AMC offers $5 movie tickets with ‘surprise twist’

article

FILE - Moviegoers wait for the movie to start at the AMC Burbank theatre on reopening day in Burbank, California, March 15, 2021. (Photo by VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images)

AMC is offering movie tickets for fans at a cheaper price, but only if they don’t mind being surprised.

The movie chain announced its new "Screen Unseen" program, which offers tickets for just $5 plus tax. However, the movie remains a mystery until it starts.

"Be first to see a new film on the big screen with a surprise twist – the movie will be unveiled at showtime," the chain said in teasing the new program.

AMC, based in Leawood, Kansas, said it will share the film’s rating ahead of time – so fans can know whether to bring their children or not. The first film in the Screen Unseen program will be shown on Nov. 6 at 7 p.m. local time, and the rating is PG-13.

Advance tickets can be purchased on AMC’s website.

The new program is similar to the $5 Monday Mystery Movie offered by Regal, which similarly keeps the title a secret until showtime.

Movie theater chains have enjoyed record box office sales this year and the public’s renewed craving for the big screen, thanks in part to the same-day release of "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" this summer.

AMC, specifically, is also benefiting from "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour," which has broken records since opening. Taylor Swift, who produced the film, went around the Hollywood studio system to distribute the film and made a deal directly with AMC – the largest exhibition company in the U.S.

AMC to sell its movie theater popcorn at Walmart

AMC Entertainment launches microwave and ready-to-eat popcorn exclusively at Walmart. (Courtesy of AMC Theatres)

Beyoncé made a similar deal with AMC for her concert film "Renaissance: A Film By Beyoncé," which will open on Dec. 1 in North America.

The two superstars posed together at the premiere of "The Eras Tour" last month in Los Angeles – a needed injection of star power amid months-long Hollywood actors' strike.

This story was reported from Cincinnati. The Associated Press contributed.