For $18: a movie a day for the whole month

[Eye]

KANSAS CITY, Mo., June 16 — Think of it as all-you-can-eat for the movie crowd. Kansas City-based AMC Entertainment Inc. plans to offer a monthly movie pass for about $18. Moviegoers who buy the pass can see a movie a day for the whole month, for a minimum of six months.

THE MOVIEWATCHER PREMIUM card debuted June 8 for tests in Oklahoma City, where it costs $14.50 a month, and in Omaha, Neb., where it costs $17.50. AMC spokesman Rick King says it will go nationwide next year after testing in four other markets which have yet to be picked.

At the AMC Quail Springs Mall 24 multiplex in Oklahoma City, where a normal adult ticket runs $7, paying separately every day for a movie would cost about $210 a month.

AMC hopes the card gets people to theaters more often, and that the resulting popcorn and soda sales offset the ticket discount.

BIG LOSSES IN THE BIZ

In the past year, the theater industry has suffered from too many big theaters and too few patrons. At least five theater companies have filed for bankruptcy protection, including Loews Cineplex Entertainment, United Artists and General Cinema.

Anything that fills seats is good for theaters, said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations. But the monthly pass also carries a risk if too many moviegoers max it out.

"On the other hand, probably these people would not see 30 movies in a month anyway," he said.

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..:: Eye | Moderator | Rats.

[egman]

Well, it looks like the theaters are starting to resolve some of the issues patrons are having. I like the pass idea. Hell, I think I might buy one if it comes here in the future. However, that's only half the battle. The biggest beef I have with going to a theater is having to watch with people who seem to have forgotten their manners.

[Ambushbug]

I might be interested in this, but the only AMC in my town is in a mall with a paid parking garage. Your ticket stub takes a dollar off your parking fee, but it would still add up *real* fast going more than once a week.

Now if the Regal chain did the same thing...

AB

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"Roof Pig! Most unexpected . . . "
-The Tick

[manigrasso]

I can't imagine this lasting, but NOT because of indifference on the part of consumers. I'm sure the audience would LOVE such a pass, but the studios, who live and die by the weekend box office gross, would absolutely hate it, as it would make it difficult to determine who has seen what, and how much money goes to what movie.

Maybe this would be allowed to pass in a second-run theatre, when the movies have made about as much as they're ever going to make...

[Deckard]

I will DEFINETLY get the pass as soon as it comes out in LA, I've been a moviewatcher member since early 1997 and have over 460 points right now, I enjoy the free drinks, popcorns and movie tickets as well as free popcorn for every ticket on each wednesday independent of points.
I go to movies at least once per 3 days so even if a premium card costs 50 dollars a month it will save me a couple hundreds which I could use to get MORE dvds hehe.
Yes! This is good news, thanks Eye

[saraswati]

i was reading an article about this earlier today, and the studios have HUGE problems with this. the studios don't get a cut of the concessions, so it would be cutting down on their profits. one exec was quoted saying he would pull all his studio's films from AMC theaters that use the pass if he saw a drop in profits. while i'm no champion of the studios or anything, it's true that this pretty much spells certain doom for them, or at least enough doom to do away with it inside a year.

also, this will be a challenge to the mom&pop theaters (the 2 still in existence, that is), which don't have the profit margin to offer anything like this.

though, if/when this comes to new york, i'm definitely getting this. a lot of times i don't see movies because they just don't seem to be worth that $10 investment. with a pass i would definitely see a lot more movies. in months where there's a lot out, i'd probably be at the theater once or twice a week, at minimum. of course, i'm wondering if that 6-month minimum isn't to protect them from the down times, when there isn't much to see?

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"Crap, lousy ceiling!"

[Dave Bean]

It does seem like a great idea for consumers. It's a great way to attract people, but I can't blame the studio's if they pull out of the AMC chain because of this. This will definately cut into their weekend grosses.

Too bad there's no AMC by me. I would definately take advantage of it.

Actually, this marketing ploy might work at depressed theaters. Whenever a new stadium seating multi-plex opens up, the smaller multi-plexes or one screen theater (are there any left ???) could use this to keep business up.

Dave Bean

[saraswati]

yeah, it would increase the people going to the mom & pop theaters, but they wouldn't be making enough money. if you have 2 screens, you really need all that ticket money to pay your overhead. it's one thing for the theaters that are owned by huge conglomerates. but if all that's keeping you in business is what you make, and your profits are already being cut down due to the multiplexes, can you really afford to let people see as many movies as they want for the price of 2 or 3 tickets?

though, i think what the compromise will be, for both the mom & pops and the big multiplexes, is that they will just charge a lot more for these passes once they do "open wide" (right now they are using kansas city as a test market). more like $30 or $40. which, to me, would still be pretty reasonable for a month's worth of movies (though it would suck in a month like february where there's nothing to see).

