AMC Stubs A-List Hikes Monthly Fee Again, Citing Rising Operating Costs
AMC Theatres is again raising the price of Stubs A-List, citing the rising costs of operating its venues.
Starting July 15, the cinema chain’s movie subscription membership will cost $29.99 per month, a $2 increase from the last price hike in May 2025. Perks remain the same: Patrons can see up to four movies every week in every format, including Imax and Dolby. They also get free upgrades on popcorn and fountain drinks, as well as a $5 reward for every $50 spent.
“Even with this necessary price adjustment, A-List continues to offer you exceptional value, often costing only the price of seeing about one to two movies per month, especially when you enjoy premium formats or reserve tickets online,” AMC’s CEO Adam Aron wrote in an email to subscribers. ”It really is now — and will continue to be — a terrific bargain.”
When AMC launched Stubs A-List in 2018, customers were charged $19.95 per month to see up to three movies a week. The subscription plan began as a rival to MoviePass, which offered the unsustainable model of one movie a day for $9.95 a month. (MoviePass sputtered in spectacular fashion and filed for bankruptcy before reemerging in 2023 with new ownership and a very different pricing plan.)
AMC’s latest price increase was announced while the movie theater industry is gathering for CinemaCon, the annual trade show where studios pitch exhibitors on their upcoming slates. Everyone seems to be enthusiastic about 2026 because there’s more volume: Hollywood is releasing 113 films, the most of the post-pandemic era. Potential blockbusters include Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey,” “Dune: Part Three” and “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” as well as original properties such as Tom Cruise’s “Digger” and Steven Spielberg’s “Disclosure Day.”
“Movie theaters are going to be very busy,” Aron recently predicted to Variety.
In the meantime, AMC has been laboring to lift its share price while struggling under a nearly $4 billion debt. AMC, the world’s largest circuit, isn’t alone in trying to scrape by with fewer films (compared to pre-COVID years) and shorter windows. To make matters worse, attendance has been stagnant as inflation has increased the price of everything from food and beverages to rent.
Amid shrinking margins, AMC has been testing all kinds of initiatives to lure customers in greater numbers. Those efforts include blocking and reserving the “best seats” for A-List and Stubs Premiere members, and offering 50% off movie tickets on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. They’ve also been putting more advertisements before screenings as a way to passively increase revenue.
Earlier this week, Sony’s chairman Tom Rothman criticized major theater chains, saying they need to cut back on the nearly 30 minutes of trailers and commercials that air before the feature presentation. He noted that frequent moviegoers now show up a half hour late to avoid all the spots, meaning that patrons “don’t even see the trailers,” which results in “enticements gone to waste.”
“Get rid of the endless advertising and substantially shorten the long pre-shows,” Rothman said on stage at the Colosseum at Caesar’s Palace while teasing the studio’s upcoming slate. “Get off the ad crack.”
Starting July 15, the cinema chain’s movie subscription membership will cost $29.99 per month, a $2 increase from the last price hike in May 2025. Perks remain the same: Patrons can see up to four movies every week in every format, including Imax and Dolby. They also get free upgrades on popcorn and fountain drinks, as well as a $5 reward for every $50 spent.
“Even with this necessary price adjustment, A-List continues to offer you exceptional value, often costing only the price of seeing about one to two movies per month, especially when you enjoy premium formats or reserve tickets online,” AMC’s CEO Adam Aron wrote in an email to subscribers. ”It really is now — and will continue to be — a terrific bargain.”
When AMC launched Stubs A-List in 2018, customers were charged $19.95 per month to see up to three movies a week. The subscription plan began as a rival to MoviePass, which offered the unsustainable model of one movie a day for $9.95 a month. (MoviePass sputtered in spectacular fashion and filed for bankruptcy before reemerging in 2023 with new ownership and a very different pricing plan.)
AMC’s latest price increase was announced while the movie theater industry is gathering for CinemaCon, the annual trade show where studios pitch exhibitors on their upcoming slates. Everyone seems to be enthusiastic about 2026 because there’s more volume: Hollywood is releasing 113 films, the most of the post-pandemic era. Potential blockbusters include Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey,” “Dune: Part Three” and “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” as well as original properties such as Tom Cruise’s “Digger” and Steven Spielberg’s “Disclosure Day.”
“Movie theaters are going to be very busy,” Aron recently predicted to Variety.
In the meantime, AMC has been laboring to lift its share price while struggling under a nearly $4 billion debt. AMC, the world’s largest circuit, isn’t alone in trying to scrape by with fewer films (compared to pre-COVID years) and shorter windows. To make matters worse, attendance has been stagnant as inflation has increased the price of everything from food and beverages to rent.
Amid shrinking margins, AMC has been testing all kinds of initiatives to lure customers in greater numbers. Those efforts include blocking and reserving the “best seats” for A-List and Stubs Premiere members, and offering 50% off movie tickets on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. They’ve also been putting more advertisements before screenings as a way to passively increase revenue.
Earlier this week, Sony’s chairman Tom Rothman criticized major theater chains, saying they need to cut back on the nearly 30 minutes of trailers and commercials that air before the feature presentation. He noted that frequent moviegoers now show up a half hour late to avoid all the spots, meaning that patrons “don’t even see the trailers,” which results in “enticements gone to waste.”
“Get rid of the endless advertising and substantially shorten the long pre-shows,” Rothman said on stage at the Colosseum at Caesar’s Palace while teasing the studio’s upcoming slate. “Get off the ad crack.”