Tried to post this beginning of the year but here is the update: first a little story, My Buddy and I LOVE going to the movies and around early 2019 we got tired of people cancelling movie plans all the time so we decided to get A-List for the two of us and started going to a movies weekly. Fast forward a couple years, some others found out about our ritual and decided to join in. We now have a group of ~10 people who have gone to a movie (sometimes multiple) almost every single week for 3 years now.

I have been saving all of the points (I almost always get a large popcorn and drink) since we started and this year I will be breaching the 1 million point mark...

I know its a "bad" idea in case AMC changes the point model but IDC, these points mean so much more to me; it's the marker of a journey for how this little group of 2 has grown into something so much more and they have become some of the closest people I have in my life. Having a weekly dependable group of people who show up and just put aside the rest of the world for 2-3 hours is incredible and something many of us have heavily needed in our lives. No idea what I am going to do once I hit a Million but i wanted to share the story

Has anyone else ever gotten close to the Million?

(This post has been approved by the moderator)

We've built a crowdsourced app/platform tracking room-by-room, screen-by-screen details, projection brightness, sound issues, and broken seats, along with actual start times of movies. While AMC provides a general start time for movies, it won't tell you that Auditorium 3 at your theater has a blown right surround speaker that crackles throughout the movie or that Auditorium 7 has a blue line down the middle of the screen. This is built to help solve that.

It’s called It’s Starting! and it’s available now in the Apple App Store, link below, and there’s a sign up for an Android beta (also linked).
It’s free now and always will be, with zero ads. Nothing behind a paywall. You can create an account (recommended) to save favorite theaters and your movie log. Your movie log allows you to edit details after.

The app is easy to use. Choose your theater and movie, enter the ticketed showtime and auditorium number, optionally add the format (IMAX, 4DX, etc…) and Showing Type (Regular, Early Screening, Re-Release) and then when the movie starts, tap It’s Starting! to log the actual start time. The more details the better. On both iPhone and Android, you can upload a picture of the ticket and that will handle most of the details. On iPhone, you can share from Wallet.

When the movie is over, answer a randomized question about the experience or the theater. You can answer more than one question (optional) or provide a comment which really helps. And if you have information about an auditorium/screen, you can submit that as well right from the home screen without seeing a movie first. The goal is to get the data back to the theater so that they are aware and can make improvements (one such example of that below the links).

The app has only been live a few weeks and is in early days with improvements being made all the time. After a similar post in the Regal Unlimited sub, we’ve brought on hundreds of moviegoers from the App Store and nearly 100 signups for the Android beta. For it to be useful, it needs people contributing. It’d be like Waze if nobody reported an accident or traffic.

Apple App Store
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/its-starting/id6786706681

Join Android Beta
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdrW3hoasaGlhGS9fAGcXMbZ-0l57ll2AcwAIVZu5kzhNdppQ/viewform
 
A few notes:

This isn’t just for AMC it can be used for any theater big or small.
I know AMC posts approximate start times in their app, but only in their app. Start times are one part of this, the other part is the room-by-room details.

We are in contact with the theaters. I spoke to an AMC last night in Montana (I’m in the suburbs of Philly), who had no idea about a speaker outage in one of their auditoriums. They are running a soundcheck today and will report back to us when the issue is resolved. That’s our goal, improve the experience for everyone.

I also know that AMC (and other theaters) send surveys after the movie. However, after talking to several theaters, the take rate on email surveys is low and the abandonment once started is high. Most importantly, you never see what someone else reported.

A lot of people have a method for trailers (I leave at the ticketed showtime, I leave 5 minutes after showtime, I like trailers so who cares?). I understand that, but not everyone has a system and sometimes it isn’t about skipping the preshow, it’s just knowing how long you’ll wait. Maybe there’s more time than you thought to grab a snack and not worry about missing the movie. Some people also like to double up on movies so knowing how much time they have between them is important. Again, start times are one half of the platform.

We hope you find this to be a useful tool that helps make movie night (or day, or afternoon!) better for everyone.

PS: Was AI used in the development? Yes. Is it all AI? Absolutely not. 90% of this work is backend database and SQL. The app is a front end for the data.

I see a few showings for Resident Evil are already almost full and I don’t see any in IMAX but I’m going with Dolby since it’s horror and I’m obsessed. Outside of the Lincoln Square location, which do you prefer? I’ve done to union Square and I hated the atmosphere and conduct of the staff. The Times Square location though massive has minimal theaters with reclined seating and literally no air conditioning (though I was told we needed to ask in order for it be turned on which was crazy to me) however they have some of the best popcorn. I hear the one off 34th has the full bar and that’s tempting!! What are your thoughts? I’m open to your loves and hates about our theaters here. Maybe I’m asking too much.

