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MoviePass Is Limiting Selection To 'Up To Six Films' a Day (techcrunch.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the whittled-away dept.

MoviePass is changing things up once again. In an email, CEO Mitch Lowe outlined the latest updates to the once-unlimited subscription plan. Most notable among the changes is the limiting of selection to "up to six films to choose from daily, including a selection of major studio first-run films and independent releases." TechCrunch reports: On top of that, there may be further limitations on showtime availability for the selected titles, based on "the popularity of those films on the app that particular day." The company has already begun limiting access to specific films, starting with a barring of major blockbusters and moving toward limiting selection generally. Now users can go to the "This Week's Movies" page to see what's available. Right now, there's a semi-consistent, rotating selection. Which movies are chosen and when will likely be at least partially dependent on deals struck between MoviePass and studios/distributors.

65 comments

  1. I'm launching pimpPass by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    A monthly fee for services rendered. Limit 6 BJ's per day.

    Criminy. Since when is 6 movies in one day a limit.

    1. Re:I'm launching pimpPass by murdocj · · Score: 4, Interesting

      It's not "you can watch 6 movies in a day" it's "there are up to 6 movies you can choose from". You can only watch 3 movies a month. And the movies selection sounds like it might be even more limited, e.g. theaters will use it to fill up showings that would otherwise be empty.

      In other words, you might as well just buy a ticket at the box office.

    2. Re:I'm launching pimpPass by goombah99 · · Score: 1

      SO basically like Showtime or HBO.

      --
      Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
    3. Re:I'm launching pimpPass by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      SO basically like Showtime or HBO.

      Yes but cheaper and in a theater.

    4. Re:I'm launching pimpPass by goombah99 · · Score: 2

      Sounds like a good bussiness model. Better than HBO, more movies on rotations, and released sooner than HBO gets them.

      --
      Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
    5. Re:I'm launching pimpPass by llamalad · · Score: 2

      It is more limited. Right now in the app it lists a bunch of movies that are unselectable (greyed out).

      Lame.

    6. Re:I'm launching pimpPass by alvinrod · · Score: 1

      and in a theater.

      You say that as though it's an advantage.

    7. Re: I'm launching pimpPass by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's 6 movies to choose from, not 6 tickets.

    8. Re:I'm launching pimpPass by murdocj · · Score: 1

      Except you have to go to the theater at the limited set of times that MoviePass makes available. It sounds like you are going to be seeing a lot of Saturday matinees. From the limited selection. Thanks, I'll take Netflix.

    9. Re: I'm launching pimpPass by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nothing a little packet forging can't handle.

      We're nerds right?

    10. Re:I'm launching pimpPass by elrous0 · · Score: 1

      Looks like Moviepass is addressing this directly:

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

      --
      SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
    11. Re:I'm launching pimpPass by tsqr · · Score: 1

      Teading compehension fail. They're not limiting the watching of films per day; they're limitin the number of films available to choose from.

    12. Re: I'm launching pimpPass by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's not "you can see 6 movies in a day" as the limit, it's "pick from these six titles today" where the movie you want to see won't necessarily be one of the six.

      I'll bet that no blockbusters show up in the blessed six in the first three or four weeks.

    13. Re:I'm launching pimpPass by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, not limited to 6 BJs per day. Limited to 1 BJ from a selection of up to 6 hookers, most of which will almost surely have the most stank, herpes ridden lips you've ever seen.

    14. Re: I'm launching pimpPass by reiterate · · Score: 1

      What a tetard

    15. Re:I'm launching pimpPass by wgoodman · · Score: 1

      I tried to go to the movies this weekend. I was given the choice of seeing slenderman or nothing for every theater in a 50 mi radius. I thought it was a glitch and tried to use the in app chat, but received an automatic message saying chat was only available to people at the theater. Despite my message clearly stating that I was at the theater. That automatic message suggested emailing support@moviepass.com I did that and received a canned message saying that my email support ticket had been automatically closed and that I should go to support.moviepass.com. At that point I tried to cancel my account. It said the text field was required and wouldn't let me submit despite a lengthy explanation of why I wanted to quit. I opened a ticket at the support website. I have not heard back from them except for a canned message saying they'll get to me soon.

      Tomorrow I'm going to file a payment dispute with my credit card.

    16. Re: I'm launching pimpPass by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ha....But I just sprayed coffee on my screen.

    17. Re:I'm launching pimpPass by TharMonk · · Score: 1
      The reason your cancellation failed was a bad UI design. The text box that you dutifully typed into is entirely optional. The not-really-obvious-it's-a-pulldown box above it is NOT optional. Just pull it down to select a reason, and join the exodus.

      Mind you, I got "re-confirmed" a couple of days after I cancelled, but that was just pure scumminess.

      I do think it's fascinating how every negative thing they do to their service instantly impacts all of us who pre-paid, but "improvements" are always in the future. How can you offer me an all-you-can-eat buffet, take my money, and then say "Just lima beans and rice today, and only 6 hours from now"? These negative changes should not start until the next billing cycle.

