Got an extra four bucks?
Last week on Nov. 5, AMC Theaters announced an increase for its movie subscription service, Stubs A-List, in 16 states.
The price will be raised from $19.95 per month to $21.95 in ten states and $23.95 in five states, including New Jersey.
The price hike is effective as of Jan. 9, 2019.
Those who sign up for the service before the deadline (like me) will not be affected by the price boost.
A-List lets subscribers see three movies a week per month on any format (standard, 3D, Dolby, or IMAX) at a price of $19.95 per month.
Subscribers are also allowed to order tickets in advance online without an additional fee and can use all three movies in a single day if they please.
Considering a ticket for a prime showing at AMC costs $13.33 around here, it’s a great deal.
However, finance professor Andreas Christofi, Ph.D., sees the increase as a bad deal for investors.
“It’s a sign of weakness in a competitive field. Their margins are getting squeezed because revenues can’t get up,” Christofi stated.
“Wall Street doesn’t like when companies raise their prices,” he continued. “Considering AMC has pricing power with a strong amount of subscribers, they hope to hold onto most of them through this increase.”
“One thing’s for sure: there’s volatility ahead for AMC,” Christofi concluded.
The increase isn’t detrimental for subscribers. At $23.95, you can earn your cash back by seeing two movies a month.
If you were to see three movies a week at prime time, it could cost around $160 in New Jersey, so the deal is still strong.
When A-List rolled out their price jump last week, rival Sinemia announced the lower alternative of their monthly plan from $29.99 to $24.99 a month.
Sinemia allows subscribers to see any standard movie at a theater, a deal similar to Moviepass.
However, Sinemia’s $24.99 plan has too much red tape.
At that price, you’re only allowed to see movies Mon. through Tues. and weekends aren’t included. For $29.99, you can catch a flick everyday including weekends.
Also, for any plan with Sinemia, the membership is cardless. Considering the tickets are purchased online, you’ll be hit with a $1.5 fee each time.
At that rate, what’s the point?
The movie theater subscription service is a new business everyone is trying to figure out.
Maybe if all these plans crash and burn, it could make for a really good movie.
IMAGE TAKEN from AMC Theaters
