MoviePass creator credits service's birth to Apple iPhone & mobile apps
In a promotional interview published on the iOS App Store, the one of the creators of MoviePass -- a subscription service that lets people see a 2D movie every day -- suggested that the Apple iPhone and mobile apps in general were instrumental in getting it off the ground.
"The idea was almost too early," said Stacy Spikes in reference to an earlier attempt at the all-you-can-eat model with the Urbanworld Film Festival in the 1990s. "We didn't have iPhones and apps to figure out payment and interfacing. If it weren't for that development, MoviePass would never have happened."
iPhone users can sign up for the service through the MoviePass app, after which they'll be sent a card in the mail. At that point the app becomes a tool for finding theaters and showtimes -- once a showtime is selected, the card is activated for use at kiosks, and in some cases people can simply reserve their ticket online.
MoviePass has actually been around since 2011, but only surged in popularity late last year after fees were lowered to $9.95 per month. At the moment, that rate is just $7.95 per month for first-time subscribers willing to pay for a full year.
The service has been controversial, with some theaters refusing to accept it, and MoviePass itself pulling out of some AMC theaters. Part of its income is derived from data collection by majority stakeholder Helios and Matheson Analytics, and it has yet to make a profit regardless -- though it should be able to do so when it hits 4 million subscribers, possibly later this year.
Despite problems MoviePass could be a potential lifeline for theater chains, which have struggled to keep up attendance and profits in an era of online streaming and high-quality home theaters.
"The idea was almost too early," said Stacy Spikes in reference to an earlier attempt at the all-you-can-eat model with the Urbanworld Film Festival in the 1990s. "We didn't have iPhones and apps to figure out payment and interfacing. If it weren't for that development, MoviePass would never have happened."
iPhone users can sign up for the service through the MoviePass app, after which they'll be sent a card in the mail. At that point the app becomes a tool for finding theaters and showtimes -- once a showtime is selected, the card is activated for use at kiosks, and in some cases people can simply reserve their ticket online.
MoviePass has actually been around since 2011, but only surged in popularity late last year after fees were lowered to $9.95 per month. At the moment, that rate is just $7.95 per month for first-time subscribers willing to pay for a full year.
The service has been controversial, with some theaters refusing to accept it, and MoviePass itself pulling out of some AMC theaters. Part of its income is derived from data collection by majority stakeholder Helios and Matheson Analytics, and it has yet to make a profit regardless -- though it should be able to do so when it hits 4 million subscribers, possibly later this year.
Despite problems MoviePass could be a potential lifeline for theater chains, which have struggled to keep up attendance and profits in an era of online streaming and high-quality home theaters.
Comments
I know a lot of people with MoviePass, and it seems that many people with it, 1) are going to the movies more, and 2) more likely to get concessions since the movie "feels" free of charge. I'm slightly on the former, but not at all on the latter, but that's probably because I gave up soda in the past few months. Regardless of what I do, I do think there's an argument for MoviePass to get discount costs from the theater and even a small take of the concessions (as they've rumored to be pushing AMC to do) if the theater is benefiting from their existence. That said, I can potentially see a small drop in ticket price but I can't see taking a piece of the concessions ever happening.
Actually Theaters benefit very little in movie ticket sales. MoviePass pays the FULL PRICE of the tickets!!! There is no discount, other than the Discount price the theater normally does on tickets. It's really strange how some theaters have a issue with Moviepass?!?!?! They still get the full ticket price, and it's getting people into the theater, where they can buy food and drinks at crazy high prices which is where they actually make most of their money. It defy's logic. A person who wants to go to the movies ALL THE TIME!!!!
It's how is MoviePass able to make enough money? The $9.95 a month cost now is generally not enough enough to pay for 1 movie ticket, let alone a bunch in 1 month. They are paying the full prices of the tickets!!! I know when I first signed up, it was $35 a month, and it wasn't that long ago when it had moved up to $45 a month for me. Which is still not a bad deal when you go and see a bunch of movies every month. Then they had some cheaper plans but limited the movies you could see per month. Now they're doing the whole $9.95 a month for Unlimited.
I don't know how they can afford to do this? I think AMC wanted to do something similar. it cost ore and only worked on their theaters. So I think that's what the biggest issue they have with MoviePass. It's really just dumb. It's far from the first time these Entertainment company's doing dumb things. I've been to a number of different theaters and it works great. If you're a theater that blocks MoviePass, that's a theater I won't go to. The number of times I see someone with a MoviePass card in line keeps growing. A big plus for me getting it back when it was more expensive was that I could go at any time of the day and it didn't matter. Where as before when I was just buying tickets myself, I'd go to the first showing which has the cheapest ticket price.
Recall what happened a few years ago when Netflix changed it's streaming/dvd plan, ie, raised prices. MoviePass has put themselves in the position of establishing the high mark for pricing. What if they can't make money at that?
A link;
http://www.businessinsider.com/how-does-moviepass-make-money-2017-8
But it is a fact the theaters are getting more desperate. Commercials, for one. And lately, haven’t you seen those pathetic PSAs from the director thanking you for coming out to the movies? Healthy businesses don’t do that.
I'm not a fan of an unruly crowd. They can easily ruin a movie experience. I get around that (typically) by going to the earliest shows, and having assigned seats means I see how crowded it is right before a show.
Most AMC Box Office booth people will not accept your rewards card if you go up to them with your MoviePass card. Some AMC booth attendants are even shady about it by activating your rewards when you don't want them too. I have had that happen to me 3 times, so I just gave up on using the people to buy my tickets and I go to a Kiosk. This also happened to another friend that is local (in D.C. area) and another friend several times in Arizona.
Like I wrote above, it is actually better to use a Kiosk if you are going to AMC.
I think MoviePass also has a 2 per household limit, but they might have removed that...