MoviePass? $9.99/month 1 theater movie a day

[SgtTibbs]

AMC had supposedly been working on this product long before it debuted. The debut got pushed back because of what movie pass did last fall. I wouldn’t expect them to pull it since they already run a successful model at their theatres in Europe.

I've set a reminder for six months from now. I'll get back to you then.

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For reference when I re-visit this thread in January, here are the current A-List details:

Step up to star status and see a movie with us up to 3 times every week. There are no blackout dates. You could have a triple feature in one day or watch movies throughout the week.

Our A-Listers get what they want. If you really, really like a movie, watch it again and again.Benefits reset every Friday morning, so you can check out the latest movies every week.

Get it all for just $19.95/month (+tax). Buy with the confidence of our 12-month price guarantee and only a 3-month minimum commitment.

Films that are eligible for the A-List benefit are standard 2D digital films as well as films in IMAX®, Dolby Cinema®, PRIME, RealD® 3D, BigD® and D-Box.

IMAX VR® and special events are not eligible and are excluded from the A-List program

A-List reservations can be made any time after movie tickets go on sale. Members may not have more than 3 reservations at any time, regardless of whether the showtimes fall within the same week. You will not be able to make a reservation if the start of that movie begins before the previous movie ends.

AMC Stubs A-List members never pay online ticketing fees!​

 

[elgerber]

Sadly AMC's are too far from us to make that useful, and their concessions prices are soooooooooooo insane here, that it would still be cheaper to buy a movie ticket at the theaters by our house.

 

[focusondisney]

Movie Pass appears to be out again according to Twitter. App saying “there are no more showings” for every movie, every theater. This could be the end.....

 

[jujubiee4]

We used it Sunday at my regular theatre. Today I went to look and got no showings on ANY movies.
Luckily all the eticketing was available at others. So I actually got to see Mission Impossible. This was
a theatre 10-15 minutes away and not 2 minutes so DH wasnt happy .

I rarely went to movies before and my husband next to never. Now it was sort of date
nights for us. I will miss Movie Pass when it leaves. Nearest AMC to me is in a busy mall
so not sure if the drive/parking will be viable for us.

 

[Lewisc]

In my opinion, AMC only created A-List to put nails in the coffin of MoviePass. Once MoviePass is dead and gone I would expect AMC to pull A-List as well or at least corrupt it with extra charges or restrictions to the point it's not worth it.

Why would AMC want to put nails in MP? Theaters we're paid full ticket price.
Obviously MP isn't sustainable.

I would expect the changes to AMC you suggest if the number of subscribers gets too large. Viable to fill seats but not to displace customers willing to pay full

 

[JKalai]

New press release:

MoviePass™, the nation’s premier movie theater subscription service and a majority-owned subsidiary of Helios and Matheson Analytics Inc. (Nasdaq: HMNY) (“Helios”), today announced the implementation of several new measures aimed at accelerating the plan for profitability. Through these new steps, the company believes it will be able to compress its timeline to reach profitability.

“Over the past year, we challenged an entrenched industry while maintaining the financially transparent records of a publicly traded company. We believe that the measures we began rolling out last week will immediately reduce cash burn by 60% and will continue to generate lower funding needs in the future”

Today, the company has implemented several elements of a long-term growth plan to protect the existing community and set it up for future sustainable growth.

MoviePass has implemented several new cost-reduction and subscription revenue increase measures:

• Actions that have been implemented are currently cutting the monthly burn by 60%.
  
  
• A future increase of the standard pricing plan to $14.95 per month within the next 30 days.
  
  
• First Run Movies opening on 1,000+ Screens to be limited in their availability during the first two weeks, unless made available on a promotional basis,
  
  
• Implementation of additional tactics to prevent abuse of the MoviePass service. As of Q3 and beyond, MoviePass is also generating incremental non-subscription revenue of approximately $4 to $6 per subscriber per quarter:
  

Integration of MoviePass Ventures and MoviePass Films with our own original content allows us to gain revenue by owning the films through box office, streaming, DVD, retail, transactional sales e.g. Apple and Samsung, and international rights, etc.

• Partnerships with 3rd party media inventory to increase scale and reach of marketing efforts driven by data
  
  
• Continued rollout and refinement of the Peak Pricing program
  
  
• Creating strategic marketing partnerships and promotions with studios, content owners, and brands
  
  
• Integration of Moviefone.Com to support the media buys of brands and studios
  

In an effort to maintain the integrity of the MoviePass mission, to enhance discovery, and to drive attendance to smaller films and bolster the independent film community, MoviePass will begin to limit ticket availability to Blockbuster films. This change has already begun rolling out, with Mission Impossible 6 being the first film included in the measure. This is a strategic move by the company to both limit cash burn and stay loyal to its mission to empower the smaller artistic film communities. Major studios will continue to be able to partner with MoviePass to promote their first run films, seeding them with a valuable moviegoing audience.

