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MoviePass Will Increase Price, Limit Availability of New Movies (theverge.com)
After running out of money and shutting down for a night last week, the movie ticket subscription service MoviePass will increase its price to $14.95 a month within the next 30 days. Furthermore, "first-run movies will only be viewable on a limited basis during the first two weeks of release, unless the company has a promotional deal with a given film," reports The Verge. From the report: MoviePass' statement claims these changes are being made "to enhance discovery, and to drive attendance to smaller films and bolster the independent film community." In a widely reported all-hands meeting at the company, MoviePass CEO Mitch Lowe cited the upcoming Christopher Robin and The Meg specifically as films that would not be available to subscribers. More broadly, MoviePass hopes to make smarter decisions about potential partnerships with studios and brands in the hopes of turning a profit, though no specific details were shared at this time. This new price increase is in addition to the already-announced plan to implement surge pricing for popular movies.
Its pretty clear MoviePass is jsut a marketing firm looking to get picked up by a big company. They have no plan, no warchest, nothing. All everyone has to do is wait them out and they can pick it up for pennies on the dollar if they want it. MoviePass is done.
Good-bye
That's Hollywood's job.
...but it's fading. Not because MoviePass doesn't work or is even difficult to use -- it isn't -- but because once I started going to the movies more often, I realized that movies themselves are uniformly poor. In the past when I'd see a bad movie, I'd just chalk it up to bad chance. But now I see that pretty much the whole lot of them are just not that great, almost immediately forgettable. And rare indeed is a Hollywood-produced movie that is any good, in my experience. Independent film has a far better hit to loss ratio.
The mission of MoviePass is to get people to new movies, and that was achieved very well in my case. I did watch a whole lot of new movies. Even with the upgraded price would still be a good deal, if the product was worth my time.
"We receive as friendly that which agrees with, we resist with dislike that which opposes us" - Faraday
"Enhancing discovery" is a great weasel way of saying their subscribers just got fucked over and can't watch mainstream movies during the release window any more.
Maybe someone needs to create an app that gives you the 'true' start time of a movie. So you can show up at the right time and not waste your time.
The headline should have read:
Moviepass will increase price
Limit availability of new movies
Go out of business.
I honestly wouldn't stomach watching a new Hollywood movie every month. I barely see maybe five-six new films per year. At this rate, even the old 10 bucks a month deal would still be terrible.
Maybe someone needs to create an app that gives you the 'true' start time of a movie. So you can show up at the right time and not waste your time.
But that's the problem. I shouldn't have to do that.
I should be able to walk into a theater at some designated time, the theater is quiet, the movie starts immediately at the designated time, I watch the movie, and when its done, I leave.
But its never been like that. And it just keeps getting worse. And that's why my movie watching (in theaters) hit zero many years ago.
Just because a new company's business looks good or interesting, it doesn't mean that they will succeed. In fact, most of them will fail.
Evolution at work (or rather, at business).
specially when they're trying to spin something bad as good. They're actually pretty inventive with their lies. It's funny
...but we'll make it up in volume!
I browse on +1 so AC's need not respond, I won't see it.
This weekend MoviePass didn't work at all. Tried every movie at the theater I always go to and it said something along the lines of this movie is not available for every single movie. Just cancel. If it's not available even the one time in the past month that I went to the movies then what's the point of having it. Why would I ever plan my schedule around availability that they choose for me and isn't listed anywhere.
Its not free, just ridiculously cheap, but also vastly more limited in terms of hte viewing experience unless you are insanely rich.
When you cant win, ad hominem.
Maybe they should start producing their own movies ...
If you go to the movies often, you know how many minutes are ads and previews. In fact, as I have noticed pretty much everywhere, ads occur before the official starting time, and previews occur after tha official starting time. Locally, the Regal has 20 minutes of previews, and the Paragon has 10. Not sure about Marquee as I don't go to it that often, but I think its about 10.
OTOH, I don't much mind what's going on on the screen as I am fine with paying attention to my phone right up to the start of the actual movie. Probably playing Words With Friends or browsing Facebook. But I just enjoy the moviegoing experience - go sit in the dark for 2 - 4 hours, depending on how early I get there and how long it is (Return of the King? ), eat without having to prepare the food (popping the popcorn, for instance), and leave without having to clean up. Very convenient, and who knows I might run into someone I know, too. Twice in the last 7 days.
