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AMC Theatres is offering a new perk to its loyalty program members: Customers who pay a monthly fee for A-List or Stubs Premiere will get priority access to the best seats in the house.
The program is expected to launch in 2026, the company’s chairman Adam Aron on Tuesday’s earnings call. This change comes three years after AMC tested (and then abandoned) Sightline at AMC, a ticket pricing initiative based on seat location within the auditorium.
“Later this year, AMC will introduce preferred premier seating, where we will block and reserve the best seats in the house in our theaters to be accessed first only by our A-List and our Stubs Premiere members — that’s the two VIP tiers within our Stubs program — at no added charge at AMC,” Aron said during the call. “We will assure the best seats in our auditoriums are held, at first anyway, for our best customers.”
Of course, seating preferences can be subjective — and AMC Theatres didn’t define which will be considered the “best” rows. But the pilot program for Sightline at AMC involved customers paying more money for prime middle seats with an unobstructed view and less to sit in the front row. It’s possible the new initiative will follow a similar pattern.
In 2025, AMC raised the price of Stubs A-List to $27.99 per month in New York and California and $19.99 to $25.99 per month elsewhere in the country, depending on the state. Under the highest membership tier, patrons can see up to four movies every week in any format. Premiere — a tier below A-list that offers waived online ticketing fees, popcorn upgrades and other perks but doesn’t include the benefit of four-movies-a-week — costs $17.99 a month.
“We think it will be a considerable consumer benefit that our most frequent guests will notice and greatly appreciate, further cementing their brand loyalty to AMC,” Aron added.
Earlier this week, AMC Theatres reported a 10% decline in attendance during the end of 2025 as the chain’s quarterly revenue dropped to $1.28 billion, down 1.4% from the year prior. AMC has been testing all kinds of initiatives to lure customers in greater numbers. Last summer, the company started offering 50% off movie tickets on Tuesdays and Wednesdays for AMC Stubs rewards program.
Although 2026 has been off to a slow start, Hollywood studios and theater owners are bullish that upcoming blockbusters like Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey,” two Marvel’s adventures in “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” and “Avengers: Doomsday,” as well as Disney and Pixar’s “Toy Story 5,” will help to push domestic box office revenues toward pre-pandemic heights. Across the entire movie theater industry, exhibitors have struggled to recover from the pandemic and dual labor strikes, as well as the rise in popularity of streaming services.
“AMC is exceptionally well positioned to capitalize on a recovering box office,” Aron said. “And as I have said many times before, the not-so-secret formula to a full box‑office recovery is straight forward, we need more great movies from our studio partners.”
More to come….
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Rebecca Rubin
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