AMC Theaters Is Not Happy About the New Super Cheap MoviePass Service

MoviePass has announced a new subscription service that allows moviegoers to see a movie a day for $10 a month at any theater that accepts debit cards. His subscription service, MoviePass, is offering United States theatergoers a movie pass a day for $9.95 a month, a dollar more than a single ticket costs at United States cinemas on average.

Still, AMC is pushing back saying that while it isn’t against the subscription model, it can’t embrace the one being pitched by MoviePass – one that it calls “shaky and unsustainable”.

AMC refused to honor a MoviePass trial in San Francisco back in 2011, when the subscription was $50 a month.

“We would expect to get a marketing fee for this eventually”, Lowe said.

MoviePass slashed its subscription prices to $9.95 on Tuesday, which AMC believes could set the subscription service up for future troubles. Yes, for less than the cost of one showing (in most cities), you could see around 30 a month at over 4,000 theaters across the country if you went every night.

The venture is led by Mitch Lowe, the co-founder of Netflix and former president of the movie rental service Redbox. AMC later kicked around the idea of its own subscription program, partnering with MoviePass to test packages that started at $35 per month. “People really do want to go more often”, Lowe said. MoviePass holders can watch a showing of a non-3D or IMAX film every day at any USA box office that accepts debit cards, and the company will actually pay the theater full price for the tickets. “Unfortunately, premium formats such as 3D and IMAX will not be included in this plan”.

MoviePass explained that it’s funding the venture with the $27 million it’s getting by selling a 51 percent stake to data firm Helios and Matheson Analytics. Theaters wants to block MoviePass subscribers from using the service in its theaters. Plus, you’ll probably have to buy your ticket at the theater itself – online ticket options generally aren’t available.

Who knows what exactly is fueling this AMC-MoviePass feud, although it certainly seems like the theater chain is (rightfully) scared of losing money. As Bloomberg notes, the company – which added former Netflix executive Mitch Lowe as CEO past year – plans to subsidize the full cost of each ticket to its partner theaters.

And if that seems like a awful business model – reselling multiple $10-plus tickets per month to people paying back just $9.99 – well, congratulations, you’re proficient at basic math.