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Already at Movie Theaters Near You: Ticket Subscriptions (nytimes.com)
An anonymous reader shares a report: MoviePass, the subscription-based movie ticket service, is struggling to stay afloat. But the payment model it has popularized appears to be here to stay. AMC Theaters, the largest multiplex chain in the United States, rolled out its own MoviePass-style service on Tuesday. For $20 a month, subscribers to AMC Stubs A-List can see up to three movies a week. Also last week, the Alamo Drafthouse chain said it would begin testing a service called Season Pass that would offer unlimited movies for one monthly price.
[...] AMC also said that its service was "sustainable" -- a not-so-subtle shot at MoviePass, which has three million members, most of whom pay $10 a month for the ability to see a movie a day. Many people in Hollywood and on Wall Street think that MoviePass will fail because it loses money on heavy users; Helios and Matheson Analytics, which owns MoviePass, has seen its publicly traded shares fall from $38.86 last year to 31 cents on Friday.
Cinemark, a chain that has 4,566 movie screens in 41 states, began offering this subscription in December. It's very basic: for $9 a month members can see one movie a month (no 3-D) and receive a 20 percent discount on concessions, among other perks. Unused tickets roll over and never expire for paying members. There is no debit card involved, and members can reserve seats online. Sinemia: Started in 2015 in Turkey, this under-the-radar service bears the most similarity to MoviePass. Sinemia operates independently of theaters and involves a two-step process, with members selecting movies with an app and paying for them with a special debit card.
[...] AMC also said that its service was "sustainable" -- a not-so-subtle shot at MoviePass, which has three million members, most of whom pay $10 a month for the ability to see a movie a day. Many people in Hollywood and on Wall Street think that MoviePass will fail because it loses money on heavy users; Helios and Matheson Analytics, which owns MoviePass, has seen its publicly traded shares fall from $38.86 last year to 31 cents on Friday.
Cinemark, a chain that has 4,566 movie screens in 41 states, began offering this subscription in December. It's very basic: for $9 a month members can see one movie a month (no 3-D) and receive a 20 percent discount on concessions, among other perks. Unused tickets roll over and never expire for paying members. There is no debit card involved, and members can reserve seats online. Sinemia: Started in 2015 in Turkey, this under-the-radar service bears the most similarity to MoviePass. Sinemia operates independently of theaters and involves a two-step process, with members selecting movies with an app and paying for them with a special debit card.
I can easily see how a movie theatre can make a profit doing this. Most people probably don't see 12 movies a year so by locking in the $120-$240 per person their average profit per customer goes up. Also, someone who has free tickets is likely to buy more concessions which should help their profit even more. They also lock a customer in so that customer is not going with their friends to other theatres and giving their competition money.
A third party doesn't benefit from any of this. They don't get to sell overpriced popcorn or soda. They can't average their customers and still come out ahead on a season pass. It's like a third party trying to sell season passes to disney world or six flags. The reason six flags can sell season passes for 2x the ticket price is because they know that the heavy users are going to buy food, pay for parking, bring friends, etc... and even if they don't, the average customer only comes once a year without a season pass so getting 2 days upfront is still a pretty good deal. They also get a few people who buy it and don't use it which a third party can benefit from but just breakage probably is not enough to sustain a business model.
Seeing three movies a week sounds great, until you realize there's about 3 movies A YEAR worth seeing.
-Styopa
It's also nine hours of time when it's all said and done (2.5*3+transport).
That's a lot of disposable time, one a week is likely the practical limit for typical people.
Wow, sent an e-mail as suggested when clicking on "use classic" banner, and got a fast response that addressed my msg
Pay more for less, and have fewer, crappier locations to choose from? Um, okay AMC, how's that working for you?
I don't see a lot of movies any more, and we mainly go to a few local-ish Cinemarks. Last winter I hit up an AMC that had been remodeled a few years back, and it still seemed like a throwback to 1995. The chairs were nicer now but the seating position was simply bizarre, with the screen seemingly way too high up. The headrests of the cushy seats push your head forward while you really need to put it back because they half-assed the remodel and didn't go with stadium-style tiers. The concession area was also weakly stocked and poorly attended. Price? Same as a nearby Cinemark, where the seats are more comfortable, the screen is in the right place, the concession options are better, and they have enough staff to serve everyone efficiently.
I may just sign up for Moviepass, but I see zero reason to try AMC's in-house version.
This is a hacked account, for which the owner can not be held responsible.