Ask HN: How much would MoviePass have to charge per month to be viable? - jger15
======
scarface74
They can't charge enough to be viable. They have to pay full retail price for
tickets and they don't get any cut of the theaters most profitable item --
concessions.

AMC only has pay 45-60% of the price of the ticket to studios and they
negotiated the price of the ticket to the studios for someone using AMC Stubs
A+ as $8.99. They make a 40-65% profit margin on the ticket.

Just for them to break even on the amount I used the A+ subscription this past
month, they would have to charge more than $111 a month - 6 regular admissions
and two IMAX. I predict on a regular month, we will probably see at least $59
worth of movies per month a piece with the subscription - 2 regular movies and
one IMAX.

------
ironjunkie
Their goal was never to be profitable on paper, but acquire a ton of users and
use them as bargaining powers for big theaters.

It never worked though, as AMC and the others understood pretty well that the
best way to deal with them is to ignore them and let them die which would
eventually happen.

It is a shame, because there is a real issue in the US with movie theaters
that are mostly empty due to Netflix and other "At Home" offerings. The
marginal cost of someone going to a movie is zero, so there is definitely some
business there.

~~~
scarface74
Yes and AMC brought out their own subscription service. They are well aware of
the appeal.

------
Cypher
I pay $0 for movies.

~~~
scarface74
And they won’t spend time trying to acquire you as a customer.

