
MoviePass is changing the value of the movie theater experience - rising-sky
https://www.theverge.com/2017/12/15/16781208/moviepass-hollywood-film-subscription-service-amc-terrified
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gooseus
I don't understand why theaters would have a problem with this... I was under
the impression that theaters made most of their money from concessions since
they get almost no margin on the box office.

So a service that gave people a reason to go the theater more often while
encouraging them to spend more on on high-margin concessions (which the author
admits is what he does) seems like a win for theaters.

Perhaps I'm missing something, one thing that drives me crazy nowadays is the
sentence that hints at something buried in some link:

> And theater chains, particularly AMC, are [absolutely not on board](link to
> different article on same site that supports this claim, I assume).

Definitely couldn't have simply mentioned an AMC lawsuit against MoviePass,
but why add more supporting facts when that might mean cutting anecdotes about
what movies the author is now willing to sit through?

I agree with another commenter, this reads more like an ad, sounds more like
MoviePass trying to get people to relate to this guy and become "terrifying"
subscribers, just like him!

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throwaway0255
Theaters don't have a problem with it. This is an advertisement for MoviePass
disguised as an article.

[http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html](http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html)

~~~
chrishacken
I thought you need to legally disclose it in the article if you're paying for
the exposure.

~~~
tedivm
You don't always pay for these articles. Lots of the time press outlets are
looking for stories, and PR firms know this. They send a few emails, maybe
even give "press releases" that are super close to being an already finished
article. The press outlets are cool with this because it helps them get more
stories and thus more advertising dollars.

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DKnoll
Most theatres are not at all scared of MoviePass, they're getting paid the
full admission price. In fact many chains and independent operators love it,
and are looking at implementing their own version.

> because theaters have all decided on a ticket price customers must pay for
> the premium of that big screen and sound system.

Not really, no. Studios are the ones driving up movie prices since they keep
demanding a bigger and bigger cut. The new Star Wars film for example has the
highest royalty of any movie ever released.

~~~
anilshanbhag
That is not true. Star wars is an exception and the cut percentage increased
by 1%. The real reason is the dropping viewership. Number of tickets sold
peaked in 2012. Beyond that the number of movie tickets sold dropped, however
number of locations is up and salaries have gone up. To compensate for it,
movie ticket prices need to go up.

~~~
DKnoll
Yes, it increased by 1% from 'The Force Awakens', which was last year (edit: 2
years ago, time flies) and also obscenely high. Don't say my statement is 'not
true' then confirm it in the next sentence.

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blowski
This reads like an advert to me. “Cinemas are terrified of this!” is a good
sales pitch.

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dahdum
Studios take the bulk of the ticket price, and MoviePass is paying the full
price of the ticket. Theater chains make the bulk of their profit on
refreshments, so I don't think they're all that terrified.

MoviePass has to grow large enough to be able to negotiate deals with studios,
like Disney, or raise rates significantly to cover the true cost of the
service. If they raise rates too much, they could start hemorrhaging to the
individual theater chain programs.

It's a cool service, but it can't last like it is.

~~~
djsumdog
I'm glad you mentioned theater revenue. When I worked in a theater, my manager
would tell me they saw less than 5 cents per ticket on most movies, maybe a
little more for independent films.

The $2.85 small bag of popcorn cost less than a penny in raw material to make.
We made minimum wage with no overtime (theaters got a tax loophole back then;
not sure if they still do) so even factoring in labor and electricity, it's
still a huge profit margin.

Theaters chain execs love it I'm sure. Still even if/when MoviePass goes
under, the studios will probably take a small hit for a while, but I'm sure
they'll recover.

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cwyers
MoviePass is run by an ex-Netflix executive, and it seems to have the same
Lando Calrissian business model: they're going to have to keep altering the
deal, and it gets worse every time. Netflix started off offering a library so
large (and so filled with recent hits) that it put Blockbuster out of business
for a monthly fee. Now it's basically HBO. MoviePass is likely going to end up
doing the same thing: offering less and charging more as soon as they have
enough people on the hook.

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calvinbhai
Movie pass wont work for me. For $10 a month, I can watch 10 99¢ movie rentals
on iTunes. For the cost of two people on movie pass, that can be 4 to 20
movies on iTunes/Amazon in a month.

I think moviepass is targeted at singles who go to movies less than 12 times a
year and it helps bring that demography to the theaters, and probably spend
more on concessions.

I dont understand why Theater chains are "terrified"

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1123581321
The big thing you’re missing is that the theater shows new movies. Also,
iTunes rentals are usually more than that.

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njarboe
It would be interesting to know what fraction of seating is going empty in
movie theaters these days. I would guess it is around 70%, maybe higher. Only
opening weekend for some blockbusters fill them up. I would guess if they
survive they will have two tiers, with a much more expensive one for opening
weekend tickets. If they get people to go on off times, the theaters will be
loving it.

