Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: AMC Introduces All-You-Can-See Movie Pass

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Posted by Michael Gonzalez (Member # 593) on 08-14-2001, 03:40 PM:

Any body see this article in this months issue of Box Office Magazine?
It basically says that they are testing a monthly pass that cost $17.50 and allows the customer to see a movie a day. It is currently being tested in Oklahoma City and Omaha. AMC plans to expand it nation wide next year. I wonder how long the studios are going to allow this to happen?

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 08-14-2001, 04:12 PM:

There's another thread going on this same subject in Ground Level: "AMC Monthly Pass (Moviewatcher Premium)".

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Posted by Jesse Skeen (Member # 586) on 08-14-2001, 05:04 PM:

I haven't read the article so I don't know if this is any different than what they were doing before, but I think this is a GREAT thing for the customers and the theaters- as for the studios, I don't know. I've read posts on other forums from people who are taking advantage of these deals, and they are the ones who are seeing all the smaller movies which don't attract many customers under the usual pricing structure. I watch every movie that comes out simply because I can; if you don't work at a theater you're not going to have that luxury, so you're likely to come just for the 'big' movies and stuff that has good word-of-mouth. Some of my favorite movies have been the lesser-known ones that have played to nearly-empty houses- if customers had some kind of 'flat rate' option they'd be more likely to check these out after seeing the bigger movies.
Obviously it's a good deal for customers because they can see more films, and it's good for the theaters because these customers come in more often, see more trailers and are likely to spend more at the concession stand. If I didn't work at a theater already I would definitely take advantage of something like this, and go as often as possible.

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 09-01-2001, 12:50 AM:

Found this article...

AMC calls movie card encouraging, awaits more data

KANSAS CITY, (Reuters) - Movie theater chain AMC Entertainment Inc., citing "encouraging" reports of increased attendance, said it will continue testing its frequent moviegoer card in two cities until the end of 2001 to gather more data.

In a statement Wednesday, AMC said a majority of people who bought the card, which debuted in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and Omaha, Nebraska, on June 8, have boosted attendance this summer compared to last year, when they saw fewer than two films a month.

An AMC spokesman said the tests were showing card users were now attending movies up to the rate of an "avid" moviegoer, which is considered to be three times a month.

The AMC MovieWatcher Premium card allows users to see up to one film per day throughout each month for a single monthly fee.

The MovieWatcher card costs $14.50 per month in Oklahoma City and $17.50 in Omaha. AMC's single ticket price in the cities is $7.00.

When AMC initially launched the MovieWatcher Premium Card, it planned to expand into more test markets. But because data in both test cities are similar, AMC will now judge the data from the two more closely before expanding.

"The markets lined up very closely to each other. There wasn't much variance, so expanding the markets for the test won't tell us anymore than we already know ... We're very happy with the quality of the data we're getting," said King.

AMC will be watching closely how often moviegoers use the cards in the fall compared to the summer -- the most popular movie season -- and whether people renew their cards when the initial six-month period ends in December.

Frequent moviegoer cards were first introduced in Europe and have been
successful at boosting attendance in France and the UK, according to published reports.

But some distributors are concerned about how the split of box office
revenues will be calculated. AMC's King said within the test program, AMC has guaranteed that it will pay distributors film rental fees based on full ticket prices.

AMC is a major theater group with 177 theaters and 2,790 screens in the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia.

Reuters/Variety

Posted by Steve Scott (Member # 630) on 09-01-2001, 11:55 PM:

Everybody still makes the "reel" (I couldn't help it

) profit behind the concession stand. Whatever level of markup, it's all in the popcorn. In my view, it's clearly a way to boost the number of customers, not the level of profit.

It's pretty nice to live in the midwest & be able to have such a thing. Out in NY, the price for that pass wouldn't even get you into 2 films a day!

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