It seems crazy to think that Movie Pass could make any money by charging people only $9.95 per month to go to as many movies as they want at the theater. There’s no doubt a few caveats in there to think about but the premise is that for a monthly fee people will get to watch any movie they want so long as they are a member. The number of subscriptions have shot up quite impressively and have made Movie Pass a lot of money, but there’s one problem.
The theaters they are essentially robbing.
Granted, concession sales are one of the big reasons why theaters make money, but that is still not nearly enough to cover all of their operating costs. If a theater can’t pull in ticket prices then there’s a good chance that they will have to seriously downsize or go under. So why then would any theater agree to partner with Movie Pass? It wouldn’t seem to make as much economical sense as the creator of this idea would think.
Would you partner with someone that took away half of your business to line their pockets? According to the CEO this is not what’s happening. MoviePass is paying each theater it works with the price of the tickets so that they aren’t losing money from the ticket office. But that raises the question then, how in the world can MoviePass continue to do this?
They’re relying heavily on subscribers to counter any losses it would seem, using the price of their service to draw in more and more people in order to bolster their numbers so that they can continue to work with theaters and provide a service that will allow people to see up to one movie a day. But there are still other limits that have yet to be discussed.
For instance, MoviePass won’t work with IMAX or other types of film experiences that go beyond the normal fare. They also aren’t aligned with those theaters that do not accept credit or debit cards, and is still somewhat limited in its service. In truth MoviePass sounds like a great idea when the CEO is explaining it, but there’s still enough uncertainty to it that a lot of people feel that telltale prickle on the back of their necks that says something’s not right. It could just be the idea that something is inherently different and not the way they expect it to be, but there is also the slight trepidation that says that not everything we accept as good and beneficial is given without a heavy price tag to come.
One thing that is also limiting is that with MoviePass needing to be installed on your smartphone as an app you can’t even purchase your ticket until you’re within in 100 yards of the theater. Even then once you get the funds you need to get to the box office quickly or time will run out on you. When buying a ticket for a movie from home you can still purchase the ticket days in advance and have it waiting for you when you arrive, so long as your internet connection is strong enough.
MoviePass has a few things to iron out still, namely the fact that it still doesn’t make complete sense.
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