With MoviePass circling the drain thanks to an untenable business strategy (which led to steep stock drops for parent company Helios & Matheson), AMC has announced a new program which allows users to see three movies each week for a monthly fee of $19.95.
The program, called AMC Stubs A-List, is an extension of AMC’s existing loyalty program, AMC Stubs Premiere. It officially kicks off on June 26. In addition to ticketing discounts, members will enjoy discounts on concessions at theaters and won’t have to pay online ticketing fees. Unlike MoviePass, users won’t be restricted from seeing specific films or specific formats; 3D, IMAX, and even AMC Dine-In theaters are included. Users can also make up to three reservations simultaneously, as opposed to MoviePass, where you’re limited to one.
A subscription to Stubs A-List includes all the benefits of a Stubs Premiere subscription, like free size upgrades on concessions, free large popcorn refills, and increased point accumulation. With a Stubs membership, every 5,000 points accrued nets you a $5 reward coupon, and with Premiere (and, now, A-List), you get 100 points for each $1 spent.
If you’re diligent about using those rewards, it grades out to a 10% discount across the board. A regular Stubs Premiere membership costs $15 per year (there’s a deal going right now which drops that down to $12, but the site says the deal was supposed to end on June 10). Unlike MoviePass, AMC won’t send you a physical card for Stubs A-List; instead, you’ll get a virtual card which you can access via the AMC mobile app.
Since AMC is the biggest theater chain in America — and considering some bad blood between the two companies last year — this could be construed as a shot across the bow of MoviePass. The program is a bit spendier than MoviePass (and not worth much if AMC doesn’t have a significant footprint in your area), but it offers users significantly more freedom and some extra benefits. In a statement to The Verge, an AMC spokesman downplayed any connection to MoviePass: “We understand the comparison, but we’re focused on our own program and on delivering the very best, most reliable movie-going value option in the entertainment industry, which is what we believe AMC Stubs A-List provides to our guests.”
Some of the best shots in Grok Imagine’s AI-made Odyssey don’t contain actors. Ancient landscapes stretch into the distance. Close-ups of grimy hands suggest people who have touched something rougher than a keyboard. For a few seconds, the illusion holds.
https://twitter.com/imagine/status/2113712964419063911
YouTube videos could soon look better without eating quite so much data, right? Thankfully, the platform plans to introduce a new video format called AV2 on its web player in early 2027, promising more efficient streaming and potentially fewer playback hiccups on slower internet connections. The big headline is a roughly 30% improvement in compression efficiency over AV1, YouTube's existing video format. That doesn't guarantee every video will use 30% less data, but it could make streaming a little easier on both internet connections and data allowances.
What is AV2, and why should viewers care?
YouTube is changing how its Home page works, giving viewers more control over what shows up there and making some of the app’s most-used sections easier to reach. Custom Feeds are now replacing the existing topic chips for eligible users, while YouTube is also testing a redesigned top bar on mobile that moves Subscriptions closer to the Home feed.
YouTube first started experimenting with Custom Feeds earlier this year, letting you type out what you wanted to watch and turning that request into its own stream of recommendations. Now, the feature is starting to look less like a side experiment and more like something YouTube actually wants people to use as part of their everyday Home page.