AMC A-List & other theater subscriptions (5 Viewers)

[Sam Posten]

Yup.
https://www.cordcuttersnews.com/the...n-service-sinemia-is-shutting-down-in-the-us/

 

[steve jaros]

Mother*******! I will never subscribe another such service. I'm going to give up the A-List too as I'm thinking of transitioning to more in-home viewing over the movie theater experience.

Sorry about that. I hope you didn't Pre-pay Sinemia for a whole year, or if you did that you get a refund of the unused time.

One thing I like about A-List so far is that it is month to month, pay as you go, so there's no chance of getting stuck if you have a yearly plan and it shuts down with months to go. But on the other hand, so far AMC has guaranteed the monthly rate for 12 months, meaning they can't hike rates on you willy-nilly either. Nice situation, hope it lasts.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Sorry about that. I hope you didn't Pre-pay Sinemia for a whole year, or if you did that you get a refund of the unused time.

One thing I like about A-List so far is that it is month to month, pay as you go, so there's no chance of getting stuck if you have a yearly plan and it shuts down with months to go. But on the other hand, so far AMC has guaranteed the monthly rate for 12 months, meaning they can't hike rates on you willy-nilly either. Nice situation, hope it lasts.

Why you think I'm pissed? There were symptoms about this happening over the last three months or so. I'm done with this crap!

 

[Jeff Adkins]

I'm in the same boat, although I did use it 9 times since December at the local arthouse. So I didn't lose a ton of money, but I'm still pissed.

I'm going to have to change my moviegoing habits somewhat. I'll still everything I can at AMC with A-List but I won't be going as often to the arthouse. I'll have to either check out those films from my local library or stream them on Amazon, Hulu, Netflix or Kanopy.

 

[Jason_V]

Another sub service going away. That's not a good thing, from where I sit. Competition is healthy and keeps prices in check for everyone.

Here's the problem, though: the independent subscription service needs a secondary source of revenue to supplement ticket sales, especially in this era of massive blockbusters every few weeks almost year around. A List has that since it's tied to a theater chain. MoviePass never could get there.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Well, wow. I don't use either of them, but keep up with the industry news about them, so I gotta say, I'm surprised that Sinemia folded before Movie Pass did. I would not have expected that.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

Well, wow. I don't use either of them, but keep up with the industry news about them, so I gotta say, I'm surprised that Sinemia folded before Movie Pass did. I would not have expected that.

Agree. It's amazing that MP is still out there - badly hobbled and seemingly an afterthought these days, but they still exist!

 

[Colin Jacobson]

Sinemia has just shut down operations in the USA (it also operates in Canada, Turkey, Australia, and the UK, no word yet on how those countries are impacted).

I don't like this, as Sinemia was an A-List competitor, and with less competition AMC might feel it can boost A-List rates:

https://www.businessinsider.com/moviepass-competitor-sinemia-shuts-down-in-the-us-2019-4

Perhaps I'm naive, but I don't think AMC will jack up prices. A-List seems to be a big success, and I think they realize that if they try to jump from $20/month to $30, they're going to lose a lot of people.

I guess they could frog in a pot us with gradual increases - like $2/year - but I think they'll be unwilling to push audiences too much...

 

[Josh Steinberg]

AMC already announced their A-List price increases for 2019. (Some neighborhoods stay the same, higher priced neighborhoods got a slight increase, deal is still good.) I doubt they’d raise it again in the same year.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

AMC already announced their A-List price increases for 2019. (Some neighborhoods stay the same, higher priced neighborhoods got a slight increase, deal is still good.) I doubt they’d raise it again in the same year.

Yeah - I'll jump from $20 to $22 when I hit my 1-year anniversary at the end of June.

Five years from now, will A-List cost me more than $22/month? Maybe, but if it's more than $26/month, I'll be shocked.

I think the regional increases are their way of finetuning the program. They realized that a one-size fits all price doesn't really make sense, so they're changing it for pricier regions.

And who can blame them? Makes no sense that NYC would cost the same per month as Louisiana!

 

[steve jaros]

Perhaps I'm naive, but I don't think AMC will jack up prices. A-List seems to be a big success, and I think they realize that if they try to jump from $20/month to $30, they're going to lose a lot of people.

I guess they could frog in a pot us with gradual increases - like $2/year - but I think they'll be unwilling to push audiences too much...

I hope you are correct.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Is it a coincidence that Sinemia folded simultaneously with the opening of Endgame? Presumably lots of Sinemia users would have tried to use them for Endgame tickets.

Movie Pass crashed around the opening of Mission: Impossible, which they didn't even offer tickets for, and that was fractional compared to what Endgame is currently doing.

