Right now it would seem that MoviePass is doing fairly well considering that it just hit 2 million subscribers and is expected to gain another million in the next seven weeks. That’s great and all for the business but something just doesn’t feel right about this. For one, there are some serious drawbacks despite the fact that there are some great incentives as well. Two is that it seems to be short-changing the theaters, who don’t normally see a lot of profit from the movies they play but still see some occasionally. Then of course there’s the continuing fight it’s having with AMC theaters, as MoviePass wants to take over part of the concessions profits that are basically the lifeblood of many theaters these days.
The major advantage of the MoviePass is that it now offers a flat rate of $9.95 per month for all the movies you want to go see. That’s a bargain when you take in the fact that seeing a movie anymore can cost at least $20 for one person getting a small drink and a box of candy. Anything else and your shelling out even more to have a good time at the movies. The low price is a definite plus that many people are no doubt taking advantage of. But they’re not doing it with their friends or significant other unless they all have the pass. MoviePass at this time only works for individual tickets, meaning that if you’re planning on seeing a movie with a date then you’d both better have MoviePass or one of you is going to be paying full price to get in. Yeah, that sets the mood.
Then there’s the issue that might affect a lot of people who like to buy their tickets early and don’t want to wait in line to see if they can get into a crowded show. There’s no such thing with MoviePass. You’ve got to be within 10o feet of the theater you’re trying to get into and even then if you’re unlucky the app is still a little buggy. So it’s great that you only pay around $10 for a service that lets you see as many movies per month as you’d like, but the drawbacks make it hard to believe that so many people have found it to be such a great deal. But then when you think about how many people go to the movies these days, and there are still a lot of them, this is a rather small number in comparison. Maybe I’m just a traditionalist when it comes to my movie-going experience but MoviePass seems to be taking a lot of wind out of the experience itself.
It could be a good thing if it keeps evolving I suppose, especially if it eventually opens itself up to group discounts or something similar. Until then it’s great for individuals but not so for anyone else. But again, that’s one person’s opinion. So long as it keeps growing maybe it will keep changing for the better.
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