So how much longer do you all give Movie Pass?

[adamgreer]

Posted: 7/30/18 at 11:09pm

When I signed up the deal was one movie per day. Conceivably I could see a movie every day of the year if I desired. The only restrictions were on imax, 3D, and special events (like the Fathom Events screenings).

I paid in full for a year to get a promo rate.

Since I joined they’ve added surge pricing, forced you to upload copies of your ticket stub, and now we come to find out they’re going to eliminate “big new releases” altogether.

They had to take out a huge loan last week just to keep the lights on, the app had a nationwide outage that prevented people from buying tickets Thursday night, and it’s been glitchy all week. Their customer service is non-existent, and whoever was in charge of the Facebook page has pretty much given up, as it’s one complaint after another. They really don’t seem to care about alienating customers.

Is this the end? Do you think their demise is imminent (like Labor Day), or will they plod along unfil the end of the year?

For context...here’s today’s news:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.businessinsider.com/moviepass-ceo-says-tickets-to-major-releases-will-not-be-available-on-app-2018-7
 

Updated On: 7/30/18 at 11:09 PM

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 7/31/18 at 8:53am

An hour

[Consistency]

Posted: 7/31/18 at 8:54am

I don’t see that many ways forward for them, considering they’re completely out of money.

My guess: If they do survive, they’ll do so by becoming a sort of IndiePass, limiting usage of the card to indie films and smaller theater chains that are more likely to make deals with them.  I realize that’d alienate a majority of their customers, who are only interested in blockbusters or who only have big chains in their area—but that might not be such a bad thing, seeing as how this is one service where more members equals more money lost for the company.

Personally speaking, that move would be fine with me—I’ll subscribe to AMC A-List for the blockbusters, and I’d still maintain “free” access to the specialty chains (like Angelika and Landmark) and the great repertory art house in my area.  

Anyways: It’ll be interesting to see how the next few weeks play out—or if they're even still around in a week. As someone who was already going to the theater several times a month before MoviePass, the card has been an amazing value for me. Fingers crossed that they’re able to find some sustainable model that isn’t completely restrictive (“weekday early bird matinees of A24-distributed films at Landmark Theaters only." )

Updated On: 7/31/18 at 08:54 AM

[adamgreer]

Posted: 7/31/18 at 9:06am

I would be annoyed if that happened only because that’s not at all what I signed up for. That wasn’t the deal. It’s a terrible bait and switch, and they’ll have a lot of angry customers if that’s what they end up doing.

[LYLS3637]

Posted: 7/31/18 at 9:08am

I first purchased moviepass a few years ago for $34.99 a month. So, on average, if you saw one movie a week, it paid for itself. I used it for Oscar season then cancelled-- until the $9.95 a month deal.

I knew it wouldn't last at that price. I knew it was unsustainable and I knew the terms would probably have to change to keep the company going. Going forward, I see them increasing the monthly cost to $25 or $35 again. If they don't, they'll be dead by Halloween.

Honestly, changing the terms and conditions doesn't upset me all that much. Any way to see a movie without paying $10, $12, $15 a shot is worth it to me. I still have a better financial outcome with moviepass than without it.  I just hope I can get another Oscar season out of them... 

Updated On: 7/31/18 at 09:08 AM

[Consistency]

Posted: 7/31/18 at 10:04am

Well, they finally issued a press release: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180731005582/en/

Biggest takeaways: The monthly plan will increase to $14.95, and major releases (1000+ theaters) won’t be available during the first two weeks.

While this personally won’t impact me all that much, it’s not what people signed up for.

It also kind of feels like they’re whistling past the graveyard.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 7/31/18 at 10:50am

So...charging more and offering less. I think I’m done.

[haterobics]

Posted: 7/31/18 at 12:27pm

I did the annual, but already got more tickets out of them than it cost me, so I'll just switch to the Cinemark plan and be done with it...

[n2nbaby]

Posted: 7/31/18 at 12:51pm

These new changes really don’t bother me much.

I have had MP on and off since 2013 and have always loved it. The only reason I didn’t have it for a few years was because I was a manager at Regal and had no use for it, obviously.

The last few weeks have been rough. I don’t even think I’ve seen a movie. I was going to see Leave No Trace but that was for some reason greyed out, so I gave up.

I’m not canceling yet - I can wait a few weeks to see most movies and for the ones I can’t, I know the entire staff, so I can get in for free anyway (I really only got it to get the Regal credits considering how much I go) or if worst comes to worst, buy a ticket for a movie I don’t want to see and then just walk into the theater for what I actually want to see.

It’s not what everyone signed up for but they have said many times changes will be implemented as they saw fit.

[Broadway Joe]

Posted: 7/31/18 at 4:12pm

I had moviepass in 2013 for a full year when it was $35 a month. You had to sign up for a full year back then and I think I saw almost 90 movies in a year, completely burnt myself out and got sick of sitting through trailers and actually going to the movies. When they lowered it to $9.99 I knew they were destined to fail miserably. They weren't even making money off me at $35 a month because I was seeing so much, there was no chance in hell they were making money off people spending $9.99 a month. It was a ridiculous unrealistic price.

I've maybe seen 5 movies in the theater since then and only go when my gf wants to see something. I just have no desire to go anymore. We have only seen Paddington 2 in the theater this year and will probably see Winnie the pooh and the new fantastic beasts movie but we get a triple a discount and the tickets come out to like $10 a ticket. We enjoy watching at home more and found a nice TV and surround sound as a better investment into our enjoyment than wasting our time and money going to the theater.

[veronicamae]

Posted: 8/29/18 at 10:15pm

I've had Movie Pass almost since Day One. It has treated me extremely well and I've seen dozens more movies than I'd have otherwise.

I've stuck by them and referred many friends, but their business model turned upside down when they dropped to $10/mo. They should have left it at $20 or $30/mo and had a sustainable product. Now it's at the point that I can't see anything I want when I want because everything's blacked out for days and days and days when it's a new release and by the time it's not blacked out I've lost interest or I shell out cash for it. Side note: maybe that's part of their strategy.

It's a bummer.

I'm considering AMC's version when my "pay for 9 months and get 3 months free" thing expires. AMC's is $20/mo and actually works (at AMC theaters, which I mostly frequent anyway due to location).

[haterobics]

Posted: 8/30/18 at 1:02am

MoviePass gave me the chance to get a pro-rated refund if I canceled my annual plan by 8/31, so I pretended I wanted to see a movie every day for the past five days... and every day, I couldn't see a movie I wanted to see when i wanted to see it, so cancel and refund it is.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 8/30/18 at 3:02pm

https://www.cnet.com/news/take-that-moviepass-sinemia-offers-3-movies-per-month-for-9-99/?ftag=CAD7dba523&bhid=18763139336038148894810523898284 

 

A friend sent me this article. I’d never heard of Sinemia before, but it sounds like a much better option than MoviePass.

[haterobics]

Posted: 8/30/18 at 4:41pm

MoviePass CEO just stepped down today.