MoviePass and Other Cinema Subscription Services

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Luke M
Joined: Thu Jul 12, 2007 9:21 pm

Re: MoviePass

#276 Post by Luke M » Tue May 08, 2018 3:54 pm

I bought an annual subscription in January and would very much like to see it through.

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mfunk9786
Under Chris' Protection
Joined: Fri May 16, 2008 4:43 pm
Location: Philadelphia, PA

Re: MoviePass

#277 Post by mfunk9786 » Tue May 08, 2018 4:00 pm

It was very useful during Oscar season last year, can't imagine having it run dry before Oscar season this year. But of course, prepared for the possibility at any time as it is literally too good to be true.

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mfunk9786
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Joined: Fri May 16, 2008 4:43 pm
Location: Philadelphia, PA

Re: Tully (Jason Reitman, 2018)

#278 Post by mfunk9786 » Wed May 09, 2018 3:41 pm

MoviePass eliminated the ability to see a movie more than once to combat abuse of the feature during the release of Avengers 69: Revenge of the Giant Rock Monster or whatever it is, but I'm just out here trying to see Tully again without paying for it

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DarkImbecile
Ask me about my visible cat breasts
Joined: Mon Dec 09, 2013 6:24 pm
Location: Albuquerque, NM

Re: Tully (Jason Reitman, 2018)

#279 Post by DarkImbecile » Wed May 09, 2018 3:44 pm

I just barely got a second viewing of You Were Never Really Here in just under the wire of that rule change, and Tully would have been a prime candidate. Such a shame...

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swo17
Bloodthirsty Butcher
Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2008 10:25 am
Location: SLC, UT

Re: MoviePass

#280 Post by swo17 » Wed May 09, 2018 3:48 pm

They really ought to have a tiered pricing system, like Netflix's disc service--one price gets you four movies a month and no repeat viewings, a higher price lets you into more movies, another price unlocks repeat viewings, etc.

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hearthesilence
Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2005 4:22 am
Location: NYC

Re: MoviePass

#281 Post by hearthesilence » Wed May 09, 2018 3:54 pm

A friend of mine has been doing multiple viewings of the same film simply by selecting "movie not listed," but he just got an email about ticket stub uploads, so I guess the party's over.

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mfunk9786
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Joined: Fri May 16, 2008 4:43 pm
Location: Philadelphia, PA

Re: MoviePass

#282 Post by mfunk9786 » Wed May 09, 2018 3:55 pm

I think we're eventually going to get there, with a broad range of different pricing models - that is, provided that Ribs doesn't finally act on his disturbing manifesto

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Ribs
Joined: Fri Jun 13, 2014 1:14 pm

Re: MoviePass

#283 Post by Ribs » Wed May 09, 2018 4:09 pm

aack moviepass bad aack

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DarkImbecile
Ask me about my visible cat breasts
Joined: Mon Dec 09, 2013 6:24 pm
Location: Albuquerque, NM

Re: MoviePass

#284 Post by DarkImbecile » Wed May 09, 2018 4:30 pm

mfunk9786 wrote:I think we're eventually going to get there, with a broad range of different pricing models - that is, provided that Ribs doesn't finally act on his disturbing manifesto
Ribs in MoviePass Headquarters if they don't fold in 6-8 weeks:
Image

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Luke M
Joined: Thu Jul 12, 2007 9:21 pm

Re: MoviePass

#285 Post by Luke M » Sat May 12, 2018 1:50 am

I got the email now about uploading a pic of movie stub. This deal gets worse all the time.

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aox
Joined: Fri Jun 20, 2008 12:02 pm
Location: nYc

Re: MoviePass

#286 Post by aox » Tue May 15, 2018 2:20 pm


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Ribs
Joined: Fri Jun 13, 2014 1:14 pm

Re: MoviePass

#287 Post by Ribs » Tue May 15, 2018 2:52 pm

Starting to have some doubts

McCrutchy
Joined: Mon Feb 25, 2008 4:57 am
Location: East Coast, USA

Re: MoviePass

#288 Post by McCrutchy » Tue May 15, 2018 4:03 pm

It's also worth noting that MoviePass' goal (data collection) is probably being harmed by all of its attempts to save money. With MoviePass, it would seem that the ideal business model is for them to do nothing, and sit back and get raw, unmolested data from millions of users, but that's obviously not realistic, because people would abuse the service, so certain boundaries must be set, like parameters. However, playing tricks like disallowing theaters or certain movies or showtimes basically introduces an arguably unnecessary "outside element" that affects the behavior of MoviePass users, and thus, affects the data. So even if the data MoviePass is collecting is valuable, it's less valuable because users are obeying so many rules and restrictions that they wouldn't have to obey with cash, credit cards, or even other membership cards. For example, unless the rules may have changed recently, I don't think AMC cares what I spend my Stubs points on, whether its 2D, 3D or IMAX, or whether I use points to buy concessions, so in that sense, AMC Stubs is in many ways a better barometer of what I would buy in a movie theater with "free money" than MoviePass would be.