MoviePass subscribers are also more readily influenced by recommendations and more willing to make them, making them an invaluable audience to studios and distributors. The National Research Group study indicates that when we recommend films, partner with studios, or promote our own movies, we currently account for 20% to 45% of the national box office.

“Over the past year, we challenged an entrenched industry while maintaining the financially transparent records of a publicly traded company. We believe that the measures we began rolling out last week will immediately reduce cash burn by 60% and will continue to generate lower funding needs in the future,” said Ted Farnsworth, Chairman and CEO of Helios.

“These changes are meant to protect the longevity of our company and prevent abuse of the service. While no one likes change, these are essential steps to continue providing the most attractive subscription service in the industry. Our community has shown an immense amount of enthusiasm over the past year, and we trust that they will continue to share our vision to reinvigorate the movie industry,” said Mitch Lowe, MoviePass CEO.

tl;dr

• Any movie over 1000 screens will not be supported by MoviePass in the first 2 weeks.
  
  
• Note: Will be interesting to see if they stick to the 2 weeks
  
  
• Price is going up to $15 a month.
  
  
• Peak Pricing will continue to be refined.
  

A-list being only $5 more seems like a no-brainer now.

 

[Jason_V]

Why would AMC want to put nails in MP? Theaters we're paid full ticket price.
Obviously MP isn't sustainable.

I would expect the changes to AMC you suggest if the number of subscribers gets too large. Viable to fill seats but not to displace customers willing to pay full

MP was antagonistic, at best, toward AMC and Regal. They have devalued the price of a movie ticket so some people think the Netflix model would work in the theater. Movies used to be a novelty of some kind; now, MP users go to the movies on a whim.

I'd argue you should be able to go to the movies on a whim, but the price point was wrong. Not getting the major chains on board was wrong. There is a model for this...MP just didn't crack it.

Add to all that the CEO of MP is a liar and you can't trust a thing out of his mouth.

 

[SgtTibbs]

Why would AMC want to put nails in MP?

MP was antagonistic, at best, toward AMC and Regal. They have devalued the price of a movie ticket so some people think the Netflix model would work in the theater.

What he said.

 

[Lewisc]

The $20 AMC plan supports MP
flat fee model. 3 movies a week is more then enough for most if us.
Agreed MP isn't sustainable. While it lasted customers and theaters benefited.

I can see the 2 week policy going to 10 days, first 2 weekends being blacked out.

 

[dgthree]

I read something recently that MoviePass was in financial trouble.

https://www.cnet.com/news/moviepass-having-outage-issues-because-it-couldnt-pay-its-bills/

 

[Jason_V]

I read something recently that MoviePass was in financial trouble.

https://www.cnet.com/news/moviepass-having-outage-issues-because-it-couldnt-pay-its-bills/

That is a continuing thing for them. The latest is they will not allow any ticket purchased for movies opening in 1k+ theaters in the first two weeks of release. They are also raising their monthly price.

 

[Belle0101]

My account was supposed to renew today, July 31, I logged in to cancel it yesterday and I was already charged for the next month. I told my son, his was set to renew tomorrow, and he had a already been charged too. That's really not cool. We could try and dispute it with our bank but it's almost not worth the hassle. We did still cancel so if they aren't belly up yet, we'll see a few more movies and then sign for AMC's A-Lister.

 

[jujubiee4]

I even consider 15 dollars a steal. Not sure how they STILL will make money. I wonder if they know
just much people are willing to pay to go to THEIR theatre of choice. My daughter and all her friends
have Movie Pass. They go right after cheer practice early afternoon. I was talking to some of the parents
this morning and some said they would pay 25 bucks a pop. Now granted we all go to the same very nice
reclining chairs theatre where tickets are 14 dollars on up.

If i lived near an older cheap theatre I wouldnt pay.

I know one thing it sure has saved our AC bill so far. When we come home for work we get a bite to eat then
head to movies. By the time it is over and we stop for ice cream or grocery store it has cooled down and we
just open windows. Our bill is 80 less than it was this time last year.

 

[elgerber]

I even consider 15 dollars a steal. Not sure how they STILL will make money. I wonder if they know
just much people are willing to pay to go to THEIR theatre of choice. My daughter and all her friends
have Movie Pass. They go right after cheer practice early afternoon. I was talking to some of the parents
this morning and some said they would pay 25 bucks a pop. Now granted we all go to the same very nice
reclining chairs theatre where tickets are 14 dollars on up.

If i lived near an older cheap theatre I wouldnt pay.

I know one thing it sure has saved our AC bill so far. When we come home for work we get a bite to eat then
head to movies. By the time it is over and we stop for ice cream or grocery store it has cooled down and we
just open windows. Our bill is 80 less than it was this time last year.

I would consider the $15 a steal by itself. But with the peak pricing and no big releases for the first two weeks, then not so much. Seriously on Sunday, they wanted to charge $4.40 peak on a $5 matinee ticket. So they were paying a whole whopping $.60 on that ticket. And on Friday it was $3.40 on a $6 ticket. So that's an additional $7.80 on top of the monthly fees, for empty matinees on movies that are not in the first week, or even first several weeks of release. That's ridiculous.

