vcp
Well-Known Member
Surely you've heard of it and wondered if it really works? Well, it does, sort of.
Quick review. You subscribe to Moviepass online at (currently) $9.95/month. For that, you can see one movie a day for no additional charge (changing, see below). The receipts in the pic are for my wife and me from about a six week period. That's two subscriptions, so call it a cost of about $30, for about 40 movie admissions, that average about $8 each. We see a lot of manatees and at Sr. pricing - so if you usually pay full admission you could save more.
How it works:
Pros: That's less than $1 a movie! (For us, YMMV.)
Cons:
How long can they keep this up? Nobody understands their business model - they've got to be burning through a fortune. They are currently paying theaters full ticket price but presumably, they're hoping for some theater tie-in discount eventually. But theater margins are so slim that this seems unlikely. Maybe an increase in ticket sales (I see it being used more and more often) and concession sales will urge the theater chains to cut a deal. I don't know. Get it while it lasts.
Quick review. You subscribe to Moviepass online at (currently) $9.95/month. For that, you can see one movie a day for no additional charge (changing, see below). The receipts in the pic are for my wife and me from about a six week period. That's two subscriptions, so call it a cost of about $30, for about 40 movie admissions, that average about $8 each. We see a lot of manatees and at Sr. pricing - so if you usually pay full admission you could save more.
How it works:
- When you subscribe online, they send you a MasterCard credit card - looks just like a normal card. Took about 10 days to get the card, and your subscription cost doesn't start until you use the card the first time.
- Download and install the Moviepass app on your smartphone (yeah, you gotta have one, with camera and GPS).
- When you arrive at the theater, you 'check-in' on the app. Select the theater, movie, and showtime on the app. You have to be within 100 yards of the theater and within 30 minutes of the showtime.
- After you check-in, your card is approved for one ticket admission charge at that theater. Use it like a normal credit card to buy your ticket.
- If you are a heavy user (we are), the app will ask you to take a photo of your ticket stub and submit it (within the app).
- Enjoy movie.
- Get billed $9.95 a month automatically from your bank account, regardless of how many movies you see, max of one per day.
Pros: That's less than $1 a movie! (For us, YMMV.)
Cons:
- You have to really like going to the movies and have the time, but even a few a month would make it worthwhile.
- Check-in is a hassle. You need to arrive at least 10 minutes early to fiddle with the app. The last couple of times it's required restarting the app/restarting the phone/force closing the app/re-logging into the app - to get it to work. I see other people having trouble with it too. Mostly it has worked fine.
- Sometimes it just doesn't work at all. Happened once in the past 6 weeks - it was a general outage for everyone.
- Some theaters check ID's to see that the name on the Moviepass card is you. Extra hassle.
- You always must remember to have your phone and Moviepass card.
- You can't buy tickets in advance.
- You can't buy tickets as a group - each person is a separate Moviepass transaction.
- You (usually) have to remember to hang on to your ticket stub and take a picture of it for submission. You can't check-in to another movie until you do.
- You can't go to 'premium' movies - Imax or 3D - this is changing, see below.
- You can only see a particular movie once - it won't let you check in for the same movie again.
- It's changing, see below.
- How long Moviepass can stay in business is unknown.
- It's apparently pretty easy to have your subscription canceled by suspected violation of their rules. Letting someone else use your card or failing to submit stub pictures.
- Apparently, some theaters balk at the card or just don't accept it. Hard to understand why, as the theater gets full price. I haven't found a problem.
How long can they keep this up? Nobody understands their business model - they've got to be burning through a fortune. They are currently paying theaters full ticket price but presumably, they're hoping for some theater tie-in discount eventually. But theater margins are so slim that this seems unlikely. Maybe an increase in ticket sales (I see it being used more and more often) and concession sales will urge the theater chains to cut a deal. I don't know. Get it while it lasts.
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