      Anyway, I re-dumped them, and I'm moving on.

  2. Time to dig Moviepass's grave by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    There's a plot available right next to BSD's charnel house. Once buried there, they never rise again.

  3. Buy the Upgraadde pass by goombah99 · · Score: 1

    A double dose of the pimpPass. You see a pimp's love for a woman is different than that of a square.

    --
    Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
    1. Re:Buy the Upgraadde pass by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Collins!

    2. Re:Buy the Upgraadde pass by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Can we just skip to the technicals, please?

    3. Re:Buy the Upgraadde pass by JaredOfEuropa · · Score: 1

      Can you provide a link please? Google has 76.200 listings for "Upgrayedd"

      --
      If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
  4. Bye bye by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Wow, only a matter of time before I leave... that happened fast! Wonder how much longer the company will be around now

  5. Trump beat you to it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Trump's offering UNLIMITED BLOWJOBS for all subscribers named Vladimir Putin. No one else can compete with his treason or even come close.

    1. Re:Trump beat you to it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Seriously though, how can someone be THIS obsessed?

    2. Re: Trump beat you to it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Obviously Trump is obsessed with the Mueller probe bc he and half his family are going to jail for treason, conspiracy obstruction and witness tampering.

      Carter, Cohen, manafort, and Omarosa are people he hired, and he hires only the best...

  6. this is why the fine print matters. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    buried within the legalese nobody reads is clauses that allows them to change whatever the fuck they want and do whatever the fuck they want (paraphrasing here, of course, but it's basically that), and you can't do jack shit about it other than cancel your service, or take them to.. dum-dum-dummmm.. arbitration (ooooh, scary. they might get a limp noodle waved in their direction)

    1. Re:this is why the fine print matters. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's pretty much every service right now, and the ones that don't have such clauses wish they did. Only when they do retarded stuff like Wells Fargo does anyone really pay attention, for a while anyway.

  7. Why is anyone still using MoviePass? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I am not a customer, but it is the light of all these things happening, everyone should just cancel their accounts (and suck any losses up if need be) to drive a point home. If people would do this more often and everywhere, corporations would not behave the way they do, treating their customers as if they are livestock.

    1. Re: Why is anyone still using MoviePass? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, we could all cancel. Then we would get a choice of zero movies at less-than-box-office prices.

      As an added bonus, we would leave everyone else with that choice, too. Although with the way their business is going, maybe they'd stay afloat longer.

    2. Re: Why is anyone still using MoviePass? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Paying SOMETHING to watch a movie that you don't really want to watch just because you can is not a deal regardless if it is less that what you could have paid at retail. If someone offered me a half price deal on a meal from Chipotle, I think I'd pass and pay nothing.

    3. Re: Why is anyone still using MoviePass? by senatorpjt · · Score: 2

      Old person here. Back when I was a teenager, before you could stream movies and almost nobody had a "big screen tv", we would often just drive to a movie theater and pick something to watch based on the posters on the wall. We did end up watching a lot of shitty movies, but also a lot of great movies we otherwise never would have seen. There was also something abouy going into a movie having absolutely no idea what it was about or if it was any good. Overall, I miss the experience.

    4. Re: Why is anyone still using MoviePass? by Kjella · · Score: 1

      I had kinda the same experience with TV when I was growing up, here in Norway there was only one TV station. And even though we got VHS tapes after a while, there was still only one family TV so I ended up watching a varied selection. When I think back it was okay, but I think that's only because there was never really any alternatives. Today, if I knew there was plenty other channels and Netflix and plenty other electronic entertainment I'd be bored in two minutes and ready to kill myself in ten. It's kinda when me and a buddy play retro C64 games, they take many minutes to load from tape. Today I'm used to SSD response times and would strangle any game that took so long (GTA V, I'm looking at you).

      --
      Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
  8. They aren't doing this to be jerks. by olsmeister · · Score: 1

    They're doing it because they are losing their asses.

    1. Re:They aren't doing this to be jerks. by grahamtriggs · · Score: 1

      They were jerks for launching something that could never, ever be sustainable (*).

      (* The only way it could ever have been sustainable is if the theaters capitulated and started working with MoviePass, and reducing the cost of tickets... dramatically.)

  9. Moo Cows by xxxJonBoyxxx · · Score: 1

    So...why haven't you dumped them yet? Are you expecting service to get better or pricing to drop?

  10. Three per month? by dohzer · · Score: 1

    What happened to the viewing limit being three per month?
    https://news.slashdot.org/stor...

    1. Re:Three per month? by complete+loony · · Score: 4, Informative

      This is about limiting the choices you have available when picking those three movies...

      --
      09F91102 no, 455FE104 nope, F190A1E8 uh-uh, 7A5F8A09 that's not it, C87294CE no. Ah! 452F6E403CDF10714E41DFAA257D313F.
    2. Re: Three per month? by Nidi62 · · Score: 3, Informative

      Its still 3 per month. But instead of any movie, there are only up to 6 that you can select from on any given day

      --
      The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
    3. Re:Three per month? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They've changed the deal on a weekly or so basis for last couple of months.

