The End of MoviePass

We’re well into the second half of 2018 and it looks like the moviegoers dream experiment is coming to a close. Moviepass has run out of money and had to shut down or suspend service for around 3 million users twice in the last week.

This comes as no surprise to anyone who can do 3rd grade math. The average movie ticket in America costs around $9, and a MoviePass subscription lets users purchase as many as one standard ticket a day for the monthly price of $9.95 (or less if you pay annually). Meanwhile, MoviePass was still paying full retail price for these tickets. It’s obvious that this wasn’t going to work.

I kept waiting for them to announce that their pricing special was temporary and that they would be going back to their previous model that was closer to $40/month. Even if they let you try it for three months at $12/month then jacked your price up to $30/month if you chose to continue there would have been some financial possibility that they could stay afloat. But it looks like they are going to fade into oblivion like many other game changers. When was the last time you went on Napster to download an mp3? Often times, the revolutionary fire-starters don’t survive the blaze that they fan into existence.

Lasting Effects

They did not take into account the American appetite. We are gluttons. If we are given the opportunity to Super Size it, we will. If you put us in an all you can eat buffet we take it as a challenge. So, many people who might have casually gone to the theater once every couple of months got their hands on this card and started being a weekly regular because they had the freedom to do so. They didn’t even worry if the movie was really any good. They went because they could. I don’t think that we can separate the drastic rise in ticket sales to the content alone. As you can see in the chart above, the first half of 2018 saw ticket sales increase by 8% over the same time the previous year. That is huge since that number has been essentially on the decline since 2002.

I definitely got my money’s worth out of the $90 I paid for my annual subscription to Moviepass seeing 31 movies. My hope is that the industry will see that the appetite is there and will provide more financially responsible alternatives to continue to allow the gluttons among us to see their fill of movies at a reduced rate. Especially since we’re more willing to buy concessions and merchandise if we feel like we are getting a deal.

Alternatives

Perhaps other theater chains will follow in the footsteps of AMC who created their own subscription service called Stubs A-List. It lets you see up to 3 movies a week at any of their theaters for $20/month. This would be a good option if you have an AMC in your area. However, I don’t have one within 50 miles and I have heard rumblings that they are only going to continue service for 3 months after MoviePass dies then end their plans.

Theatrical trendsetter Alamo Drafthouse announced a waitlist beta test for a loyalty program but it has not taken off yet. I’m holding out hope for Regal Cinemas to create a program, but I have to do something in the meantime.

There is only one real competitor to MoviePass that is providing a similar service for all major theater chains. That is Sinemia.  They saw the woes that Moviepass was having and dropped their prices until September for a summer promotion. I have signed up for their three movie a month plan. That’s pretty close to my average anyway and it will run me $13.99/month. The upside is that I can see IMAX and other special screenings that MoviePass forbade, I can even buy tickets in advance. However, for some reason they have gotten little press and some bad reviews, I guess time will tell if they will last especially if their subscriber base begins to grow as rapidly as MoviePass’ did.

Since I only get 3 movies a month now, I’m going to have to be a little picky. I’m going to take a look at the remaining 5 months of 2018 and hopefully my three a month will give you my top 15 anticipated films of the rest of the year. What about you? Did you get burned by MoviePass’ surge pricing? Are you an AMC fan? Are you going to try Sinemia? Let me know in the comments!