Danielle SolzmanMoviePass made some huge news this past week as the subscriber-based service dropped their subscription price from $14.95 to $9.95 a month.
I had heard about this service for a while but decided to pass on it as they are not accepted by AMC Theaters. With their low costs, people would seem likely to take advantage of their services but just like with Netflix, moviegoers would rather pay the low fees than the higher costs. I’m a film critic so I see many movies a month–sometimes 30 or more–before they come out so I don’t have to worry about the box office costs, just the rising costs of concessions.
According to the website, the service claims to have 4,000 theaters (36,000 screens) in their network but it’s not without a catch. One has to be within 100 yards of a theater before they can even purchase their tickets. If you’re like me, you might want your tickets a few days early, especially for a hot blockbuster like Star Wars, in which you’re buying the moment tickets go on sale.
As far as theaters go, it varies by chain. The downside though is that in order to see which theaters or chains are included through MoviePass, one must download the app. For those without a smartphone, they are essentially screwed.
Here’s a question, could one use MoviePass to buy tickets a few days before or are they limited to the showings listed for that day? There’s so much more that needs to be answered before I can consider using such a program.
For all the low fees being paid for by the consumer, the positive for the studios is that they are getting the full cost of the ticket and not a very discounted fee.
