Harkins Vs. AMC

If you live in Arizona then you know there are two major movie theater companies. There is Harkins Theaters and AMC Theaters. I find that some people will only go to either or. I've heard through conversation that a lot of people seem to dislike AMC more than Harkins. Now I'm indifferent towards each theater, but they do have their differences. So I'm just here to talk it out and compare the two.

Locations: As far as I'm able to tell there are 9 AMC Theaters in Arizona and the majority of them have 1 IMAX theater. Harkins has 25 theaters in the state of Arizona and I believe only one has an IMAX screen. However, they do have the Cine Capri as well. Harkins also isn't as big of a chain as AMC. They only have theaters in Arizona (most of their overall theaters are here), and also in California (2), Colorado (1), Oklahoma (1), and Texas (1). AMC has theaters in damn near every state, they even have some in Canada. But in Arizona, if you want "convenience", Harkins as it won with a large amount of theaters. Both theater chains have locations pretty evenly spread out, at least around the greater Phoenix area.

Weekend Night Pricing for Adults. As of right now, if you want to see an IMAX film in 3D (highest price ticket there is) at an AMC Theater, you are looking at spending $15.00. If you are seeing just a 3D movie, then it will be $13.00. Any other film would be $10.00. Over at Harkins for an IMAX 3D film you are also looking at $15.00. A standard 3D film is $12.50. A standard film is $9.50.

Day/Matinee Pricing: Harkins matinees Monday-Friday end at 6pm. It is $7.00 for a standard movie, $10.00 for a 3D matinee and still $15.00 for a Matinee IMAX 3D film. Now AMC is a little trickier. Their Matinees end at 6pm as well. Monday-Thursday any standard movie will cost only $5.00. Any standard movie after 6pm will cost $7.50. Monday-Thursday an IMAX 3D film before 6pm will cost $10.00 and $12.50 after 6pm. A standard 3D film will run you $8.00 and after 6pm you are looking at $10.50. Now Friday-Sunday any standard movie before noon will cost $5.00. However from noon to 4pm Friday-Sunday the tickets will jump to $7.50. Then matinees end at 4pm and the Weekend Night pricing (listed above) goes into effect. So the pricing at AMC jumps all over the place while Harkins remains consistent all week. AMC wins the pricing battle though if you are going to see any matinee. But if you want to see a night film over the weekend...I'd say Harkins takes that one.

Harkins Perks: Harkins Theaters has one or two major perks that everyone loves. The cup. Yes, the cup. Every year they release a new 'Souvenier Cup' that runs you, I think, $4.75 the first time. It's 32 oz cup. The nice thing about it, is that if you bring it with you to the movies from there on out (for the rest of that year) you will only have to spend $1.00 on your drink. If you see a lot of movies each year, this will save you a TON of money. They also have their T-Shirt that if you wear it, you get a discount on your popcorn.

AMC Perks:  Well, their $5.00 before noon on weekends pricing is a nice perk all on it's own. However, AMC has a membership program called 'Stubs' which used to be their 'Movie Watcher' program. It's a card you get and the membership costs you $12.00 a year. The card gets you an automatic free upgrade on certain concessions. So if you want to buy a small soda, you can get a medium for the same price. Their soda's are very expensive though. Costing over $5.00 for a large. And their large soda's are massive. They might as well call them vats of soda. It takes two hands to hold one. That's what she said. But if you can drink 900 oz of soda, then use your stubs card to get it for cheaper. Also, whenever you buy a ticket or any concessions, whatever amount you spend adds up on your stubs card. For every $100.00 you spend at AMC using that card, you will get $10.00 in spending money added onto your card to use towards your next visit to the theater. Or you can build up another $100.00 and have $20.00 and so on. But the reward money does expire after about 3 months. I have a Stubs card and I love it!

To be honest, I haven't see a movie at Harkins in probably over a year. Not because I don't like it, I actually love Harkins. But that Stubs card is the deal breaker for me. I see a lot of movies, so that $100.00 adds up really quick for me, especially given the prices of weekend night time movies now. I like being rewarded with essentially a free movie every once in a while. You get the same type of crown at either theater. A few years ago, AMC Deer Valley 30 used to be the place for stupid teenagers to hang out and ruin the movie. But that has drastically changed recently.

So I'm not here to say which theater is best...I like them both. Just wanted to do a side by side comparison.