MoviePass Discussion

Mindfreak191 · Jul 2, 2018

Arttemis said:
This sounds amazing! If regal wasn't literally the only theater in my city, I'd absolutely switch.

Yeah, I'm lucky enough to live in NYC so there's AMC all around, also I forgot to mention that all AMC theaters have reserved seating so I don't have to worry about good seats (usually when I would moviepass at Regal it would mean that I had to be at the theater at least 30 min before to snag a good seat).

Masquerade Overture · Jul 3, 2018

SeanM said:
I'm in Jersey as well and like you said AMC is everywhere around here. The huge one that anchors Garden State Plaza Mall has 20 screens and gets all the smaller indie movies when they launch. So I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything in terms of selection.

16 screens, but considering how (like you said) most indie movies and special screenings (they just had the 70mm Space Odyssey print there last week) hit that place up it's pretty awesome.

A-List looks intriguing; but unless MoviePass starts putting some super offensive limitations on things or raises the price, I'm just gonna stick with that.

netguy503 · Jul 4, 2018

So a friend of mine signed up for the annual plan early last January (when they where doing the Christmas promotion). He just now told me moviepass emailed him and told him they have recently emailed him and said he only has the plan now until August and he will have to reup his annual plan if he wants to continue to use it. WTF is up with that? Anyone else on the annual plan gotten that email?

And for all this negative talk on "surge pricing" I just wanted to ask, doesn't your regal do this on the first week of new movies? Because mine does and I want to say it's a extra $2-$5 (I don't know because when they told me about it I went for another movie). This was just implemented a week or two ago (I want to say it was JP week I first noticed it) and I was told by a manage that it's for the entire first week of a new movie at Regal from now on. If all you guys use MP at Regal anyway (I can't as mine is a IMAX theater and greyed out on the MP app) you might have just overlooked it/not noticed it but surge pricing is happening even outside of MP (again, at least in my area/ Regal theaters). Do they get a pass from the hate because they aren't tied to a movie subscription service? I think it's a scummy thing to do all around.

snipe_25 · Jul 4, 2018

netguy503 said:
So a friend of mine signed up for the annual plan early last January (when they where doing the Christmas promotion). He just now told me moviepass emailed him and told him they have recently emailed him and said he only has the plan now until August and he will have to reup his annual plan if he wants to continue to use it. WTF is up with that? Anyone else on the annual plan gotten that email?

And for all this negative talk on "surge pricing" I just wanted to ask, doesn't your regal do this on the first week of new movies? Because mine does and I want to say it's a extra $2-$5 (I don't know because when they told me about it I went for another movie). This was just implemented a week or two ago (I want to say it was JP week I first noticed it) and I was told by a manage that it's for the entire first week of a new movie at Regal from now on. If all you guys use MP at Regal anyway (I can't as mine is a IMAX theater and greyed out on the MP app) you might have just overlooked it/not noticed it but surge pricing is happening even outside of MP (again, at least in my area/ Regal theaters). Do they get a pass from the hate because they aren't tied to a movie subscription service? I think it's a scummy thing to do all around.

I signed up in March for the annual plan (monthly wasn't currently being offered) and haven't received an email saying the subscription will be cut short yet.

Boogs31 · Jul 4, 2018

netguy503 said:
So a friend of mine signed up for the annual plan early last January (when they where doing the Christmas promotion). He just now told me moviepass emailed him and told him they have recently emailed him and said he only has the plan now until August and he will have to reup his annual plan if he wants to continue to use it. WTF is up with that? Anyone else on the annual plan gotten that email?

And for all this negative talk on "surge pricing" I just wanted to ask, doesn't your regal do this on the first week of new movies? Because mine does and I want to say it's a extra $2-$5 (I don't know because when they told me about it I went for another movie). This was just implemented a week or two ago (I want to say it was JP week I first noticed it) and I was told by a manage that it's for the entire first week of a new movie at Regal from now on. If all you guys use MP at Regal anyway (I can't as mine is a IMAX theater and greyed out on the MP app) you might have just overlooked it/not noticed it but surge pricing is happening even outside of MP (again, at least in my area/ Regal theaters). Do they get a pass from the hate because they aren't tied to a movie subscription service? I think it's a scummy thing to do all around.

I'm on the annual plan and I can report I have received no such email. That sucks though.

I had such an awful first impression of moviepass after my card took over 2 months to arrive, but since then the experience has been smooth sailing for me.

It also helps that I live in a smaller town so I don't have to worry about reserved seating like some. I also rarely see the same movie multiple times so that change didn't bother me. The taking a picture of the ticket stub is such a minor inconvenience I can't believe it has spawned such negative reactions.

Reading this thread I feel like I'm the only one that still loves the service.

b33r · Jul 4, 2018

I still love it, until it dies.

DrScruffleton · Jul 4, 2018

I really wish there was an AMC by me, closest one is an hour away....

b33r · Jul 4, 2018

matrixman92 said:
I really wish there was an AMC by me, closest one is an hour away....

Same boat here, not quite an hour but close enough.

Link · Jul 4, 2018

I'm sure Regal has something in the works to compete with MoviePass and A-List.

Noshino · Jul 5, 2018

https://support.moviepass.com/hc/en-us/articles/360006712492-How-does-Peak-Pricing-work-

I wonder how far ahead in advance they ll be able to assess demand

thediamondage · Jul 5, 2018

Surge pricing starting to rollout apparently, emails sent yadda yadda. Rolls out the day Ant Man and the Wasp releases, what a coincidence
https://mailchi.mp/moviepass/introducing-peak-pricing-210585

Their "sample" surcharge of $3.43 kinda makes it a joke, just going to 2 "opening weekend" movies pretty much makes A-List a far better value proposition than MoviePass, as long as you have a good AMC theater near you. If Regal introduces their own monthly sub plan soon it'll be a very small, niche market for which MP is better: those who like to see a LOT of indie movies on weekdays at smaller theaters.

