If you've been paying attention of late, you've probably seen a lot of coverage about MoviePass. The theatergoing subscription service has grown exponentially since its price drop, but it isn't the only game in town, with multiple services offering something for movie fans and likely more still to come. Cinemark Theaters offers its own service, the Cinemark Movie Club, which provides a different experience and benefits from MoviePass. Although it's only been around for three months, we now know that Cinemark Movie Club boasts 120,000 members.
While that is nowhere near MoviePass' 2 million subscribers, Cinemark's service has only been around for a few months. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Cinemark CEO Mark Zoradi noted at an investor conference that the number of members to this point has vastly exceeded their expectations. Cinemark Movie Club is intended to boost attendance and brand loyalty, but the theater chain will continue to accept MoviePass as well. In a refreshing bit of corporate honesty, Mark Zoradi also acknowledged that rival MoviePass is a good deal if you frequent the movies multiple times a month, but for those people who aren't cinephiles or movie buffs and only go to the theater five or six times a year, the Cinemark Movie Club is advantageous.
I saw Annihilation at a Cinemark theater, and the Cinemark Movie Club was being advertised all around the theater and on screen before the movie began. While many of the folks who read this site probably go to the movies more than the average person, the Cinemark Movie Club does offer some compelling benefits for the right consumer. Unlike MoviePass, which allows you to see one movie a day, Cinemark Movie Club charges $8.99 a month for one regular ticket that rolls over if unused. Additional tickets are $8.99, and premium showings and 3D are available for an upcharge. Unlike MoviePass, Cinemark's service allows you to buy tickets and reserve seats online in advance, which is much more convenient. The Movie Club also gets members a 20% discount on concessions. Unlike ISPs or cell phone carriers, which all offer basically the same thing for basically the same price, each of these theatergoing services offers something different with benefits that cater to certain types of consumers.
The next year will be particularly interesting to follow as these theatergoing services battle for the hard-earned dollars of moviegoers and the industry tries to adapt. MoviePass expects to hit an insane 5 million subscribers by the end of the year, and I'm sure Cinemark Movie Club and Sinemia will also see gains. While there are some complex issues with these services, they will hopefully boost attendance at theaters big and small, as well as remind the public of the merits of a true theatrical experience. If nothing else, the growing subscribers to each of these respective services show that perhaps the industry needed this kind of shakeup, and that audiences really do want to go to the movies, but are simply looking for a more cost-effective way to do so.
For all the latest on MoviePass, Sinemia and the Cinemark Movie Club, stay tuned to CinemaBlend, and for all the movies hitting theaters this year, check out our release guide.
