MoviePass Is Back (theverge.com) 35
MoviePass is back thanks to MoviePass co-founder Stacy Spikes, who was fired from the company in 2018 for questioning the sustainability of its business model. "Under the company's new points-based system, you can pay $10 per month to watch one to three movies at any of the 4,000 participating theaters throughout the US," reports The Verge. From the report: In addition to the $10 / month Basic plan, MoviePass offers three more expensive subscription options: a $20 / month Standard plan for three to seven movies per month, a $30 / month Premium plan for five to 11 movies per month, and a $40 / month Pro for up to 30 movies per month. There's a separate, more expensive subscription for customers in Southern California and the New York metro area. The reason why each tier includes a range of movies you can watch has to do with the way MoviePass' new credits system works. Every tier offers a different number of credits that you can redeem on movies each month, with Basic having the least number of credits and the Pro plan having the most.
According to MoviePass, a film's credit value can fluctuate depending on a number of factors, including the time of day and day of the week you want to watch it. Based on tweets from customers who tested the service, credit costs have changed without warning and can vary significantly across showings. If you don't use up all your credits, MoviePass says it will roll them over to the next month, allowing you to have a maximum of two months' worth of unused credits in your account to use at a later date. Once you sign up for the service, you'll receive a MoviePass card within 10 to 15 business days that you'll need to use at supported theaters. The sustainability of MoviePass started to crumble in 2017 when it began offering customers unlimited movie-watching for just $9.95 per month. The seemingly too-good-to-be-true pricing ultimately resulted in the company's bankruptcy two years later.
Additionally, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against MoviePass, alleging that the company had misled investors about the viability of its business model.
According to MoviePass, a film's credit value can fluctuate depending on a number of factors, including the time of day and day of the week you want to watch it. Based on tweets from customers who tested the service, credit costs have changed without warning and can vary significantly across showings. If you don't use up all your credits, MoviePass says it will roll them over to the next month, allowing you to have a maximum of two months' worth of unused credits in your account to use at a later date. Once you sign up for the service, you'll receive a MoviePass card within 10 to 15 business days that you'll need to use at supported theaters. The sustainability of MoviePass started to crumble in 2017 when it began offering customers unlimited movie-watching for just $9.95 per month. The seemingly too-good-to-be-true pricing ultimately resulted in the company's bankruptcy two years later.
Additionally, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against MoviePass, alleging that the company had misled investors about the viability of its business model.
Yeah, let's try it again! (Score:2)
In addition to the $10 / month Basic plan, MoviePass offers three more expensive subscription options: a $20 / month Standard plan for three to seven movies per month, a $30 / month Premium plan for five to 11 movies per month, and a $40 / month Pro for up to 30 movies per month.
I'm guessing the reality of this would be those numbers would only be achievable for last-run, late-run, dollar theater level movies. If you want to see anything worth watching. I'd look for those low-end numbers to be the absolute most you'd ever manage to get out of it.
I'm not sure what the expectation is here. Is the hope that people buy in and then just forget about the subscription, continue to pay it, never using it? Because people that love movies may buy in to something like this, but they'll use th
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My question is, are there even that many movies one would want to see each month? Obviously it's just me, but I'm having a difficult time thinking of any movie I would have wanted to see in the past five years.
Re:Yeah, let's try it again! (Score:5, Funny)
Correct, it's just you.
The target customer set is people who like movies, not people who don't like movies.
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Correct, it's just you.
The target customer set is people who like movies, not people who don't like movies.
Maybe some people who don't like movies can be encouraged to go to the movies, get the ticket and refuse to enter the cinema cos they hate movies?
That will show them how much you hate them :P
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Liking movies is one thing but the theater requires leaving the comfort of your living room and home cinema setup with only people you like for company and you still have the crazy cost of the concessions. We love movies but only go to the theater for 1-2 titles a year because the theater is a trade off for a big screen and a few more sound channels in exchange for dealing with dozens of annoying strangers and paying $40-60 for $1-2 worth of snacks. This pricing still makes that an expensive enough option t
Re: Yeah, let's try it again! (Score:2)
Who does not want to see "X-Men the Super Duper Apocolypse All Over Again Reboot" or "Jaws 19 Reboot Of 18 and much like 15"?
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In five years I might come up with ten movies worth going to the theater for. I used to enjoy the spectacle movies in the theater, but once they filled up with chit-chatting phone-dwellers, I kinda stopped enjoying even that.
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It is actually much more expensive, that is what. Honestly the major theater chains have their own ticket and pass programs that are comparable or better than what moviepass is offering. They all have their tradeoffs and strengths, with the biggest advantage of moviepass is theater flexibility [when I looked at the options maybe six months ago because movie pass put out the waiting list]. Honestly... that isn't a huge strength unless you are a nomad or live in a small town with only an independent theater n
AMC Stubs A-List better and any screen (Score:2)
AMC Stubs A-List better and any screen
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Agreed, if you see lots of movies at the theater then AMC Stubs A-List is the best thing going.
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If you don't watch an insane quantity of movies at the theater... including rewatching the same ones again and again Cinemark's plan is likely the better option. They also offer concession discounts.
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Why don't theatres offer this sort of thing?
Because it is a stupid, unworkable, and unprofitable, idea.
