AMC Entertainment will stop offering its on-demand movie service, AMC Theatres On Demand, independently, instead incorporating the film TVOD library and migrating users to Fandango’s Vudu under a new partnership announced Thursday.
AMC launched its on-demand service in October 2019, debuting with around 2,000 movies that were available for purchase or rent by members of its AMC Stubs loyalty program. At the time the movie theater chain said it had more than 20 million Stubs households. Initially the service was available through the AMC Theatres mobile app, online, Roku and smart TVs.
Vudu owner Fandango, meanwhile, is a unit of NBCUniversal, with Warner Bros. Discovery holding a minatory stake. Fandango acquired Vudu from Walmart in April 2020 and later merged the service with FandangoNow. In addition to movies and films available for rent, Vudu also offers thousands of free titles. The service is available in 75 million U.S. households and counts more than 60 million registered users.
Current AMC Theatres on Demand users can transfer their account to Vudu, along with their existing library of previously purchased movies. According to AMC’s website, users have until August 31 to transfer their accounts. As part of the switch, the company is automatically upgrading “many of the movies” that users bought through the AMC Theatres on Demand Service to the highest quality format available, including 4K Ultra HD – at no charge for users with applicable titles. Vudu is also offering a 15% discount for AMC Theatres on Demand users who are new to Vudu, on every purchase made on the service for their first month.
Vudu has more than 200,000 new release and library movie and TV shows to rent or buy, including new films such as “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” “John Wick: Chapter 4,” and “Dungeons & Dragons: Horror Among Thieves,” among others. It also has a wide collection of 4K UHD titles and “thousands” of titles available for free, without the need for a subscription. To access their library on Vudu, existing AMC Theatres on Demand users can link their current Vudu account using the same email address or create a new Vudu account.
“AMC Theatres has been a valued exhibition partner of Fandango’s for more than two decades, and we’re thrilled to now offer our Vudu streaming service to AMC Theatres On Demand consumers,” said Cameron Douglas, VP of Home Entertainment at Fandango. "As consumers’ appetite for top-notch entertainment continues to grow, as well as their desire to watch the best movies both on the big screen and at home, this incredible collaboration with AMC Theatres will ensure that fans get seamless access to the premium content they love and crave."
In a statement Nikkole Denson-Randolph, SVP of Content Strategy & Inclusive Programming at AMC, noted that the movie theater company served viewers “through a multitude of platforms" during the pandemic.
“As we continue to evolve our business and remain focused on Making Movies Better by enhancing the theatrical experience, we’re even more excited to expand our relationship with a trusted partner, who will ensure a continued preeminent experience for those consumers who are streaming their post-theatrical movies at home,” Denson-Randolph continued.
The shift to Vudu comes as the return of regular new theatrical releases has helped boost the TVOD business of other companies – specifically Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, which in May recorded the largest revenue week in the company’s history for its Redbox TVOD service, bolstered by new releases.