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"Crap, lousy ceiling!"

This would be very difficult to work in New York City.

Ticket prices are so high here, I don't even go to see films in the theaters any more, unless it's a matinee... and even then, those are only in Brooklyn and (shudder) Jersey.

I think there's a corolation between the rising ticket prices and the loss of moviegoers... but that's just my stunning grasp of the obvious.

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http://www.wordsfromhere.com

[saraswati]

the solution -- double and triple features! go to the 7pm show of one movie, then after the movie go to the bathroom (or pretend to go to the bathroom by just going in there and washing your hands). come out of the bathroom and act like you just got there. search your floor of the multiplex (this works great in that big AMC empire 25 in times square, as well as the Loews/IMAX Lincoln Square multiplex) for something else to see (or plan 2 or 3 films by checking out locations and times in the lobby of the theater), acting as if you just got to the theater, went directly to the bathroom, and are just now trying to find the right screen. go into your 2nd film of choice (preferably at 8:30 or 9pm). after that one, if you're still game for another movie, do the same thing. after the 3rd film the theater will most likely be closing. go home, knowing that you just saw 3 movies for less than $3.50 apiece. this is what i do. i wait till there are 2 or three films i want to see at a certain theater, then i just see them all together. if you do it on a saturday you can make a day of it and see at least 4 or 5. this is the only way i'll go to the major chain theaters (the art theaters are sometimes a tad cheaper) now.

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"Crap, lousy ceiling!"

[Deckard]

Hahah, I used do that at our Century City AMC 14 theaters when I was 15-16. It doesn't work for me now, because I usually like to be "under the influence" of a particular movie I just saw and just drive around listening to its soundtrack and thinking about it. There is no fun in watching 2 in a row, unless they are sequels which you can only do at home

[saraswati]

why is there no fun doing 2 in a row? if you can't handle more than one movie a night, you have serious attention span problems and deserve to pay $10 for your lack of brainpower. and if every movie you see necessitates the purchase of the soundtrack, money must not be much of an object anyway...

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"Crap, lousy ceiling!"

[Deckard]

Jeez, what's up your ass?
It's not that I "can't handle", I just don't want to, as I said, I like to dive into a movie and not come out of it for hours after its over, so watching another one immediately after that spoils the experience.
And I'm not buying any soundtracks, I'm downloading everything, out of 1,340+ CDs i own, only around 400 were bought.
I also pay $7 student prices and what does "brainpower" and "attention span" has to do with anything. Did your girlfriend didn't give you any today or what... sheesh, relax

[1138]

OK you two, let's settle down. I'm not sure if there was some missed humor or what, but let's not let this get any uglier.

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1138 - DVD File Forum Greeter
Oh George, not the livestock!

[saraswati]

ok, i'm going to be the bigger person and not flame you back.

first of all, i'm a girl, and i'm straight, so i don't have a girlfriend. i do, however, have a boyfriend, and i probably "get" a lot more than you do.

second, when i said you don't have the attention span, i thought you meant, by your previous post, that you could not enjoy more than one movie at a time because, in order to enjoy a film you had to concentrate so intensely on it.

and don't try that, "i am a better movie watcher because i have to completely immerse myself in every film i see" crap with me.

and napster is pretty much gone, so from now on, in order to get the soundtrack you are going to have to buy it. besides, do you think that your massive cd collection is going to impress me?

ok, i'll shut up and be a good girl now.


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"Crap, lousy ceiling!"

[Deckard]

Well, you did flame back so shut up.
And you think there is only napster around? I have over 4 file sharing programs and got over 17 full albums and soundtracks since napster was blocked, like Swordfish, Tomb Raider, etc.
And why is immersing myself in a movie is crap or excuse? I just may be more fair to myself and let myself enjoy a movie more rather than being a cheap whore and watching 3 in row.
Admins, please close this post, this will never stop

[Taxi]

Folks, this is the kind of thing we do NOT tolerate around this forum.

We've said it a hundred times. Disagreement is fine, but when it gets personal, that's it.

Deckard, you've done this kind of thing before, and because of that, you are gone. Saraswati, in the future, please don't let people pull you into arguments like this.

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Taxi - DVDFile Forum Administrator
Eleven plus two = Twelve plus one

[Damian]

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"They're us....we're them!"
-Damian