Prime’s newest perk is early movie tickets for ‘Jumanji’

Amazon is adding to its slew of perks for Prime members by offering subscribers the chance to purchase early tickets to an upcoming movie for the first time. The deal gives Prime members the chance to watch the movie Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle 12 days before its Dec. 20 release date. Customers can buy up to 10 tickets for a 7 PM showing of the movie on Dec. 8 at one of over 1,000 theaters around the U.S., including Regal, AMC, ArcLight Cinemas, and National Amusements theaters.

The retailer says it has never before offered early movie tickets to Prime members, but wouldn’t comment further on the nature of the deal or if it plans to host more events like this in the future.

The movie tickets sales, available via a dedicated website at amazon.com/jumanji, are powered by Atom Tickets. Atom is a more recent Amazon partner, as it has been powering ticket sales on Amazon-owned IMDb.com since July, 2017.

When you click the link on the Jumanji page hosted by Amazon, you’re redirected to Atom’s website. Ticket prices will vary by theater, but they aren’t being discounted as a part of the deal.

It’s not likely that early access to tickets would convince someone to subscribe to Amazon Prime, though that’s the sales pitch featured on the Jumanji website. Instead, it’s the sort of one-off perk that, combined with others over a period of time, could help to retain Prime members by increasing the value of the subscription.

The deal also offers another way for Amazon to work with studio partners – in this case, Sony.

Sony was interested in launching Jumanji in a creative way to help attract attention (especially because of the competition from Star Wars, also arriving in December.)

Plus, Amazon is able to promote its other goods and services to Prime subscribers at these events.

For example, some locations will roll out a “blue carpet,” and movie goers be able to use a Jumanji and Prime Photos-branded photo booth, and receive holiday gift bags from Amazon’s newest acquisition Whole Foods. In select markets, the first Prime members to arrive will also receive free Amazon devices, delivered via the Prime Now instant delivery service.

“Prime members love watching movies, and that’s why we are treating them to something special this holiday season,” said Greg Greeley, Vice President, Amazon Prime, in a statement about the new perk. “With this exclusive first look at Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Prime members all over the country can come together to enjoy some well-deserved time with their loved ones and watch the latest adventure from our friends at Sony Pictures.”