Movie Pass

RobertSwanderson · 01 Jan 2007

http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2011/06/ ... -theaters/

Quote:

MoviePass, a new $50-per-month service for film fans, will let subscribers watch unlimited movies in theaters using their smartphones as tickets.

Using an HTML5 application (native smartphone apps coming soon), MoviePass will let users search for a film, find a local show time, check in to the theater and go straight to the ticket-taker.

The all-you-can-watch service, announced Monday with a private beta starting in the San Francisco Bay Area just in time for the Fourth of July blockbuster weekend, is looking to shake up the theater business in much the same way Netflix has changed the DVD-rental game.

“Even with online ticketing, this side of the business is still a 75-year-old business and there’s not a lot of innovation,” MoviePass co-founder Stacy Spikes said in an interview with Wired.com. “Getting your tickets, how you do that, how you interact with the theater, how you interact with the studio, none of that has really changed. We’re giving the viewer a lot more power and also allowing [studios and moviegoers] to speak with each other.”

MoviePass will let users reserve tickets using their smartphones.Image courtesy MoviePass

MoviePass will launch with an “unlimited pass” service allowing subscribers to go to as many films as they can stand for $50 a month. If they want to see a 3-D or Imax film, they will pay a $3 surcharge. A “limited pass” offering four movies a month for $30 is in the works.

“MoviePass makes spur-of-the-moment movie-going as simple as choosing a film on the phone and checking in at the theater,” Spikes said in a press release. “No more waiting in line.”

The private beta will launch with 21 theaters in the San Francisco Bay Area this weekend (see list below), then roll out to other U.S. cities throughout the summer. MoviePass plans to offer access to about 40 percent of the nation’s screens when the service launches nationally in the fall.

The flat-rate service, which will presumably work best for city-dwellers with access to multiple theaters and show times, will give hard-core movie buffs early looks at new trailers, plus invites to promotional screenings based on their movie picks. It will also give studios opportunities to target movies and promotions directly to fans interested in particular film genres.

MoviePass’ model could be highly beneficial for theater chains, which make great profit margins on concession sales, simply by getting people to go to more movies. Studios could also benefit from an all-you-can-watch model by encouraging people to take a chance on films they otherwise might not see, and ultimately leading to DVD sales. However, the number of people who can go to enough films in a given month to get a good return on their $50 investment is a niche audience, said Wade Holden, a motion picture and home entertainment analyst for SNL Kagan.

“At first glance I don’t think it’s going to be something that’s going to be sweeping in every moviegoer into its wake,” Holden said Monday in a phone interview with Wired.com.

But avid moviegoers who routinely hit the theater on opening night and are likely to buy DVDs are the kind of fans MoviePass is hoping to attract — and deliver to studios.

“We enable our members to extend their connection to the movie they just saw by pre-ordering the DVD, digital download or other merchandise as soon as they walk out of the theater,” said MoviePass co-founder Hamet Watt in a press release. “MoviePass also enables studios and producers to engage with avid movie buffs based on their film-attendance history.”

These San Francisco Bay Area Theaters will participate in the MoviePass beta, which launches Wednesday: The Clay, Bridge, Lumiere, Embarcadero, Opera Plaza Cinemas and AMC Van Ness 14 in San Francisco; AMC Bay Street 16 in Emeryville; California Theatres and Shattuck Cinemas in Berkeley; Piedmont Theatre in Oakland; Albany Twin in Albany; Big Cinemas Towne 3, Camera 3, Camera 12, AMC Eastridge 15 and AMC Saratoga 14 in San Jose; Camera 7 in Campbell; AMC Mercado 20 in Santa Clara; AMC Cupertino Square 16 in Cupertino; Camera Cinemas Los Gatos in Los Gatos; and Aquarius in Palo Alto.

RobertSwanderson · 01 Jan 2007

This would be awesome for retirees.

My wife and I would live in the theater.

Fraxon! · **Joined:** 22 Aug 2004 **Posts:** 40603

I'd do this in a heartbeat.

RobertSwanderson · 01 Jan 2007

Just my luck. Fifty bucks for a movie pass and Fraxon sits his bearded ass right next to us.

Fraxon! · **Joined:** 22 Aug 2004 **Posts:** 40603

My ass isn't the only part of me that's bearded...

Ross · 03 Jun 2007

I can't remember the last month where there were three movies I wanted to see in a theater, and this would cost even more than that.

Jimbo · 19 Jul 2006

I go to the movies enough times every month to make this worthwhile.

Todd · 14 Apr 2005

RobertSwanderson · 01 Jan 2007

My Dodge Caravan only seats seven.

JohnG · 03 Aug 2006

The only advantage is the abundance of air conditioning in the summer months. Other than that the movies are pretty bad and the food inside those places will clog your arteries.

Steve · 21 Oct 2004

I'd do this if it came to our area. We've spent almost that much on movies this month alone.

RobertSwanderson · 01 Jan 2007

Our neighborhood theater does a $5 ticket before 1pm deal already, so I'd have to see 11 movies a month to make this a deal

JohnG · 03 Aug 2006

RobertSwanderson wrote:

Our neighborhood theater does a $5 ticket before 1pm deal already, so I'd have to see 11 movies a month to make this a deal

If you go to the movies 11x a month, you should get a job there.

RobertSwanderson · 01 Jan 2007

JohnG wrote:

RobertSwanderson wrote:

Our neighborhood theater does a $5 ticket before 1pm deal already, so I'd have to see 11 movies a month to make this a deal

If you go to the movies 11x a month, you should get a job there.

I've considered it.

When I retire, I'm going to be that old guy working the concession counter that takes fifteen minutes to count your change back.

HanLolol · 13 May 2011

Maybe this will catch on in places where movie theaters are really expensive.
Here, I can see a movie from $5 with my student ID.
I'd have to see 10 + movies each month just to break even.
I barely go to the movies 10 times a YEAR let alone 10 times a month. Anyone who does needs to send me a care package that includes all their money and free time, since they apparently have too much of it.
:lol:

Li'l Jay · 28 May 2006

There was a time when I was childless, lived right behind a multiplex, got a student discount to $4.50 for tickets. I used to see almost every movie that came out. I even saw Titanic. This would have been awesome.

Now I can't get away often enough to punish them on the $50 or the $40.

Hanzo the Razor · 24 Jun 2007

I might see a movie a month, so this wouldn't really be worth it.

RobertSwanderson · 01 Jan 2007

So it appears that this is up and running now.

$29.99 per month. Unlimited 2D movies.
$25.00 membership fee.

Choose a movie and theater on your phone app.
Go to the theater and activate the app so they know you're there.
They put money on your card for the feature selected.
You pay with your MoviePass credit card.

http://moviepass.com

Bubbles · **Joined:** 28 Jul 2005 **Posts:** 21507

Is the $30 a month just for one person or can you use the movie pass to buy tickets for friends and relatives? It'd only really be worth it if the latter were true.

RobertSwanderson · 01 Jan 2007

$30 per person. Not sure if they check your ID to make sure that you're the person with the account.

This is for folks that go to at least one movie per week.

Bubbles · **Joined:** 28 Jul 2005 **Posts:** 21507

Pass on it then. I'd probably get enough usage, but that's a lot of money. $25 upfront then $30 a month? No thank you. I'll stick with second run theaters.

Linda · **Posted:** Tue May 21, 2013 4:06 pm

They need to make something like this for diners.

Movie Pass

Who is WANline