Friday, June 22, 2018

My Life With MoviePass


When I worked for the movie theater business back in high school, there were two constant complaints I always heard. The first one was always, “Do you have Snowcaps?” The second is, “Why are you ripping us off with your ticket prices?” I always found that last question funny because most of the people who asked always seemed to have the money to keep coming every week. Now I’m older and movie prices are starting to affect me, so I understand the frustration of wanting to go to the movies but not having the money.

That is until MoviePass came around and my attendance skyrocketed as soon as I signed up. MoviePass is a subscription service that allows people to attend the movies for a monthly or annual fee. I bought the annual fee which was a discounted price of $115 at the time and that included a processing fee; here’s how it works. After your fees are paid, a card is sent to you and you sign up on the MoviePass app on your smart phone so you can register the card. Once you’re set up, you go to the movie theater, see if the movie you want to see is available at the time, then check in on the app.

Money will be added to the card, then you’ll swipe your card and out comes the ticket. A new rule was recently implemented that requires you to take a picture of the ticket and upload it in the app. When I first heard about this, it sounded like a scam because how can this company possibly be making money if I’m only paying a small price. There are several reasons I can name, but that’s not what I’m writing about. The fact is, this deal is legit, and it’s already saved me $218 on movie tickets.

I used my card to see movies I was dying to see like Justice League, Avengers: Infinity War, Solo, and Black Panther. I’ve also used it to see movies I wouldn’t have risked the money to see like The Greatest Showman, Bad Samaritan, Tag, and Game Night. This subscription has brought me and several others back to the movie theaters, but there has been some hiccups. The only disappointments are the subscription only works for standard formats which means no 3D, RPX and IMAX screens. The other is you can’t get tickets in advance, so you must check in that day; if you want to see a movie that comes out in two weeks, you’ll have to use your own money.

The biggest problem I had with the subscription is when I paid during a time when the service offered to let me see any movie once a day. Now it’s only limiting users to see one movie once, and that threw me for a loop. I wanted to be upset, but because of work and school, I don’t have the time to see a movie more than once anyway. I can understand for those that do have the time, but I also understand from a business aspect. If they didn’t place that limit, then I know there are people out there that would see some movies every single day if they could.

The fact is, MoviePass has been my one of my favorite investments. AMC Theaters is already following their steps by announcing they will have a similar service for $19.95 a month that will include 3D and IMAX screens. MoviePass is expected to offer a similar deal in the fall and a “Bring a friend” option to combat AMC’s ambition. Maybe AMC’s offer will be better and MoviePass is having financial problems due to rapid subscriber growth, but we’ll have to wait and find out. For now, MoviePass is the way to go if you’re a movie lover and it’s well worth the price monthly or annual.

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