Hopefully MP can get their act together. I am using them to maximum advantage since I see nearly everything.
Honestly I've felt much less captive since I got a smartphone. The people who go as a crowd chit-chat. The singles check their phones. The good part is that it means 99% are there on time, if it really started on a minute's notice I know people would be pushing it right down to the wire with some arriving late ruining the first five minutes.
Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
I'm probably the reason they're in trouble, because, "I see everything." Not really, I don't go to the ones that are "Too stupid for words." That would be stuff like "Dumb and Dumber" or this current thing with the Abba songs, "Mamma Mia." The trend toward female-centric movies where the men are either idiots or irrelevant are a turn-off and that's one of 'em. The biggest notable disappointment in the last year was the Star Wars flick with all the important positions being female, and the males were mostly idiots or irrelevant. Having battle commanders being female, pretty much all of 'em, isn't even believable - the gals just don't aspire to such positions in sufficient numbers to turn out to be the best at it and be placed in command over guys who have studied / play-acted it / and aspired to it ever since the could go forth sans diapers.
But anyway, I'm going to have to pay for the major movies? What else is new, I see those mostly as IMAX and/or 3D anyway which isn't covered and never has been by MP. I see all the new movies as they open, and probably achieve a state of having seen everything that's playing in town by Monday. So, they are not going to be as lucrative as they were? 'Sall right, I made my $105.35 yearly subscription back in about 6 weeks of admission prices I didn't pay. If the yearly had been $400, I'd still be making $$$, and I'd probably still have bought it. Maybe MP should have several tiers of usage, with people like me paying more, and those not paying more being limited to, say, 2 non-IMAX, non-3D movies a week and for a higher $ than $105.35 / yr. I actually saw all this nonsense coming, and got the yearly since lots of stuff they're doing to the monthly people would be a violation of the contract for yearly people. I've been much less affected as a result.
So, this last January, when all the oscar-hopefuls that officially opened in December hit the local theaters, I spent $85 in admission to movies. Yeah, I track that stuff. $65 the next month. MP is going to be a savings for me pretty much no matter what they do, and if they are paying for movies like "Bad Samaritan" that came thru last month, was there for maybe a week, and almost nobody saw, but was absolutely excellent and scary as hell throughout, and I saw twice, I'll still be "winning." Just hope they can hang on.
Every now and then you get a really good one. Rent "Bad Samaritan." No, you probably didn't see it, it was unadvertised, had no trailers, and was in the theater for maybe a week or 2, can't remember for sure. But it was one of the best films I've seen this year, and scary as hell all the way through. That's what going to the movies and seeing everything is about, the rare gem.
Well, for starters, movie nerds are still "nerds". And in many ways, MoviePass is "stuff that matters" in the sense that it has caused disruption to the movie theater inudstry (see: AMC's grumblings about this).
It's a bit more than "just a way of buying tickets." If you've been paying attention, it's essentially started as an "unlimited" movie service like Netflix, but the difference is you watch movies in meatspace. It was a novel idea, it was ridiculous dot.com style business modeling, and it dealt with something a lot of nerds are passionate about (movies). So, yes, it fits on Slashdot.
But this bullshit of not being able see some movies for a couple weeks isn't going to fly. If I go to the theater, I better be able to see the movie.
AMC Stubs Premier is a good deal if you want to see a lot of movies.You don't have to pay full price.
Greed is the root of all evil.
Always the last ditch effort before bankruptcy.
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, does this sounds like a man who had "all he could eat"?
RIP Phil Hartman, we still miss ya, man
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
something a lot of nerds are passionate about (movies).
Video games: yeah, but movies? Must not be my circle. I'm thinking that the AC who replied might be right on though: it's a stock market thing. Or maybe the "technology disrupting an industry" angle, although I'm not sure how they are disrupting anyone here. Maybe that is just wishful thinking? Either way, the post rate seems excessive.
Years ago you could disable stories on Slashdot by category, so I could have disabled "Movies" stories. But it looks like that feature has vanished. Oh well. :-(
How's life in the hypocrite lane?