I love movies. I want to watch as many movies as I can. I watch a fair amount while running on the treadmill, but most deserve to be watched with your full attention in a large theater. After the pandemic, the only concern is cost. But I am retired with plenty of time in my day. So how can I watch as many movies as I want?
The AMC A-List costs $22.95/mo+tax = $23.64/mo in Illinois. This gives you three movies a week with no blackout dates. You do have to be 16 years or older with a valid ID.
A single Dobly Cinema ticket to Super Mario Bros. costs $19.35 at my local theater. This price includes tax but excludes the $2.59 convenience fee, covered by being an AMC Stubs Premiere member ($10 or less a year). A regular “digital” movie would cost $13.69. You can get a matinee price, a 30% discount, as low as $9.57. On Tuesdays, you can get as low as $6.70.
You can get discounted tickets at Sam’s Club for $9.49/ea. Costco offers two tickets and $20 in gift cards for $36.99, but that is a bad deal unless you really enjoy eating there, or you can get them on an occasional sale for $30.99.
| Ticket Type | Price (inc. tax) | Theoretical Low Price (Costco $5.50/ea) |
| Dolby Cinema (recliners) | $19.35 | $11.16 |
| IMAX | $18.32 | $10.13 |
| RealD 3D | $17.29 | $9.10 |
| Digital | $13.69 | $5.50 |
| Matinee Digital | $9.57 | |
| Sam’s Club Yellow Tickets (Digital only) | $9.49 | |
| Discount Tuesdays | $6.70 |
This means no matter what, if you see four movies a month at any time of the day, you should be an AMC Stubs A-List member. You are even saving money if you see two movies at a regular price.
The question then becomes, how many movies would I watch in a year?
2023
January – April
- Ant-Man QuantumMania
- Creed 3
- John Wick 4
- Scream VI
- Cocaine Bear
- Shazam 2
- D&D
- Knock at the Cabin
- 65
- Air
- Champions
- Titanic re-release
- Super Mario Bros
- Renfield
- Evil Dead Rise
- Beau is Afraid
- The Covenant
Seventeen movies through four months. A movie a week.
May-August
- GOTG 3 x2
- Fast X x2
- Spiderman Across the Spiderverse x2
- Transformers: Rise of the Beasts x2
- Elemental
- The Flash
- Asteroid City
- Indiana Jones V
- Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning x2
- Roosevelt
- Barbie x2
- Oppenheimer
- Haunted Mansion
- TMNT Mutant Mayhem
- Gran Turismo
There are another 15 movies in the middle sector of 2023, and honestly, five or six I’m guessing I would see multiple times.
September-December
- Next Goal Wins
- Pain Hustlers
- Dune: Part Two
- The Killer
- The Marvels
- The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
- Napoleon
- Wonka
- Leave The World Behind
- Ghostbusters Afterlife 2
- Rebel Moon
- Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
It’s hard to say what the third trimester of 2023 will yield, but it questions the need for an A-List the most. However, I enjoy Oscar-style movies, and there are a few exciting films and a couple of blockbusters. I also assume a comedy or two will get thrown in to make it close to a movie a week.
What About Times
The other catch is that, sure, there are a lot of movies I want to see, but do I have the time to do it? I am retired, but I do have two children still in school.
Here’s a summary of my local movie theater’s showings for 04-11-2023:
40 Movies were shown. 27 Digital. 4 Dolby Cinema. 4 IMAX. 4 Real 3D. 1 Open Caption.
20 Matinees (1130-355). 14 Digital. 2 Dolby Cinema. 2 IMAX. 2 Real 3D.
Only one movie (Super Mario Bros.) was not only Digital.
The ideal time would be between 9 am and noon, so the movie would end before I pick them up. However, our local AMC understandably does not offer a lot of film at these times.
11:30 am is the earliest showtime, usually for child-focused movies. For example, a 12:10 pm John Wick 4 isn’t done until past 3:15 pm! Also, on most weekdays during school, films may not even start until 1:00 pm.
The other best time is closer to my kids’ bedtime, but I like to be in bed by 10:30, so I need a movie to start between 7&8.
For 04-11-2023, the only options I would have are:
- 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm: Super Mario Bros (Dolby Cinema)
- 8:45 pm – 10:15 pm: Super Mario Bros (IMAX)
- 8:00 pm – 9:30 pm: Super Mario Bros (Real 3D)
- 7:45 pm – 10:00 pm: Dungeons & Dragons
- 8:30 pm – 10:15 pm: Air
- 8:00 pm – 9:30 pm: Paint
I only have three options if I want to pay the lowest price. But there are options. If I went to one on Monday, one Thursday, and then something with the family over the weekend, I would have successfully used all three of my movies for the week.
Conclusion
Gift yourself three months of AMC A-List starting on May 5 for Guardians of the Galaxy 3. This will get you through August 4th and TMNT: Mutant Mayhem and at least a dozen blockbusters for the summer!