      I ended up taking a sub when they had the yearly deal going, and they don't seem to be trying to apply all the new nonsense to me yet. I assume they'd try if I re-subscribed, but I assure you that's not going to happen.

      This is one of the many things lately that makes me miss FuckedCompany.com.

    4. Re: Three per month? by murdocj · · Score: 2

      "up to" 6. 6 is the max, not the guarantee.

    5. Re: Three per month? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes! And in my city there are currently only two movies available.

  11. I am altering the deal by LogicLoop · · Score: 5, Funny

    ... pray I don't alter it any further - Vader

    1. Re:I am altering the deal by JaredOfEuropa · · Score: 1

      Which is what happened to pretty much every all-you-can-eat kind of deal in the history of mankind.

      --
      If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
    2. Re: I am altering the deal by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Whatever you say...the local buffet has never kicked me out. Not even after 5 hours.

    3. Re: I am altering the deal by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not whilst in the restaurant, half way through your meal.

    4. Re: I am altering the deal by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not whilst in the restaurant, half way through your meal.

      I met a guy once who told me about a Chinese buffet in town that told him he could not take more than one serving of crab legs when he returned to the food tables. He tried to reason with them that he paid for a buffet but they told him no. His warning was enough that I never went. They are no longer in business,

    5. Re:I am altering the deal by LordKronos · · Score: 1

      Yeah, except this isn't like the Empire Strikes Back "altering the deal" scene you so fondly remember. It's more like this:

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

    6. Re: I am altering the deal by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Whatever you say...the local buffet has never kicked me out. Not even after 5 hours.

      I guess the local buffet could not get a big enough crane in the door to haul out your lazy white trash a$$!!

  12. Not "changing things up" by chrism238 · · Score: 2

    It's "changing things down".

  13. An important update from the Moviepass CEO by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

  14. "AMC Stubs A-List" $20 a month for 3 movies a week by HouseOfMisterE · · Score: 2

    AMC Theatres has a new thing called "AMC Stubs A-List". For $20 a month (+ tax) you can watch 3 movies a week at any AMC theater. All formats (2D, 3D, Imax), showtimes, and movie selections are included, and your watch list resets every Friday morning. Special event movies aren't included. I signed up 2 weeks ago and watched 2 movies each week (4 so far) so the plan has already paid for itself this month. https://www.amctheatres.com/

  15. This deal is getting worse all the time. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Pray i don't alter the deal further.

  16. The Onion by kackle · · Score: 3, Informative

    entertainment.theonion.com/moviepass-attempts-to-increase-profitability-by-no-long-1828394840

  17. Success! or failure? by intermelt · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Now that theater chains are offering these same services I believe they have succeeded in their goal of making a subscription service available to the people. However it is not their service so if their end goal was to be profitable (I don't see why anyone would ever think that was possible) well then they failed.

    1. Re:Success! or failure? by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      I believe they have succeeded in their goal

      Moviepass was founded in 2011. I have had subscriptions to a variety of cinemas on and off since 1995. Its one of the things I was worried about losing when I moved to the other side of the world where none of the chains I was used to existed .... took me about 2 weeks to find a similar offer from the local chain when I arrived in Europe.

      I think I will start a car company with the goal of making the internal combustion engine popular.

  18. The solution by bl968 · · Score: 1

    Is to stop doing business with the company. I have shredded my moviepass card.

    --
    "GET / HTTP/1.0" 200 51230 "-" "Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; Setec Astronomy)"
  19. Why all these articles on MoviePass? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What's the fuzz about and why should I, as a european (swedish actually) reader, give a crap about MoviePass? Sounds like a shitty service that IMHO takes up needless space on Slashdot..

    1. Re: Why all these articles on MoviePass? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's actually an Indian scam. The pount was to create hype to bring in revenue via investors, skim said revenue, and not care what happened to the actual company or "customers." The customers and movie side were always irrelevant: they were the distraction, the false appearance that justified investment, while the real point was to suck that investment from the company.
      See https://www.businessinsider.com/moviepass-has-deep-ties-to-indian-company-accused-of-fraud-2018-6

  20. New week, new deal by Kjella · · Score: 1

    Seriously there's like an article here every week on how MoviePass is changing the terms. If I had been a customer the number of changes by itself would be reason to say fuck this, I'll just go buy a ticket when I need one. They're like a fat fuck jumping around trying to find the magic diet that'll make them slim in a week, it ain't gonna happen.

    --
    Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
  21. Temporary by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    When you read the release, it says this is supposedly just during the time frame until everyoneâ(TM)s plan switches to the 3 a month, which should be by mid Sept.

  22. Fucked company (Re: Three per month? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Whatever happened to FC?

  23. Just... by lexman098 · · Score: 2

    Go out of business already.

  24. Garbage Company Should Be Sued by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    In my country you have to live up to the contracts you sign, and theyre invalid if you change the terms. Amerika is such a shithole cuntry!!