~~~
lucaspiller
A few years ago I had a subscription card for a cinema chain in the UK, it
worked out to be the cost of around 1.5 tickets a month, but I ended up going
around once a week.

Anyway, at the time there was no way to book tickets online, you just had to
show up and if there was space you’d get a ticket. As such I’d usually go on
Saturday early afternoon when it was usually pretty quiet.

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donarb
Mitch Lowe, CEO, was interviewed a few months ago about the price drop and how
MoviePass plans to make money.

[https://www.forbes.com/sites/robcain/2017/09/17/ceo-mitch-
lo...](https://www.forbes.com/sites/robcain/2017/09/17/ceo-mitch-lowe-
explains-how-the-moviepass-rollout-fell-short-and-what-hes-doing-to-fix-it/)

[https://www.forbes.com/sites/robcain/2017/09/18/ceo-mitch-
lo...](https://www.forbes.com/sites/robcain/2017/09/18/ceo-mitch-lowe-pulls-
back-the-curtain-on-moviepass-and-explains-its-economics/)

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saas_co_de
Sounds like a great service. If I lived in the US I would probably sign up and
go to a lot more movies. I am down to going to the theater once or twice a
year now, and I really like movies, but the prices are dumb.

~~~
jdswain
Where I live it would cost us $45 for tickets alone, probably $65 including
food and drinks for a family of 3. I can buy a movie on iTunes for less than
half that and watch it as many times as I want whenever I want.

~~~
fjsolwmv
Do you have a 20-ft screen at home?

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RyanShook
I don’t see how the MoviePass model could be sustainable today. The name of
the game appears to be “lose money on every ticket today to control the market
tomorrow.”

But if they’re successful at controlling ticket sales I’m just not sure they
have enough leverage to keep theaters and studios on board... idk just left
scratching my head.

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learc83
How many people have successfully used MoviePass? I signed up the day the
dropped the price and received no confirmation at all. I tried again a few
weeks later--no confirmation once again.

I still haven't gotten a card from them, and I can't login to the system.

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miiiiiike
My girlfriend and I both have MoviePass, I don’t have my phone on me but we’ve
seen 8-10 movies already. It’s fun, we just run to the movies now. No more
buying tickets a day in advance and then making sure we get there early
enough.

We used to see movies exclusively on Saturdays or Wednesdays, when it’s
cheaper, and only went to certain theaters. Now when we decide to see a movie
we go whenever we feel like it, wherever we feel like it. We usually bring our
own snacks/water too..

We decided to see The Last Jedi at 1:05 AM without any forethought and saw it
on a massive screen with Dolby sound.

I can’t get a VC to return my cold calls/emails, but hey, at least a VC is
paying for our movies.

~~~
arkades
I thought moviepass was just a free ticket. You make it sound as though they
guarantee seating or something, too?

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miiiiiike
It is a free ticket, but it’s a free ticket without any kind of commitment.
The showing you want to see is full? You’re really late? Skip it, go to the
next one. Even if it’s not at the same theater.

The movie you want to see is $19 at the theater down the street vs $9 on the
other side of town. Go to the theater down the street with the reclining
seats.

We see 3-4 movies a month, MoviePass completely changed the way we think about
and scheduled going to the movies. No stress.

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tytytytytytytyt
Their website looked pretty poor. There were no clear terms or explanation of
the deal. Are movies free or what price are they? Maybe they don't need to
care because they already get so many signups?

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donarb
They have an app you use to checkin at a theater, you need to be near the
theater when you checkin. The amount of the movie is added to your MoviePass
MasterCard, you then pay for the movie using the MasterCard. Expensive movies
like IMAX 3D or special showings are not covered.

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zeep
> The average movie in San Francisco costs about $12, nearly 50 percent higher
> than the national average.

the average is $8? seems hard to believe...

~~~
fjsolwmv
Half of America lives in places like Monroe, Iowa.

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zeep
I just checked for a general admission ticket in Monroe, Iowa and it was
$10.60 ... I guess if you include morning, kid and senior prices, the average
is probably pretty low.

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mechhrt
I am willing to bet that theater has a monopoly with no substitute goods.

Rural != Cheap

The lowest prices are probably in suburban areas where there are many
competing theaters in a populated area with easy access.

~~~
sallyfour
My suburban hometown still has $4-5 tickets everyday. ~200k population with
quite a few theaters around.

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Apocryphon
How do startups built upon subsidizing customers pull an Uber- get to a state
where their unsustainable pricing practices are offset by wealth foreign
investors with virtually unlimited money to burn?