 

[Jeff Adkins]

Five years from now, will A-List cost me more than $22/month? Maybe, but if it's more than $26/month, I'll be shocked.

I would be too. They've had an unlimited plan in Europe for over three years now and the price hasn't changed at all.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Is it a coincidence that Sinemia folded simultaneously with the opening of Endgame? Presumably lots of Sinemia users would have tried to use them for Endgame tickets.

Movie Pass crashed around the opening of Mission: Impossible, which they didn't even offer tickets for, and that was fractional compared to what Endgame is currently doing.

Of course it wasn't a coincidence. They really screwed their subscribers.

 

[steve jaros]

A-List report for month 9 .... March 29 - April 28, 2019

Movies seen via A-List this month ............... 13

Cost if I bought tickets at box office ............ $112

A-List cost .......................................................... $21

Savings for month 8 ......................................... $91

Cumulative savings for 8 months** .............................. $772

This was a great month! Of the 13 movies two were 3D, four were IMAX, and one was IMAX 3D. Before A-list, films in those formats were a rarity to me because of cost.



** Since 7/29/18, I have seen 113 movies that would have cost $961 for the $189 I have paid to A-List.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

A-List complication I just recently realized existed:

Once my one-year anniversary comes at the end of June, I go to a $22/month plan due to where I live.

Right now, I can use A-List in all 50 states, but when this happens, my plan will only include 45 states.

So I won't be able to use it in NJ, NY, CT, CA and MA.

Since I occasionally visit those locales - and see movies in those locales - this is a potential concern.

Anyone know if there's a workaround? Like AMC will let you "upgrade" on a month by month basis so you're covered in those states?

I spend about 2 weeks a summer at the beach in NJ, and I see a lot of movies while there! Gonna be pissed if I can't A-List them!

 

[Jake Lipson]

They *should* come up with an upgrade or workaround for that. I don't know if they've thought of that or not, especially since A-List is a (relatively) new program. However, that is something they should address.

If I were you, I'd write a nice letter to them and see if you can instigate some change in this regard. You're probably not the only one who will be affected like this.

 

[Tino]

A-List complication I just recently realized existed:

Once my one-year anniversary comes at the end of June, I go to a $22/month plan due to where I live.

Right now, I can use A-List in all 50 states, but when this happens, my plan will only include 45 states.

So I won't be able to use it in NJ, NY, CT, CA and MA.

Since I occasionally visit those locales - and see movies in those locales - this is a potential concern.

Anyone know if there's a workaround? Like AMC will let you "upgrade" on a month by month basis so you're covered in those states?

I spend about 2 weeks a summer at the beach in NJ, and I see a lot of movies while there! Gonna be pissed if I can't A-List them!

Easy. Ask if you can pay the Ny/NJ rates. It’ll cost you an additional $24 a year. Is that worth 2 weeks of films for you?

 

[Colin Jacobson]

Easy. Ask if you can pay the Ny/NJ rates. It’ll cost you an additional $24 a year. Is that worth 2 weeks of films for you?

Yeah, if I see 6-8 movies over that span.

Since A-List is a month-by-month plan, you'd think they'd let you "upgrade" for a month and then revert when you don't need it.

I'll get in touch with AMC and see what they say. Thought I'd mention it here in case anyone already had info about it!

 

[Jeff Adkins]

A-List complication I just recently realized existed:

Once my one-year anniversary comes at the end of June, I go to a $22/month plan due to where I live.

Right now, I can use A-List in all 50 states, but when this happens, my plan will only include 45 states.

So I won't be able to use it in NJ, NY, CT, CA and MA.

Since I occasionally visit those locales - and see movies in those locales - this is a potential concern.

Anyone know if there's a workaround? Like AMC will let you "upgrade" on a month by month basis so you're covered in those states?

I spend about 2 weeks a summer at the beach in NJ, and I see a lot of movies while there! Gonna be pissed if I can't A-List them!

You'll be able to. If you go more than 3 times to one of those states after your anniversary date, you can change your plan to one that covers those states.

From the A-List FAQ:

Can I see a movie in a state that’s not included in my plan?

If you find yourself away from home and would still like to see a movie with A-List, you can see up to 3 movies each calendar year in a state that’s not included in your plan. We’ll keep track of this for you in your MyAMC dashboard as “Out Of State Visits This Year” - which will only appear once you see a movie in a state outside of your plan.


Can I change my plan to one that includes more states?

Yes, you are able to change your plan at any time. Log into MyAMC on our website or app to manage your account. You will be billed for the cost difference and be able to use your membership in added states instantly.