 

[dclpluto]

If amc is the theatre you go to. It’s a no brainer to go with the amc subscription. There is no amc by me. Only 5 more dollars a month and you get to watch 3D and more and no peak pricing. No movie black out. 3 movies a week should be more than plently for most people. I’m on the yearly plan with movie pass ends in late November
The last I heard movie pass has 3 million people they want to get up to at least 5 million but don’t see that happening. There numbers are going to drop quickly. With the price increase, peak pricing, movies being blacked out for 2 weeks, the amc plan.

 

[Belle0101]

Seeing as how my membership is good for another 30 days I decided to see a movie tonight. I checked the app, no peak pricing but of course Mission: Impossible is not available. Until tonight I have never had a problem checking-in.

Arrived to the theater, parked, got the message that I would have to take a picture of my ticket stub (first time I had that happen), next message said that I needed to be within 100 feet of the theater, which I was. I clicked okay and as I moved toward the theater I kept trying to check-in. I was probably about 10 feet from the door and I was still getting the same message about needing to be within 100 feet of the theater. Nothing left to do except head home.

I got in my car and as I was going toward the exit I kept trying to check-in. Success! Turned around, parked and went inside.

Guess whose card didn't work? Mine! The employee said there was nothing on my card and politely informed me that MoviePass had been having issues all weekend and since my card didn't work, they were probably having issues again. I tried quickly in the lobby to see if I had a Current Reservation and the app would not open. I tried maybe half a dozen times and still nothing. I went back out to my car.

At this point I'm really frustrated and I'm ready to call my bank and dispute this month's fee (which was charged one day early). However, I tried the app one more time and it opened. I checked the Current Reservations and nothing so I selected a movie (again) and clicked okay to knowing that I had to take a photo of my stub (again). This time there was no message about needing to be within 100 feet of the theater.

Headed into the theater and the same employee was working. I told her I thought it was working now and she said she'd scan my card before it went back down. Honestly, she was trying to be helpful, she wasn't sarcastic at all. She scanned my card, gave me my stub, and I sent in the photo.

I am now more convinced than ever that I'm signing up for AMC's A-List. The closest branded theater to me is the AMC I go to and it's about a 35 minute drive. We have an independently owned theater in our town but they're only open Fri and Sat with one showing each of the nights. This weekend is Jurassic World.

 

[beckicnm]

I joined AMC A-list the day they went live, and I love it. I do have 3 AMC theatres within 5 miles, so that's a major reason. I love the advance tickets, the app is easy to use, I like the Dolby theatres and I like that I can go see the smaller indie movies too. I see about 2 movies a week. Huge fan here.

 

[dina444444]

I joined AMC A-list the day they went live, and I love it. I do have 3 AMC theatres within 5 miles, so that's a major reason. I love the advance tickets, the app is easy to use, I like the Dolby theatres and I like that I can go see the smaller indie movies too. I see about 2 movies a week. Huge fan here.

I also switched the day if went live. I’m lucky to live in the LA area and there are 25 different AMCs within 30 miles of where I live and I was pretty much only going to AMCs when I had movie pass.

 

[focusondisney]

Got an email from Movie Pass last night. Says they will need to reduce availability of major new releases, that movie availability will vary day to day, not all show times will be available every day & that they will try to prioritize customers at the theater already for customer service. Mentions nothing about the price increase.

Our subscription is supposed to last til the 18th I think. Unless they have already charged me for the next month, I’ll have to check. We will not change our movie going habits to fit Movie Pass. We go to a movie most weekends, usually Saturday afternoon or early evening, sometimes Friday evening instead. We qualify for senior rates at Regal, so we don’t pay the full fee there anyway. Our preferred theater is a locally owned chain that is busy enough to profit but not crazy crowded. They have reduced afternoon rates too. We won’t start going to indie films at artsie theaters just because that’s the only thing available with Movie Pass.

There is only 1 AMC theater in our whole area & it is 30 minutes away on a good day. Also always crowded with small hard to navigate parking lot. So really not convenient for us to go to regularly. So the AMC deal won’t work for us.

We’ll see what shows are available the next 2 weeks but right now, I’m expecting we’ll be cancelling at the end of our current month. We have enough aggravation in normal day to day life, we don’t need hassles going to a movie too. We lived without Movie Pass for all our lives, so we can do it again! They bragged about how many new subscribers they were getting per month. I wonder if they will be publicizing how many people cancel per month!

 

[jujubiee4]

Mother n law came over this morning to spend the day with my kids. She just texted me at
work she got 3 tickets to Christopher Robin tonight. WTH? She checked in on her phone and my
kids and no surge pricing no greyed out nothing. I just looked at my phone and its not even
listed!

Have no idea what they are doing. Seems to be the luck of the draw. What a poorly run
business.