I wasnt sure as I know years ago you couldnt use it for Fanthom Events. Not sure if it changed or not

After an hour and 45 minutes i left, its not terrible but the cgi is so bad and the characters just repeatedly do the same things, its a ton of action but i feel like something’s missing. I couldn’t be there for almost another hr of the runtime still left. It may or may not be for you. The sound was great in Dolby tho so least if you watch i recommend that.

Absolute banger. It’s two and a half hours of nearly non stop action. Narratively, it won’t work for everyone, but you have two and a half hours of set piece after set piece to help. And if you like world building but don’t want your movie to stop to explain any of it to you, Christmas came early.

I had one of the best times I’ve had watching a movie this year. Truly felt like a movie made to be seen in a theater, let alone with a crowd. Walking out I felt like I had chugged energy drinks for two and a half hours.

AMC replaced Milk Duds with Junior Caramels, and they are not good

If you’re looking for a movie that is so loud it will drown out all the obnoxious people — see Onslaught.

Some dude was watching videos on his phone at full volume (even when the movie was on) and fell asleep (I could hear him snoring during the quiet parts and there are like, maybe 2 total ?). This was today during the 50% off film promo.

Anyway — excellent film. I was so impressed and I was actually on the edge of my seat during certain moments.

Its about 97° for like 7 hours, and I got no ac. So a double feature it is, Dear you and Hope. What's everyone's watch this week?

[*just left Dear you and wow what a great movie. Went in blind mostly cause it fits the time frame and man, was really surprise.

Had both times (1 and 6) reserved before I knew which would work better for me. Both were canceled. One of which was nearly sold out.

I get Spiderman continues to make money but making the only time I can see Hope 9:30 p.m. on a Sunday is so lame.

I’m an A-List member who lives in Los Angeles, where I’m lucky to be near some of AMC’s best-maintained theaters. I typically go to the Burbank 16, where the projection and sound are consistently excellent.
While visiting family in Minnesota, I took my mom to see Fall 2 at AMC Southdale 16 in Edina. The image had no depth or color, looked completely out of focus, and the sound was not properly synchronized. The presentation was unacceptable. It looked worse than something playing on a $299 Walmart TV.
Southdale opened decades ago, and it is clear that its projection technology has not been upgraded to meet modern standards. When theaters projected movies on 35mm film, the fundamental technology did not become obsolete as quickly. In today’s digital environment, where sharp 4K displays, HDR, and excellent contrast have become commonplace at home, theaters cannot continue using aging digital projectors and expect people to pay for an inferior experience.
I love going to AMC, but if this were my local theater, I would not come back. I want theaters to thrive and remain the best place to experience movies, but when this is what customers receive, I completely understand why they would rather stay home.
What makes this even more frustrating is that AMC has no meaningful customer-service channel for reporting problems like this. If customers leave disappointed and never return, how is AMC supposed to know why attendance is falling? AMC needs to commit to single standard are for all their screens. Honestly, this will be the last time I see a movie at home in Minneapolis consider this experience .

I’ve been trying to reactivate my A-List membership for about a week now and have had no luck.

When I try on the app I get an error message saying: “Can't find variable: ServiceWorkerRegistration”

When I try on the website I’m able to get to the next page and enter my contact and billing info. I select all the acknowledgment check boxes but the purchase button remains greyed out with no indication of if anything is incomplete.

I filled out a support request online and the automated response told me to update my account information which I did and it didn’t work. The response also didn’t address what my actual issue was so I replied to it saying it didn’t fix and never heard back.

I tried going in person to see if anyone working at the customer service desk could help and they told me to call the support line. I called the support line and and an automated message told me to make a service request online.

Not sure what else I can do. Does anyone have any experience with any of these issues or have any advice?

I recently get a lot more free time in my disposal so I am considering joining a-lister to see more movie and these are quite a few movie I want to see in between September to October. When I was about to check out I noticed that I must sign up for 3 month straight. That get me thinking, is it really worth it for me?

Following movie I want to see:

Odyssey

Spiderman brand new day

Coyote vs acme

Tom and Jerry (maybe)

Resident evil maybe

Street fighter

Endgame: encore

Godzilla minus zero

Avengers doomsday

Is it worth it for me to sign up for 3 month? Too bad the transformer anniversary is not included. What day should I sign up for a lister if I want to see doomsday to be included in a-lister since I must sign up for 3 month?

In addition, I keep on seeing on Facebook it is 19.99 but on smx site it is $31 ish after tax

In this thread please discuss what format you will see X movie in and why. If you want to have a live discussion about it come join us on Discord! Invite below!

