How can you apply the Netflix model to movie theaters? Without pissing off exhibitors, you really can't-- but MoviePass is going to give it a shot anyway, launching a new service that allows you to pay around $30 a month and see as many movies as you want in theaters. That's right, for less than the cost of 3 movie tickets (at least in Manhattan), you can have a card that gets you into any movie once a day, using it just like a credit card to buy a ticket at the theater.
MoviePass pays full price for the tickets-- which seems to be how they can get away with not teaming up with the theaters to offer this service. And as the company's CEO and founder Stacy Spikes explained to THR, "Everybody doesn't go to the movie every single day," so the company can make money off the people who use the pass to pay $30 and see 30 movies, and those who sign up but use it only once a month, if that. MoviePass isn't working in conjunction with any of the theater chains, and it's unclear if this will cause friction between them-- the company attempted a beta launch last summer in San Francisco that was shut down after theater chains complained.
There's no indication of them doing so this time, though in a report from Variety "Many indicated they would make efforts to turn away MoviePass customers of they became aware of them." It's hard to know exactly how likely that would be, especially since so many movies play in theaters that aren't full, making room for the handful of MoviePass customers who might show up. Is there any harm in bringing more people to theaters, especially since the exhibitors are getting the money? Or is this just another way that modern technology is hammering away at the movie exhibition model, and making the death of the cineplex that much faster.
Let us know what you think in the comments, and you can sign up for MoviePass here to try it out for yourself.
