We all love watching movies, don’t we? While some of us watch them in our spare time, others especially take out time for them from their busy schedules. If you are among the latter and can’t allow yourself to miss watching a good movie on its release day, then you may already know that this passion can hurt your pocket. However, if you use the MoviePass service, you can save a lot of money while watching all the movies in theaters that you want to. Now if you’re wondering what it actually is, here is everything you need to know about MoviePass:
What is MoviePass?
Led by Mitch Lowe, the co-founder of Netflix, MoviePass is a subscription-based service startup that lets you watch one movie a day for the whole month at a fixed price. Covering around 91% theaters in the US, the service works even on blackout dates. It is aimed at making more viewers watch movies in theaters as opposed to the recent trend of online streaming.
Now if we dig deep into its history, we will find that MoviePass is a young company. It was founded in 2011 and is since trying to gain the popularity it deserves. Being a direct hit at the movie theater revenues, it did receive some resistance from different theater chains initially but has managed to stand the test of time.
How to Use MoviePass?
Using MoviePass is fairly simple. First, you’ll have to sign up on their website. You can do that with either your Facebook account or your email. Next, pay the first month subscription fee using either your credit card or your PayPal account. Within the next 7 business days, you should receive your MoviePass card in your mail. Your monthly subscription will start from that day.
Once you have your card with you, you can download their free app (Android/iOS) and use it to browse theaters and showtimes near you (within 100 yards) where the MoviePass card is supported. Once you decide on a show, check-in on the app, and then just take this card and swipe it at the box office or kiosk to get your ticket. When you check-in, the exact amount needed to purchase a ticket for that movie is credited in your MoviePass card which is then deducted when you swipe it.
How does MoviePass Make Money?
Clearly, offering a movie a day for a monthly subscription that itself costs only as much as the cost of a single ticket makes MoviePass face huge losses. This is especially due to the fact that they have not yet received the customer base that they were expecting. But to minimize these losses and turn the service into a potential profit-making model, a majority of MoviePass’s stakes were recently sold to the New York-based data firm Helios and Matheson Analytics. With this acquisition, the data firm is looking to collect data on viewing behaviors of the service’s customers, and then target personalized advertisements and other marketing material at them accordingly.
Pros and Cons of MoviePass
With a great service comes pros and cons. Nothing in this world is perfect, and MoviePass is no exception. While there are some great things that you’ll love about this service on one hand, there are some that will make you think about quitting it on the other. To make it easier for you to decide whether you want to try MoviePass or not, I’ve listed below some of its pros and cons.
Pros:
- If you’re into movies, you’ll save money
- No blackout dates
- Covers around 91% theaters in the US (or at least they claim so)
- MoviePass bears whatever the actual price of tickets is
- Keeps a record of your watched movies
Cons:
- No IMAX or 3D movies; only 2D
- You must be within 100 yards of the theater to check-in
- Only one ticket per subscription
- Same movie can’t be watched twice
- Their website has been slow lately
MoviePass: Pricing and Availability
Over the years, we have seen a lot of variations in their pricing model. The latest one, brought into effect recently, costs $9.95/month. With this, you can watch one movie a day with the limitation of watching a movie only once. As for its availability, it is available only in the US as of now, covering over 4,000 theaters and more than 36,000 screens. If this business model works out in their favor, we can expect this service to be made available in other countries as well.
Should you use MoviePass?
The only reason someone would decide not to buy a MoviePass subscription is its restrictions. On the other hand, if you are a cinephile and don’t mind going to movies alone, you should definitely subscribe to this service. Personally, I would like to see a few more additions to the service like different tiers of memberships which allow more than just a single person to watch a movie and the ability to pay a surcharge for IMAX or 3D movies instead of having to buy them at full cost.
SEE ALSO: 10 Free Apps to Track TV Shows and Movies
Submit your Verdict: MoviePass or Not
As I mentioned earlier, nothing is perfect. Some people just love the concept of watching a movie every day of the month for the price of a single screening, while others consider the restrictions to be a big turn off. Regardless of what others think, I’ve already mentioned above all the pros and cons of MoviePass. Furthermore, you can go ahead and try it for at least a month to decide for yourself whether you would like to continue with the subscription or not. Whatever you conclude, do let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.
