
MoviePass CEO: “Tickets to Major Releases Will Not Be Available on App” - anw
https://www.businessinsider.com/moviepass-ceo-says-tickets-to-major-releases-will-not-be-available-on-app-2018-7
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slededit
Even though they aren't making money customers did pay to use the service. You
can't just change the terms after you get the money - they've just defaulted
on their obligations.

The officers are opening themselves up to liability issues by continuing to
run a known insolvent business and losing more investor money.

~~~
tonysdg
Good luck -- straight from their Terms of Service:

> You are expected to read these Terms of Use because your use of our Site and
> Service constitutes your agreement to the Arbitration Agreement and Class
> Action waiver described in Sections 17 and 18 below to resolve any disputes
> with us.

Another damn arbitration clause. I'm so conflicted about these things -- on
the one hand, I'm sure they defer many frivolous lawsuits. On the other, they
seem to tilt the balance of power overwhelmingly toward the
company/business/service. Do any lawyers out there know if there are
situations in which these arbitration clauses _wouldn 't_ be legal & binding?

~~~
slededit
The FTC isn't bound by that and are happy to go after false advertising -
neither are the creditors. Running a bankrupt company after knowing it is
insolvent is one reason for piercing the corporate veil. They have a duty to
minimize the loss in this situation.

~~~
skinnymuch
How many times does the FTC go after these sorts of things? I genuinely don’t
know. My gut assumption is they won’t be going after this.

~~~
slededit
I watched some old taped TV documentaries on YouTube and checked out what
happened to the companies in the commercials. A surprising number met their
end by the FTC or some other government agency.

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beisner
I feel a bit foolish having bought a yearly subscription in March......

But then again I have seen more than enough movies to break even on that
yearly price so perhaps I was not so foolish after all!

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slivym
If you go to their website right there, first thing you see:

UNLIMITED.

ANY THEATRE. ANY MOVIE. ANY DAY.

ToS:

2.3 The Service excludes premium showings such as: 3D films, IMAX, 4D, XD and
specialty theaters. THE SERVICE PROHIBITS REPEAT VIEWINGS OF THE SAME
MOVIE....The Service is available every day of the week, subject to the
theater being open, inventory, and usage.

2.4 MoviePass reserves the right to offer members a new price option if they
exceed watching a certain amount of movies per month.

2.4.ii To the extent that IMAX or RealD 3D or other premium format showings
are ever offered to subscribers, these showings will also be subject to
surcharge pricing....Subscribers may avoid this surcharge by choosing an
alternative date, time of day or film.

So it's not unlimited - it's limited to 1 movie per day. It's not any theatre,
it excludes specialty theatres. It's not any movie, high profile blockbusters
are excluded. It's not any day, high demand days you won't get tickets.

Even if this company were successful, they're a damn slimey company. Quite
nice to see them going out of business.

~~~
fgonzag
Honestly, what did you expect for $10 a month? That's less than a single movie
ticket. As soon as I saw the price I said: no way that's going to last...

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grappler
My brief experience with MoviePass when they first opened...

I've typically gone to Alamo Drafthouse. It's a somewhat upscale theater chain
if you're not familiar. Pairs of seats share little tables, you buy a ticket
for a specific seat, and they serve meals and drinks during the film.

When MoviePass came out I doubted they'd include Alamo but looked anyway. The
local Alamo did indeed show up among the MoviePass theaters so I signed up.

When I tried to use it, I checked in advance because I've learned that the
good seats get reserved early so unless it's a mostly empty showing, getting a
ticket at the last minute can relegate you to the eyestrain seats in the very
front couple rows.

The app said I could only get a ticket if I was geographically close to the
theater. I can't reserve good seats well in advance. In fact I can't even head
to the theater knowing I have tickets. I have to go there first hoping that a)
I can get tickets and b) hoping I can get good tickets.

The idea being, I guess, that MoviePass' arrangement with Alamo is purely
about helping Alamo fill any seats that may still be unsold when the movie is
about to start. And then maybe Alamo can sell those people some food and
drinks.

This might work for someone who will stop by a theater often, has flexible
plans, and sees a lot of less popular showings. It's a total non-starter for
someone like me who goes only occasionally to mostly highly anticipated films
and always as a date with a significant other who cares a lot about having a
plan in place and getting good seats.

Oh well, what did I expect. It's a cheap monthly subscription.

But the final frustration was trying to quit. I recall the app making this
rather difficult and non-intuitive, and then warning that if I quit I wasn't
going to be permitted to sign up again.

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robbiemitchell
The business is obviously failing. Continuing membership at this point is
begging to be disappointed.

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sp332
That hardly matters as long as they keep paying. In fact most of the profit
was always going to be from people who were on recurring subscriptions who
used the app rarely or forgot about it completely. People who used the app a
lot just cost money.

~~~
robbiemitchell
For people who want to use MoviePass, it matters if they can't actually use it
for movies. To them, I say cancel your membership.

Yes, this breach of trust might actually save MoviePass, as they can ditch the
frequent users and collect subscriptions from people who forgot about it or
rarely use it.

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James93
I hear that they were losing $21 million a month. I’m not business expert, but
that can’t be good. So I decide to sign up for AMC A-List:
[https://dealspure.com/AMC-Promo-
Codes/Coupons/P1WZUFNP61](https://dealspure.com/AMC-Promo-
Codes/Coupons/P1WZUFNP61)

