Should You Get an Unlimited Movie Subscription?
Regal Cinemas is launching their unlimited movie subscription service any day, and they’ve posted details of the plan , which costs $ 18-23.50 per month depending on your location. Here are the most important parts, tricks to watch out for, and ways to join.
How it works
For a monthly fee, you can watch as many movies as you want in Regal cinemas. Subscription allows you to watch any movie in normal format without restrictions and blackout dates. This way, unlike many third-party subscription plans, you won’t be blocked from watching big movies on your first weekend. And like the AMC Stubs A-list , you can watch the same movie over and over.
You can pre-reserve tickets for up to three films at the same time if their sessions are not the same. You control everything through the Regal mobile app.
Only you can use the subscription, which is why Regal asks you to submit your photo as proof of identity. And your subscription is tied to your phone, not to your login. Therefore, be careful when transferring your subscription when purchasing a new phone.
How much is it
$ 18 a month, $ 21 a month, or $ 23.50 a month plus tax. The price depends on which theaters you want to use your tariff for. Here is a list of the locations included in each plan. Fortunately, the rest of the plans are exactly the same.
The $ 18 plan covers around 200 locations. The $ 21 plan covers them, plus about 280 more. And the $ 23.50 plan covers all of that, plus about 75 more. (All theaters in New York and Los Angeles are only in the most expensive plan.)
You can pay $ 1.50 to watch the movie at the next price tier theater, or $ 3 for a theater two tiers higher. You can also pay extra for special formats like IMAX and 3D.
Booking tickets in advance (not for a day) costs 50 cents per ticket (less than the regular Regal advance booking fee).
Catches
You must make annual payments at a time. If you pay monthly, the subscription will automatically renew every month until you cancel the subscription (but you cannot cancel it earlier than after a year). If you pay the amount one year in advance, there will be no discount, but your subscription will not automatically renew when it ends. Hopefully Regal doesn’t screw up and reverse user cancellations like MoviePass did .
You can skip recurring bookings, but if you miss out on a lot of bookings without canceling them in the app, Regal may decide that you are abusing your account and get you banned.
It’s the opposite of a gimmick, but: when you join Regal Unlimited, you automatically join the Crown Club, which gives you bonus points for your subscription fees, concession costs and tickets.
How to join
Regal Unlimited doesn’t have a set release date yet, but when it comes you’ll need the Regal mobile app (iOS / Android) to register. If you download it now and allow notifications, we bet the app will let you know when Regal Unlimited goes live. (We are awaiting confirmation from Regal.)
Should you join?
Are you watching enough films? To get the subscription fee back, you need two films a month. After that, the more movies you watch, the better your deal will be – unless you spend all of your savings on popcorn and soda.
Do you prefer local Regal theaters or local AMC theaters? AMC Stubs A-list is slightly more expensive than Regal, with exact pricing varying by state ( select your local theater here for your price).
Do you often watch IMAX and 3D movies? Regal charges additional viewing fees for those with a subscription, but AMC includes all formats at no additional cost.
Want to watch more than three shows a week? AMC limits your subscription to 3 times a week, but Regal offers unlimited movies.
At least both plans look better than dealing with MoviePass and Sinemia. Both of these brands offered cheap subscriptions across multiple theater chains, but both were known for poor customer service and hidden gimmicks. MoviePass is currently working on a new service and is not accepting new subscribers, and Sinemia closed this spring . Cinema subscriptions are becoming less fun, but more reliable.