With Netflix’s ongoing massive success, many people wonder what will be the next big thing in the movie industry. There might be an answer to that now with the unveiling of MoviePass, a subscription program that aims to get people out of their couches and into the movie theaters. The company was founded in New York in 2011 with a completely different pricing structure. If you’ve never heard of MoviePass up until now, it’s because they just update their pricing structure, and the update has been creating a buzz in the industry like no other–and it’s not necessarily good either.
As of August 31st, 300,000 people have subscribed to MoviePass. This surge of customers comes from the recent pricing change that’s quite an attraction, as a matter of fact. The plan basically offers access to a single movie per day for $9.95 a month. Not too shabby if you happen to be a movie aficionado being that a single movie ticket averages to just around under $9. If you go to a movie at least twice a month, you’ve covered your monthly subscription fee with your movie ticket expense already. It makes sense for customers in a great way, especially since a trip to the movies can get pricey quickly.
Many movie theater companies are not too happy with MoviePass’ business plan, stating that the move will easily put the company in the red. Many have also expressed their disagreements, and one company, AMC Theaters, is even going further to possibly take legal action to prevent MoviePass from implementing the pricing plan any further. So while MoviePass’ price change has made fans out of many, it’s made many other businesses very disappointed and dissatisfied.
According to MoviePass, the goal is still the same, and that is to bring more people into the movie theater. There are other ways to make money in that business after all. There’s definitely money to be made in concession stands from food and other merchandise. But founder Mitch Lowe believes that there’s even more money to be made with the subscriptions themselves. He claims that it’s all in the consumer behavior. While likening it an all-you-can-eat-buffet, Lowe believes that subscribers will use MoviePass to get their fill and not go back again for a few months while keeping their subscriptions active.
The true test will be in the longevity of the model. Even with just this surge of customers, MoviePass is already having a hard time keeping up. Customer service has lagged in many ways, and it’s not a good sign or a good look for the company at all. It’s about time that someone tries to do something about the movie going industry, but whether MoviePass is the solution might be too soon to tell. It might be soon for the company to be thinking that big also. They might want to buckle down and handle their current issues first. Once they can manage their subscribers, then maybe they can convince us that they do know what they’re doing. For now, enjoy your movie everyday because you never know how long it’s going to last.
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