AMC will soon offer a MoviePass-like subscription movie membership, granting moviegoers access to three screenings a week for $19.95 a month, the company said Wednesday.
The new premium membership level, dubbed AMC Stubs A-List, joins existing membership offers that could earn you discounts on concessions and rewards points. This is the first time AMC will offer a fixed number of tickets to members.
The model made popular by Helios and Matheson Analytics-owned MoviePass has drawn attention from theaters and investors, in part for the subscription's failure to turn a profit.
Helios and Matheson disclosed in an SEC filing last month that it estimated an average cash deficit of $21 million a month for the seven months through April. That's a total deficit of more than $150 million.
Still, MoviePass said it hit 3 million paying subscribers earlier this month. The company has tweaked its model in recent months, raising prices and limiting what movie tickets are eligible. Members can only see one movie a day through the subscription.
The company poked at AMC's membership saying it makes MoviePass "look good."
In response, AMC said, "We understand the comparison, but we're focused on our own program and on delivering the very best, most reliable movie-going value option in the entertainment industry, which is what we believe AMC Stubs A-List provides to our guests."
With AMC's subscription, members can watch all three movies in a single day and watch the same movie twice. That includes all of AMC's premium offerings like IMAX, Dolby Cinema, RealD 3D, Prime and BigD.
You can purchase the subscription starting June 26 and can start using the benefits immediately, the company said.
On Wednesday, shares of AMC rose about 1.5 percent Wednesday while shares of MoviePass-owner Helios and Matheson fell more than 20 percent.
The price action in Helios and Matheson follows a sharp post-market decline following a late Tuesday filing. The proxy included a proposed amendment for a one-time reverse stock split and another amendment that would increase the number of shares.
—CNBC's Evelyn Cheng contributed to this report.
