AMC Theaters is partnering with mobile ticketing application Atom to bring a bit of fast food flavor to its movie experience with the option to pre-purchase concessions and skip the line to pick it up.

The new feature is taking page out of the books of prominent dining chains such as Starbucks and McDonald’s with the mobile ordering feature. Mobile ordering on the Atom app will make use of QR codes to scan users purchases.

“Through the AMC app, we’ve had great success offering our guests the convenience ordering their food and drinks ahead of arriving at the movie, and we’re excited that our guests can now enjoy the full Atom Tickets mobile experience by incorporating the option to pre-order,” said John McDonald, executive vice president of U.S. Operations at AMC.

Mobile movies
The movie theater industry is one of many that has had to adapt to the modern mobile era.

From the early days of just telling people to silence their cell phones to today’s mobile tickets and pre-show mobile-enhanced trivia and ads, mobile is now expected to be a fully-integrated part of the movie-going experience.

One of the most notable entries into the mobile theater experience was Atom Ticketing, a mobile app that lets consumers purchase, download and show their tickets to the movies all through one convenient app.

Other companies have worked with similar models such as the mobile app offered by Fandango.

These apps work to make the experience of going to the movie theater more seamless and more mobile-connected.

Now Atom is helping AMC Theaters take a page out of the books of some popular food chains with the addition of mobile concession ordering through the Atom app.

Concession ordering
The app will let consumers order food from the concession stand through their phone. Once the order has been placed, they will receive a QR code in the app.

Consumers then bring the QR code to the counter once the food is ready. The AMC employee will scan the QR code and hand over the food.

This streamlined procedure helps eliminate the long lines that are typical of a theater concession stand, particularly just before a movie starts when everyone wants to grab a quick snack.

It is also another example of how Atom Tickets has attempted to shake up the mobile ticketing industry since it launched earlier this year (see story).

This new feature is yet another example of how mobile can help streamline a long-standing business model in new ways. For an industry that makes most of its money from concession sales, the addition of a quicker and more efficient manner of getting those concessions into customers hands is a valuable new way to cash in on mobile’s potential.

“We’re thrilled to expand our partnership with AMC and offer the full Atom Tickets experience to their moviegoers,” said Matthew Bakal, executive chairman and co-founder of Atom Tickets. “In addition to buying tickets and inviting friends through the app, AMC guests will have the ability to pre-order their favorite snacks and refreshments and have them ready upon arrival.”