theatres in the United States,” the press release stated.

MoviePass envisions paying AMC its full ticket price without discount, the press release noted. The AMC average ticket price for watching a movie at AMC Theatres in the most recent financial quarter was $9.33. “From what we can tell, by definition and absent some other form of other compensation, MoviePass will be losing money on every subscriber seeing two movies or more in a month,” AMC stated.

“AMC believes that holding out to consumers that first-run movies can be watched in theatres at great quantities for a monthly price of $9.95 isn’t doing moviegoers any favors,” the company stated. “In AMC’s view, that price level is unsustainable and only sets up consumers for ultimate disappointment down the road if or when the product can no longer be fulfilled. AMC also believes that promising essentially unlimited first-run movie content at a price below $10 per month over time will not provide sufficient revenue to operate quality theatres nor will it produce enough income to provide filmmakers with sufficient incentive to make great new movies. Therefore, AMC will not be able to offer discounts to MoviePass in the future, which seems to be among their aims.

“While AMC is not opposed to subscription programs generally, the one envisioned by MoviePass is not one AMC can embrace. We are actively working now to determine whether it may be feasible to opt out and not participate in this shaky and unsustainable program.”

Home entertainment industry veteran Mitch Lowe, an early Netflix executive and at one time president of Redbox, now runs the startup MoviePass. The idea behind the new plan is to build a list of consumers, according to industry watchers.

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