In other words, it isn't surprising that MoviePass is failing to find financial support for its data collection, considering that its data collection is so hampered by restrictions on its users. And of course, if there's one season where you would probably want to know how many times people will see a film in, say, IMAX or 3D, it has to be summer.

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swo17
Bloodthirsty Butcher
Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2008 10:25 am
Location: SLC, UT

Re: MoviePass

#289 Post by swo17 » Tue May 15, 2018 4:12 pm

Of course, measuring how people behaved without the restrictions wasn't accurate either--the low low price and lack of restrictions were their own outside elements. This is the uncertainty principle at work, i.e. you can never really measure anything because the very act of measuring alters behavior.

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hearthesilence
Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2005 4:22 am
Location: NYC

Re: MoviePass

#290 Post by hearthesilence » Tue May 15, 2018 4:15 pm

Honestly, if they had capped it to four films a months at the very start, for $7.50/month (about what I'm paying now), I would've gone for it. Not sure if it would've drawn the rural or suburban crowd, but for people in the city, it's a steal even under those conditions.

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Luke M
Joined: Thu Jul 12, 2007 9:21 pm

Re: MoviePass

#291 Post by Luke M » Tue May 15, 2018 5:22 pm

4 movies a month would definitely be worth it even for folks in rural areas/suburbs. The problem is always that there aren’t enough good movies to watch.

MongooseCmr
Joined: Sat Dec 15, 2012 11:50 pm

Re: MoviePass

#292 Post by MongooseCmr » Wed May 16, 2018 9:47 am

This will be the only time I see a company threaten to go under and wish they would just raise their prices. Every vocal user of this I know in person or online goes enough to justify a 20 or 25 dollar monthly fee. Even dead months like this last one or Feb-March got enough out of me to validate that price.

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hearthesilence
Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2005 4:22 am
Location: NYC

Re: MoviePass

#293 Post by hearthesilence » Wed May 16, 2018 4:44 pm


Peter-H
Joined: Fri Jun 04, 2010 5:02 pm

Re: MoviePass

#294 Post by Peter-H » Thu May 17, 2018 1:09 pm

I don't understand, if Moviepass is failing because 10 dollars a month is too low for them to make a profit why don't they just raise the price of the subscription?

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Luke M
Joined: Thu Jul 12, 2007 9:21 pm

Re: MoviePass

#295 Post by Luke M » Wed May 23, 2018 10:25 pm

One thing I noticed today in the app, under account settings and plan/billing there’s a field for next billing date. It used to say exact date when plan would renew (sometime January 2019) but now it says Unknown.

Could be nothing but it could also be something.

wattsup32
Joined: Wed Aug 01, 2007 12:00 pm

Re: MoviePass

#296 Post by wattsup32 » Wed May 23, 2018 11:11 pm

Luke M wrote:
Wed May 23, 2018 10:25 pm
Could be nothing but it could also be something.
I'd bet my skyscraper of kevyip that it's one of those.

I am, as of my last two movies, a member of the ticket stub photo club. It's a minor annoyance and nothing more.

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FigrinDan
The Immortal Dead
Joined: Tue Aug 16, 2016 2:43 pm
Location: Hawaii

Re: MoviePass

#297 Post by FigrinDan » Thu May 24, 2018 10:09 pm

Although tempting, I have not subscribed to MoviePass for multiple reasons. (It seems like a "too good to be true" deal, the fluctuating subscription prices, the ever-changing rules & restrictions, problems with membership cards, the incomprehesible business model, I'm procrastinating, etc.)

However, I have seen more positive news recently concerning their main competitor, Sinemia.
Does anyone have experience with Sinemia? I'd love to hear your thoughts? Thank you.

yoshimori
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 2:03 am
Location: LA CA

Re: MoviePass

#298 Post by yoshimori » Thu May 24, 2018 11:36 pm

I've got Sinemia for high-end (e.g. LA Arclight) and other MP-blocked screenings. Works in a straightforward way. My plan is 3 films a month for $16 or $17, so one Arclight film pays for the card. I'm also supporting the more sensible-minded Sinemia by using the MP every time I can and the Sinemia only when I can't. So Sinemia isn't always losing quite as much money on me as they might.

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Luke M
Joined: Thu Jul 12, 2007 9:21 pm

Re: MoviePass

#299 Post by Luke M » Fri May 25, 2018 12:11 am

Sinemia doesn’t seem worth it for someone like me who lives in a rural/suburb area. But those who live in a city can probably get more mileage out of it.


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