AMC A-List & other theater subscriptions (2 Viewers)

[DaveF]

I wonder if there's any kind of anti-trust or regulation of some kind they could bump into. How is it right for you to independently set the price of someone else's product against the merchant's will?

Likely none, as there's no anti-trust or monopoly activity here. Maybe there some sort of terms of service or credit card rules that the theaters might weasel with. But basically this looks like companies trying to maneuver for their own profit motives. As certainly happens between theaters and distributors regularly. And between retailers and manufacturers.

 

[DaveF]

If I was going to movies regularly I'd definitely sign up. Everyone should have their movies paid for by dot-com billionaires!

 

[Chris Will]

Malcolm, That's pretty much what the new service's CEO said in an interview.

The reason I used the word "blackmail" (which may be too strong a word but still..) is because the CEO has said the business plan is to fund this at a loss for two years, get the public used to buying tickets like this, and then when they have all of the moviegoing public signed up to their service, demand that the movie theaters partner with them and cover the losses, otherwise they'll shut down and threaten that customers who got used to paying $10 a month just won't come back to theaters at all.

I wonder if there's any kind of anti-trust or regulation of some kind they could bump into. How is it right for you to independently set the price of someone else's product against the merchant's will?

Where have you read these blackmail quotes? I've read a handful of interviews from the CEO since this announcement and don't remember seeing that plan mentioned? The interviews I have read he says the plan is to mine user data from there app to sell targeted advertising. This is why a data firm just recently bought a majority stack in MoviePass. As far as your last question, the theaters are getting paid full price for the tickets from MoviePass so, they are not losing money. In fact, they may get more money if it gets more people through the doors to buy concessions.


I did a 2 week free trial of MoviePass a few years ago and loved the service. I saw 5 movies in 2 weeks, reminded me of my days before kids. The service was $50 / month 2 years ago so I couldn't afford it but, I'm all over this new pricing! Many years ago I use to see 2 or 3 movies a week, these days I see maybe 6 or 7 a year. Now I'll probably see 6 or 7 a month, maybe more. If the theater chains want to fight this and only see me 7 times a year, instead of 70, then so be it. Maybe MP will not last, then I'll go back to only seeing 7 movies a year. You say MP could potentially ruin theaters but, continually raising the price of tickets will do the same thing. One way or another, something has to change if theaters want to see more people walk through their doors.

It is not my job to worry about the theater's bottom line. I will proudly enjoy this service for as long as it last.

If I was going to movies regularly I'd definitely sign up. Everyone should have their movies paid for by dot-com billionaires!

Why not sign up and then go to the movies regularly for a fraction of the cost?

 

[Tino]

Email I received yesterday.

View this email in your browser

To the MoviePass Community,


We’ve been blown away with all of the excitement surrounding our new $9.95 unlimited plan. Though we anticipated a high level of interest, we received an unprecedented volume of traffic: so much so, it completely crashed our servers. Last week, MoviePass was the #1 consumer news story in the world.

To meet this demand, our production facility has rapidly increased capacity. Currently, you should expect to receive your card around September 6-10th. If you signed up Tuesday, August 15th or Wednesday, August 16th, expect it sooner. Orders are being fulfilled in the order in which they are received. We apologize for the delay. Your account will not activate until you’ve received your MoviePass card and your billing date will be adjusted accordingly.



E-Ticketing
In some markets, we have partners who allow for e-ticketing. You can attend those theaters now without waiting for the card. E-ticketing is voluntary and up to the theaters. Any theater that wishes can be activated with E-ticketing capability.



For your convenience, here are some resources that can help you find additional information you may need.The FAQ’s should provide answers to all of your questions and the theater map allows you to search for supported locations in your area. Our customer service team is working around the clock to respond to your additional questions.


FAQ’s: https://moviepass.zendesk.com/

Theater Map: https://www.moviepass.com/


Thank you so much for your patience and support. We can’t wait to go to the movies with you!


Sincerely,

The MoviePass Team





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[DaveF]

Why not sign up and then go to the movies regularly for a fraction of the cost?

Ticket price isn't what limits my movie viewing.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Well... I may go down as a hypocrite, but I decided to give this a try. I'm not sure that I'll be a long-term subscriber, but looking over the release schedule for the next couple months, there are a few 2D-only titles that aren't getting "premium" releases that I'm interested in seeing, so I might as well give it a shot. A normal 2D-only movie ticket is $16.50 in NYC, so for $9.99 for a month, if I just see one of those 2D titles I will have saved money.

I don't think this is sustainable, and I think that this could do to movie theaters what Netflix did to video stores (and unlike video stores, I think movie theaters are still relevant and important), but I also recognize that going to the movies regularly has become a difficult-to-afford habit, so if subscribing means I can again afford to go, that's worth something too.

