Alamo Drafthouse, the Texas-based cinema chain that popularized in-theater dining, is offering a subscription service to rival the AMCs and Regals of the exhibition industry. The company unveiled Season Pass, a monthly program that will be available to patrons in its 41 locations across the country.
Season Pass will provide one regularly priced ticket per day, with reservations available up to seven days ahead. Prices will vary by location, corresponding to the average ticket pricing in each city. Season Pass will cost between $14.99 per month to $29.99 per month in metropolises like Los Angeles and New York.
For premium formats like 3D, 70mm or Dolby screens, members will have to pay a $1.99 surcharge per ticket. Season Pass holders can purchase regular tickets for accompanying family and friends at the same time, or they can reserve up to four extra seats for a discounted price.
“This is a huge win for movie lovers,” Alamo Drafthouse founder and CEO Tim League said. “The entire reason we opened the Alamo in the first place was to share the movies we love with as many people as possible, and Season Pass is the perfect means for folks to explore more and more films.”
Patrons in locations including New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Austin and Denver are able to sign up for membership starting Wednesday. There will be a waiting list in select regions, but all venues will have the option in coming months.
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“Season Pass is built right into Alamo Drafthouse’s mobile apps, and we spent a lot of time making sure it’s fast, convenient and easy to use,” said Michael Trafton, Alamo Drafthouse’s chief technology officer.
Since the demise of MoviePass, the low-cost movie-per-day subscription service, major theater chains including AMC Theatres, Regal Entertainment and Cinemark have launched their own rival subscription plans. AMC’s Stubs A-List program lets subscribers see three movies weekly for $19.95 to $23.95 a month, depending on the location. Regal’s Unlimited Plan offers moviegoers tickets to as many standard-format movies as they want for a monthly fee of $18. Cinemark’s Movie Club lets customers buy one movie ticket per month for a discounted price of $8.99.