I don't see why a "theatre subscription", even with "points" to limit use, should be a viable business model since there really isn't anything to skim off the top for a third party company.
Exactly. That's why the went bankrupt the first time. But con-men never give up.
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Because it is a stupid, unworkable, and unprofitable, idea.
The two major theatre networks in France implement unlimited offers since 2013. UGC Illimite costs 17,90 euros/month https://www.ugc.fr/les-offres-... [www.ugc.fr] and Gaumont-Pathe CinePass starts 16,90 euros/month https://www.pathe.fr/cinepass [pathe.fr]
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Because it is a stupid, unworkable, and unprofitable, idea.
The two major theatre networks in France implement unlimited offers since 2013.
Yes, if you own the movie theaters then you could possibly make it work. Even if you lose a small amount of money on the ticket price, once you get people into the theater you can make money on the over-priced food and beverages.
Essentially, Movie Pass is trying to buy movie tickets for $10 and then re-sell them for $10. That doesn't even make sense. Their *ONLY* possibility for making money is if a lot of people pay for their service and then never use it. That's just not a viable business model.
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No, it isn't that bad. The points system is tilted more in their favor than that, even if you always use up all the points they'll typically be charging you more than the cost of the tickets. But not enough more for a real profit, perhaps enough more to cover the administrative costs.
They are counting on making a profit from people underusing the plan... most people don't go to the theater every month, or two months, etc and to hit that breakeven point you'd have to optimally spend the points for maximum va
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No it isn't, which is why the two largest movie chains have plans of their own. Just check their websites.
Moviepass is in the ballpark for realistic usage but movie maniac AMC is going to be the better value with 3 tickets a week and Cinemark for a less frequent user with their much lower rate pass a month with 20-25% discount on concessions.
But there is a big difference... the seats only cost the theater something in a full screening and they make most of their money on concessions not tickets. Filling up
Re: Why is this a separate company? (Score:2)
It's like the Ticketmaster of theaters.
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They do. Both AMC and Cinemark have plans.
https://www.amctheatres.com/amcstubs/alist
https://www.cinemark.com/movie-rewards-info
Dogshit subscription (Score:1)
There is so much good stuff to receive on a regular basis. Why are we still so focused on Hollywood
I want to believe (Score:2)
... but I don't.
I like going to see movies in theaters.
Back in college, there was a "membership theater" nearby -pay for a monthly pass, see all the movies you want. It had second run movies only, nothing current, but had 3-4 different movies at a time and changed them regularly. I went to see several a week.
Once I was out in the working world, I would go see a movie a week at the real theaters -usually a mid week evening show.
Now, I prefer to skip work monday afternoon and catch a midday matinee at the AM
AMC A-List (Score:1)
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Im an A Lister. Its $25/mo now. Yes, its still three movies a week, but honestly we barely do two a month. The real benefit of being an A Lister is that you get points for free stuff, and free upgrades for soda and popcorn, and free large popcorn and soda during your birthday month. The only thing I see good about Moviepass is that its $10/mo and you have the flexibility to go to any theater, you're not just stuck with AMC.
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Regal is unlimited, I had that, but the closest theater is a 98 mile round trip. Ticket price is not the controlling factor. If I get the 3-wheeled electric that charges its batteries from the sun, the Aptera, then maybe...
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If I get the 3-wheeled electric that charges its batteries from the sun, the Aptera, then maybe...
Have fun dodging potholes with a wheel in the middle of the track. Have even more fun if you blow a front tire, now the vehicle will crab.
There's a good reason three wheeled vehicles are so rare. It's a bad idea.
Luckily Aptera is never actually going to put out a vehicle, so you won't have to decide whether to buy one, or be smart.
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Agree 3 wheels is a PITA. Additionally, it is an autocycle, not a car, so I can't use it with my Sports Car Club of America activities.
However, this little gem gets 10 miles per KwH while everyone else is getting about 4. That gives it a 1000 mile range so I can more-or-less go 500 miles, turn around, and come back on 1 home-sourced charge that is billed at 16 cents per KwH, while commercial fast chargers go for significantly higher rates.
I probably won't buy this, but it is a strong consideration. The
Small Town (Score:1)
Managed to move away from 3 many-screen theaters in close proximity, to a town with 1 6-screen theater. Between not wanting to drive 25 - 35 miles for other movies, there really aren't all that many movies that are worth watching. I can see the most popular ones at the 6-screen theater, then if I'm looking to fill up a 30-movie-per-month ticket, that will be a LOT of driving and seeing a lot of unimpressive movies. Caliber of flicks aren't even as good as pre-pandemic, when the studios were whining ab
Errrm, no thanks. (Score:2)
I doubt I'll ever go into a movie theater again, but that's just me.
Yes, there are some films that demand a movie theater-sized screen, but even they probably wouldn't get me into a theater.
I don't want to have to drive to the theater, find parking (and maybe pay for parking), pay mondo-inflated prices for snacks (or sneak my own in), then deal with all the talkers, phone-addicts, smells, sticky floors, bathroom breaks (no pausing the movie!), and then go back to the car, drive back...I'd be exhausted by th
Or... (Score:2)
... just wait a couple of months to watch the movie after it is dumped on a streaming service or torrent site.
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