AMC to Raise Stubs A-List Subscription Price in Select States

The circuit in 2019 will raise pricing for its ticket app, where it has proven most popular.

As it continues to add subscribers, AMC Theaters' Stubs A-List cinema app is also set to hike its monthly rate in 16 U.S. states.

AMC, the country's largest circuit, on Monday said it will hold the line on A-List Stubs pricing at $19.95 per month, plus taxes, in 35 states in 2019. But the U.S. circuit will hike monthly subscription prices in states where the program is most popular.

So Stubs A-List customers in California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York will see their subscription price to see up to three movies a week in any format, including Imax, rise from $19.95 to $23.95 a month, starting on Jan. 9, 2019.

On average, the upcharge for an Imax ticket is $4 to $5. And in key markets like Los Angeles or New York City, an Imax ticket can cost upward of $21.

And the monthly price for AMC Stubs A-List will move to $21.95 for subscribers, also from $19.95 a month, in Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington state and The District of Columbia, effective Jan. 9, 2019.

The differential pricing from next year follows AMC's movie ticket subscription service announcing it will reach 500,000 customers next week. Stubs earlier forecast it would get to 500,000 subscribers by the end of June 2019, and 1 million by the end of June 2020.

"Our decision to keep the AMC Stubs A-List monthly price unchanged in 35 states, along with only a modest price adjustment in some key markets going in place in early 2019 will keep us in that sweet spot of successfully balancing profits and popularity," AMC CEO-president Adam Aron said in a statement.

The A-List Stubs service is a rival to MoviePass, which has seen its fortunes fall dramatically. AMC's subscription program will also follow another rival cinema subscription service, Cinemark's Movie Club, in allowing reserved seating, in addition to online concession ordering.

Aron added the price hikes for A-List Stubs in certain states can be avoided, at least for 2019, if new subscribers act before the end of the year. "... the program pricing of $19.95 will remain at that level for everyone and will be unchanged anywhere for a full 12 months after initial enrollment if moviegoers act now to become A-Listers," he said.