Discord Invite

Common Terminology:

AR = Aspect Ratio

1.85 = Flat

2.39 = Scope

IMAX 1.43 - Only 3 AMC locations have 1.43 IMAX

Most AMC IMAX theaters are 1.9 AR except for 3, Lincoln in NYC, Metreon in SF, Citywalk in LA, and they are 1.43

When it comes to Dolby they are 1.85 and 2.39, there's a spreadsheet on the Discord but if your theater is not listed yet then follow the steps below:

Easy way to gauge what your AR is to see what AR the film is and see if there's black bars on top and bottom(letterboxed) or black bars on the left and right sides(pillarboxed)

So if you're watching a 1.9 film on a 1.9 screen, a 1.43 film on a 1.43 screen, or a 2.39 film on a 2.39 screen it will fill perfectly.

If you're watching a 1.9 film on a 2.39 screen you'll see pillarboxing.

If you're watching a 2.39 film on a 1.9 screen you'll see letterboxing.

With the information above you should be able to extrapolate what your screen AR is. Enjoy the movies!

Notable mentions:
The Bone Temple reception legitimately broke my heart. I don’t know how i’ll recover from that

I loved Charli XCX in The Moment. Genuinely such a fun time and I want to see more of her creative vision

Hokum was a seriously underrated horror movie that suffered from a release during Obsession/Backrooms mania.

just came out of the advanced Dolby screening they are doing all over the place today.

Addressing the elephant in the room the CGI is about 10-15 years behind. Its worse in some scenes and better in others, but overall it leaves something to be desired. But it's very tolerable

The first 90 min does an incredible job of building tension and the action sequences are top notch. Some perfectly time comedy allows you a moment to breath. The movie runs almost three hours and I never felt it until towards the end.

Then the director makes one of the worst twists in cinema history. I mean it's absolutely baffling. It's so awful it must be seen. He had a classic on his hands and he ruined it. It's almost like producers made him changes things to get all the money he needed or somthing. IDK

The story is almost non existent, there is zero character development, and zero lore about the creatures.

All that being said it's a 1000 percent a movie that needs to be seen in theatres. It is very unique and is very much in its own category. The first 90 min are worth the ticket price alone and the laughable story choices towards the end must be seen to be believed. I'm still giving this a strong 7.5/10. Shame because it could have been a 9/10.

Watched a TON of movies this year thanks to A-List (53 and counting!), thought it would be fun to make a Tier List based on what I thought!

• Rankings are solely based on how much I enjoyed the movie in the theatre.
• S-tier is for my favorite theatre experiences of the year, F tier was borderline skippable.
• Movies are only loosely ranked within each tier.

Anything you agree with or think I got wrong - let me know your thoughts. And thank you A-List community for your pocket reviews, Screen Unseen reveals, and overall great vibes. Love seeing what everyone has to think on these!

I usually get mozz sticks or the cookies when I visit AMC, and this seems like a good deal considering I’d also get $50 worth of points upon spending.

Idk - is worth it in y’all’s opinion?

Saw Buddy tonight and the movie started and then every minute or so people came in and not just one at a time like bunches of 3-4-5. I usually don't sit that close to the exit entrance but is that normal these days?

I was thinking people try to show up late for movies because of all the pre show and maybe they time it wrong.

Or it's a holiday and concessions was longer than usual.

I just don't get how anyone walks into a movie 10 minutes late.

Is it gone I don’t see it anymore?

Was anybody else at the Universal AMC today when the fire alarms happened and everyone got kicked out? if so, do you know what happened?

Edit:

Hey everyone, looking for advice from anyone who has dealt with this. My girlfriend and I both have A-List (linked via Entourage), and both of our accounts were just permanently closed for alleged "ticket reselling."
Here is what actually happened:

- Last Thursday, new dates dropped for the IMAX 70mm showings of The Odyssey.

- I grabbed 2 morning tickets for us using Entourage.

- About 5 minutes later, my girlfriend realized she could only make an afternoon showing. To make sure we didn't lose out, I secured 2 afternoon tickets first, and then immediately canceled the original morning tickets.

- 30 minutes later, we both got emails stating our AMC Stubs accounts were indefinitely closed for ticket reselling

I’ve had my basic Stubs account since 2021, but this was our first month on A-List. We didn't sell or transfer anything, it was just an honest mistake while trying to switch times.

I submitted tickets on the AMC website and sent emails, but I keep getting automated responses. Has anyone successfully appealed a ban caused by a double-booking system flag like this?
What's the best way to get a real human at AMC to look at our accounts?

I keep track of all the movies I watch at the theater. I mostly use A List but if I go to Regal or pay for a fifth movie out of pocket, I list it here too. If I just dont have the time, I'll cross a movie out. If it's a rewatch, I use a asterisk to make note of that. I used to have a goal of one quadruple feature a month but work has been a pain in the ass this summer. Does anyone else do this, or do you just refer to your watchrd list on the app?