MoviePass No Longer Usable at Some AMC Theatres

The change is reportedly MoviePass' doing and not the decision of AMC.

By Jonathon Dornbush

It may not be possible to use your MoviePass to see Black Panther, Solo: A Star Wars Story, or some of 2018's biggest films at select AMC Theatres.

The use of MoviePass, the subscription that allows users to see a movie a day for under $10 a month, reportedly no longer works at previously compatible AMC locations. This restriction first appeared when a Twitter user asked the company's Twitter account about being unable to purchase a ticket with MoviePass at the AMC Empire 25 theater in New York City. MoviePass replied saying, "...We no longer work with that theater."

We apologize for the inconvenience, but we no longer work with this theater. We hope to partner with them again.

— MoviePass (@MoviePass) January 25, 2018

Deadline reports this outage is not AMC's doing, but MoviePass' and is affecting other major domestic markets, including Boston, Massachusetts, and Los Angeles, California. MoviePass' CEO Mitch Lowe issued the following statement to Deadline:

"As of today, you’ll find a small handful of theaters are no longer available on our platform. Our number one goal as a company is to provide an accessible price-point for people to enjoy films the way they’re meant to be seen: on the big screen. Many exhibitors have been receptive to this mission, and we’re excited to keep working with theater chains that are closely aligned with our customer service values."

AMC's Guest Services Twitter has responded to tweets, implicitly confirming AMC is not behind this new outages.

Some of our guests say MoviePass may be blocking the use of their service at a handful of AMC locations. AMC has not restricted MoviePass acceptance at our theatres, nor have we heard from MoviePass about this. MoviePass customers should contact MoviePass for clarification.

— AMC Guest Services (@AMCHelps) January 25, 2018

Issues between MoviePass and AMC first arose last year when the former significantly dropped the price of its subscription service. At the time, AMC issued a statement saying the company "is consulting with its attorneys to determine if or how AMC can prevent a subscription program offered by MoviePass from being used at AMC Theatres in the United States." The national theater chain said it was a program it could not embrace.

Since then, MoviePass saw a dramatic rise in subscribers and revealed ambitious plans to increase that number going into 2018. Since then, MoviePass has expanded into acquiring films to distribute, including recently co-acquiring The Orchrd's American Animals at the Sundance Film Festival.

Jonathon Dornbush is an Associate Editor for IGN who used to use his MoviePass years ago at the AMC Empire 25 and is disappointed his friends no longer can. For more on his movie thoughts, find him on Twitter @jmdornbush.

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