Sometimes a deal that sounds too good to be true, is. We all hope that isn’t the case with MoviePass, the movie-ticket-a-day app. But they’ve made some changes.
The company that first offered a deal on movie tickets several years ago dropped the monthly fee to just $10 last summer. It meant subscribers could get one movie ticket per day, every day if they wanted, for less than the price of 1 ticket each month.
MoviePass members can now see movies just once.
Many wondered myself included, how the MoviePass could stay in business with that business model. If every member used MoviePass to purchase just 2 movie tickets a month the company would be losing money. Still, the company saw over 2 million movie-goers joining the program. MoviePass CEO Mitch Lowe said recently he expects there to be over 6 million MoviePass subscribers by 2019.
If you’re currently a MoviePass subscriber you will notice some changes the next time you try to buy a ticket. The app forces you to install an update and after you do, you won’t be able to reserve a ticket to a movie you’ve already seen. A MoviePass spokesperson told me the move is intended to cut down on fraud. Apparently, some MoviePass subscribers have been cheating the system by purchasing tickets to popular movies and then re-selling them to other movie-goers outside the theater.
Current subscribers will still be able to get 1 movie ticket per day for the same $10 but new MoviePass members will get a limited plan that allows them to see 4 movies per month for the same $10. It does include a 3-month subscription to the music service i-Heart Radio.
For those unaware of MoviePass, the company sends its members a debit card through the mail. To reserve a seat subscribers must be within 100 yards of the theater. They choose the movie and showtime and reserve a seat. MoviePass then deposits enough money on the card to pay for the movie. Subscribers then use the debit card at the box office.
It’s been one of the best deals on the internet for anyone who loves to see movies but doesn’t want to pay the $10-$17 ticket price. Will this move be enough to keep MoviePass afloat? I sure hope so.
In the past 5 months, I’ve used MoviePass to see 18 movies which is more than I’ve seen in the last 10 years.
According to a movie theater manager I’ve spoken to, MoviePass accounts for only about 5% of tickets sold at his theater but across town, another manager told me about 4 of every 10 tickets sold are paid for with MoviePass debit cards.