I don't think I'm likely to spend the saved money on extra concessions; maybe if enough people do they'll find a way to make money out of this. But I'm thinking if I got in for "free" that I wouldn't want to blow that savings by spending $10-15 on concessions.

So, we'll see. My wife has been listening to me make many of the same arguments about the service that I've made here, and you should've heard her laughing at me when I said I caved and signed up.

 

[Johnny Angell]

What are premium releases. I.E. besides 3D and IMAX, what kind of movies can't I used moviepass on?

 

[Josh Steinberg]

What are premium releases. I.E. besides 3D and IMAX, what kind of movies can't I used moviepass on?

Moviepass only works for standard 2D showings.

It's not good for any flavor of IMAX, or any kind of 3D. It also does not work with Dolby Cinema. It does not work with 4DX. Additionally, it does not support proprietary premium theaters that are owned by the particular chains rather than a brand - for instance, Regal's RPX, AMC's Prime and ETX, Cinemark's XD, etc. It looks like it may work at theaters that have reclining seats, but only if the theater doesn't charge a premium for those.

 

[Johnny Angell]

Moviepass only works for standard 2D showings.

It's not good for any flavor of IMAX, or any kind of 3D. It also does not work with Dolby Cinema. It does not work with 4DX. Additionally, it does not support proprietary premium theaters that are owned by the particular chains rather than a brand - for instance, Regal's RPX, AMC's Prime and ETX, Cinemark's XD, etc. It looks like it may work at theaters that have reclining seats, but only if the theater doesn't charge a premium for those.

What about the first week of a heavily promoted film like GotG?

 

[Josh Steinberg]

What about the first week of a heavily promoted film like GotG?

It works fine for the standard 2D version. You can only select your ticket the day of the show, so if the theater is sold out in advance, then you miss out. But as long as tickets are available the day of, it's fine.

It looks like you get a MasterCard in the mail and you just go and buy your ticket at full price; as far as the theater is concerned, it's just another credit card transaction.

 

[benbess]

I may regret it, but I just joined. I usually see about 2 movies a month in theaters. But with this that might double or triple. Like everyone else seems to be saying, I don't see how this can be sustained in the long run.

 

[Chris Will]

I don't think I'm likely to spend the saved money on extra concessions; maybe if enough people do they'll find a way to make money out of this.

I don't understand what you are saying here, MoviePass will never make money off of concessions and MP pays the theaters full price for the tickets. For now, the theaters are not losing a dime. I understand the argument AMC made about this changing the perceived cost of movie tickets and "when" MP fails people will continue to expect that same price. I'm not sure I agree though because I think most people subscribing to MP are similar to me, they see very few movies in theaters and will use this to see many more. If MP folds in the future then we'll just go back to seeing very few movies again, not demand AMC somehow continue MP's service.

I honestly think AMC should have waited a few months to criticize MP. It is no secret that AMC has problems right now and MP could actually help them out a little by boosting attendance. If in 4 months they are seeing some type of negative impact because of MP, then make your statement against the service.

I agree that long term this is not sustainable unless MP finds another source of revenue, whether that is selling user data or cutting deals with theaters, they'll have to find money somehow or shutdown.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

If you're in the Northeast or on the West Coast, you basically only have to go one movie a month to save money.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Yup. Standard 2D ticket by me is $16.50.

 

[Tino]

Still waiting for my card.

 

[TonyD]

Me too. Been 2 weeks for both my wife and me.

 

[EricSchulz]

I'm going to look into this to see about theaters in my area that participate. Now that I live in Chicago I miss the Marcus Theaters' of Wisconsin and their $5 Tuesday movies.

 

[Richard V]

I'm going to throw a monkey wrench into this discussion. For years, I've read that theater owners make their REAL money in concessions. If someone is going to the theater 70 times a year instead of 7, there is 10 times the opportunity to sell the concessions, which supposedly is their real revenue. Am I missing something here?

 

[Tino]

I'm going to throw a monkey wrench into this discussion. For years, I've read that theater owners make their REAL money in concessions. If someone is going to the theater 70 times a year instead of 7, there is 10 times the opportunity to sell the concessions, which supposedly is their real revenue. Am I missing something here?

That's my thinking too.

 

[DaveF]

I'm going to throw a monkey wrench into this discussion. For years, I've read that theater owners make their REAL money in concessions. If someone is going to the theater 70 times a year instead of 7, there is 10 times the opportunity to sell the concessions, which supposedly is their real revenue. Am I missing something here?

Yes, because the ticket revenue goes to pay the distributors for the movie itself.

If there's no movie ticket revenue then the concessions become the funds for the movie itself.

So will concessions go up enough to make the theaters healthy, much less more profitable?

My guess: people who shop for bargains on movie tickets are people who are frugal about concessions.