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MoviePass Reveals Annual Subscription For $6.95 a Month (slashfilm.com)

Posted by msmash on from the up-next dept.

An anonymous reader shares a report: MoviePass seemed like the deal of the century: $10 a month to see one movie a day at the theaters? No contest. But in the three months since the start-up company seeking to disrupt the theater market with a Netflix-like service launched its new business model, MoviePass has been plagued by technical hiccups, backed-up deliveries, and potential lawsuits. As the company expanded its operations, it finally began to settle into its new subscription base of more than 600,000 users. And now MoviePass is already offering up a new deal: an up-front annual subscription of $89.95, which amounts to about $6.95 a month. But how much of a discount is it really? The MoviePass annual subscription is a limited-time promotion that will last 12 months, according to the website. Users pay $89.95 up front, plus a $6.55 processing fee. "Once your year is up, your plan will convert back into your $9.95 a month. Offer valid until it's not. Limit two per household," the MoviePass website says.

17 of 103 comments (clear)

  1. Math is hard. by tburkhol · · Score: 2, Informative

    $89.95/12 = $7.50/month

    ($89.95+$6.55) / 12 = $8.04/month

    I mean, 20% off is a fine deal, but it's no $6.95

    1. Re:Math is hard. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      This is what we affectionately call Paul Ryan math.

    2. Re:Math is hard. by mattack2 · · Score: 2

      Please explain. You may have some weird edge case, but while I haven't seen a movie every single day I've been a member, I have absolutely seen a movie on consecutive days. (2 consecutive many times, I think once 3.)

      It's very much paid for itself already, and I will almost certainly take the gamble to lower the price even more. (The gamble that they will even be around in a year.)

      Have I seen tons of movies I wouldn't have seen in a theater? Absolutely. But I see that as a positive, not a negative. While I *could* afford to see every movie in a theater, the cost was one major reason I usually went only a couple times a year, at most.

      Basically, it's amortizing out to very inexpensive per ticket.

  2. this is a pyramid scheme by sittingnut · · Score: 3, Insightful

    on individual basis, expenses incurred by this company on behalf of a regular movie going subscriber, overwhelm its possible income.

    business is supposedly built on assumption that most of its subscribers will not see even one movie a month.
    but that seems foolish since subscribers who go to the trouble of paying upfront payment are likely to be people who will make use of their subscription.

    so this is now basically using new subscriber cash for future year to pay for current month. so will need ever more new subscribers to service older ones. in other words, a pyramid schemes.

    1. Re:this is a pyramid scheme by MightyYar · · Score: 2, Funny

      This can be solved by penalizing people without a movie plan through the tax code.

      --
      W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
    2. Re:this is a pyramid scheme by gnick · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Some people will abuse this service but many more will see a movie or two for the first few weekends...

      How is seeing as many movies as you want when you've subscribed to a service that exists specifically for that purpose "abuse"? If I'm at an all-you-can-eat buffet I don't feel guilty for eating more than their projected average customer.

      --
      He's getting rather old, but he's a good mouse.
    3. Re:this is a pyramid scheme by gnick · · Score: 2

      Or by surprising subscribers with a price hike while removing coverage for certain types of movies. Also, if you had a trip to the movies planned before signing up, MoviePass does not have to cover that title during your first year of membership. If you see too many movies during a single lifetime, they'll have the option of capping your usage and removing you from the service.

      --
      He's getting rather old, but he's a good mouse.
    4. Re:this is a pyramid scheme by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      It is the gym membership business model.

  3. For what it's worth by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I had Movie Pass last year. First it was $29.95. Then, when I actually started watching a movie a day, they raised my rate to $39.95. They reduced the number of movies to be watched by telling me I could only see each movie once. Then they required me to take a picture of my ticket stub. The final straw was when they created a basic "lottery" of movies I could watch by issuing only a small number of tickets per film (so it became a first-come-first-served ticket.)

    I've come back to Movie Pass because of the $9.95 price and it looks like they've relaxed nearly all the constraints. But I'm troubled by the small print...

    2.4 MoviePass reserves the right to offer members a new price option if they exceed watching a certain amount of movies per month.

    SO, while they advertise a movie a day, they will probably charge you more if you actually attempt it.

  4. Service valid until it's not by alvinrod · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I almost wonder if this is a way to rake in some additional revenue before the company goes belly up for any variety of reasons such as result of some ongoing litigation. If they're only going to be around for another 2 months, $89.95 seems like a hell of a lot better to them than the usual $20. Just enough time for a big round of bonuses for hitting various growth targets before the corpse of the company is picked over by various jackal^H^H^H^H^H^Hlawyers.

    1. Re:Service valid until it's not by Ragnarok89 · · Score: 3, Interesting
      I think you might be on to something here.

      Last year, my neighborhood gym went on a massive recruitment drive; 1 year memberships for all services for $200 (a great deal considering what was included). Needless to say, 3 months after they began, the place suddenly closed, no warning, no explanation given. I can only imagine how many people lost their money... the place was packed every night.

  5. Re:So it's 96,50 for a year by gnick · · Score: 2

    $6.95 * 12 + $6.55 = $89.95

    --
    He's getting rather old, but he's a good mouse.
  6. A movie a day by freeze128 · · Score: 2

    Are there really that many movies released in the US over the course of a year? How many of those do you actually *WANT* to see?

  7. How the HELL do they make money??? by SmaryJerry · · Score: 2

    Does anyone know how it's is conceivable that this is a sustainable business model? They don't even get a discount ticket price from the theater! Please tell me. If I pay them $90 for a year. I can see a movie every day? For that $90 in income this company might pay out to theaters $12 * 365 days a year for a total of $4,380. Even if I only see a movie once a week, they make $90 income but pay out $624. I really want to know how they make money. This seems like a complete scam!

    1. Re:How the HELL do they make money??? by stdarg · · Score: 2

      They used to charge a lot more, and relied on people skipping periods of time when no new worthwhile movies were out. When they announced the cheap plan, they said their goal was to amass data and sell it. People are speculating that their real ultimate plan is to use loss-leading to gain market share and then turn around and negotiate a new price structure with movie companies and theater chains. So it'll be like an in-theater Netflix... and if a theater doesn't play ball, they're going to lose out on that customer base. MoviePass has made a big deal about how their users spend much more on average on things like concessions (where theaters make most of their profit) than the average movie goer.

  8. Re:So it's 96,50 for a year by gnick · · Score: 2

    No. No you did not read that correctly. I feel silly quoting it again when it's right there but:

    Pay $89.95 today — $6.95 a month for twelve months, plus a $6.55 processing fee

    $6.95 * 12 + $6.55 = $89.95. Not "89.95 plus 6.55".

    --
    He's getting rather old, but he's a good mouse.
  9. Re:Doesn't work for me or my family by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    It works at all theaters that accept MasterCard. If you look for theaters in the app before you have your card, the only ones that show are those that allow online ticketing through the MoviePass app. I'm in Seattle, until I had my card it only showed a couple of theaters, none close. Once I received my card, all my local theaters are listed. I've had no problems using it.