Stock is at all time lows of 19 cents a share, they are supposed to have their shareholder meeting this month to authorize a reverse split and allowing them to issue another 1.5 billion (!) shares.

I thought for sure the company would run out of money by the end of June so my predictive abilities are crap.

snipe_25 · Jul 5, 2018

Just got the email as well. Being a current annual subscriber, I'm just holding onto it for dear life until they go under.

Noshino · Jul 5, 2018

thediamondage said:
Surge pricing starting to rollout apparently, emails sent yadda yadda. Rolls out the day Ant Man and the Wasp releases, what a coincidence
https://mailchi.mp/moviepass/introducing-peak-pricing-210585

Their "sample" surcharge of $3.43 kinda makes it a joke, just going to 2 "opening weekend" movies pretty much makes A-List a far better value proposition than MoviePass, as long as you have a good AMC theater near you. If Regal introduces their own monthly sub plan soon it'll be a very small, niche market for which MP is better: those who like to see a LOT of indie movies on weekdays at smaller theaters.

Stock is at all time lows of 19 cents a share, they are supposed to have their shareholder meeting this month to authorize a reverse split and allowing them to issue another 1.5 billion (!) shares.

I thought for sure the company would run out of money by the end of June so my predictive abilities are crap.

Or those that aren't impatient and are willing to go to earlier on the day or a later date showings...

the fact that im not restricted to a specific chain makes MP better than AMC's A List

Zej · Jul 5, 2018

Noshino said:
https://support.moviepass.com/hc/en-us/articles/360006712492-How-does-Peak-Pricing-work-

I wonder how far ahead in advance they ll be able to assess demand

Yeah, if it's truly a dynamic thing, I feel like if you book at midnight you might get by. Of course, we'll have to wait and see how to "game" it to avoid fees opening weekend. If demand is only based on moviepass subs going to the movie that is. Not sure how they'd have dynamic ticket data for tickets outside of their purview (I'd hope they're not paying for a third-party api).

PassiveObserver · Jul 5, 2018

AMC will never offer the breadth of indie and foreign films that MoviePass makes available in my area, so it's ride or die with MP.

Zej · Jul 5, 2018

PassiveObserver said:
AMC will never offer the breadth of indie and foreign films that MoviePass makes available in my area, so it's ride or die with MP.

Pretty much the same for me. I'm hoping the surge pricing doesn't affect my schedule much, but being able to support the local university theater is a huge perk.

I still love and use the service, but they could be better at messaging. I think they're improving their communication though.

Darknight · Jul 5, 2018

thediamondage said:
Their "sample" surcharge of $3.43 kinda makes it a joke, just going to 2 "opening weekend" movies pretty much makes A-List a far better value proposition than MoviePass, as long as you have a good AMC theater near you. If Regal introduces their own monthly sub plan soon it'll be a very small, niche market for which MP is better: those who like to see a LOT of indie movies on weekdays at smaller theaters.

I don't think this changes much if you're in a big area. Movie Pass already makes seeing a big movie on opening night a chore because you have to buy tickets on the day you're going to see it. Chances are, the good seats are already taken anyway because you have to buy tickets last minute. I never use Movie Pass to see opening day movies already because of how it's structured. This surcharge isn't going to change that behavior since MP already makes me avoid opening day using them.

SeanM · Jul 5, 2018

Kinda funny how they roll this stuff out with every Marvel movie. Black Panther was the ticket stub verification beta (I think), Avengers Infinity War was the no repeats surprise, now surge pricing coincides with the Ant-Man and the Wasp launch.

Based on their own example images, if you saw just two movies in all of July (say Ant-Man and Mission Impossible), both in surge pricing, you'd be paying MoviePass $16.86 for July. AMC A-LIst is only $3 more and you could see those both in Dolby Cinema along with ten other premium showings. Or you could just see those two movies during $5 Tuesdays and save 7 bucks.

With surge pricing MoviePass no longer seems like a good value.

Jawmuncher · Jul 5, 2018

SeanM said:
Kinda funny how they roll this stuff out with every Marvel movie. Black Panther was the ticket stub verification beta (I think), Avengers Infinity War was the no repeats surprise, now surge pricing coincides with the Ant-Man and the Wasp launch.

Based on their own example images, if you saw just two movies in all of July (say Ant-Man and Mission Impossible), both in surge pricing, you'd be paying MoviePass $16.86 for July. AMC A-LIst is only $3 more and you could see those both in Dolby Cinema along with ten other premium showings. Or you could just see those two movies during $5 Tuesdays and save 7 bucks.

With surge pricing MoviePass no longer seems like a good value.

Yep. The only real benefit of Moviepass right now is that you can use it at any theater. But the surge-price things just doesn't seem good.
I have a local theater that is never crowded even at "peak" times. If i'm gonna be charged for seeing a movie that isn't even half-way sold out. The system is kinda jank.

Zej · Jul 5, 2018

They're hoping the whales that prop up the freemium world will keep them afloat. I'll never pay for surge.

Creamie · Jul 5, 2018

I really hope Regal rolls out an AMC-like subscription.

My local Regal just made all seats reserved seats, even for older movies. Since we can't buy tickets in advance we are at the mercy of luck to get decent seats. Really puts a damper for movies that are new, and popular because most of the good seats will probably be already taken. I would be totally fine with it if we could buy the tickets in advance.

Darknight · Jul 5, 2018

Jawmuncher said:
Yep. The only real benefit of Moviepass right now is that you can use it at any theater. But the surge-price things just doesn't seem good.
I have a local theater that is never crowded even at "peak" times. If i'm gonna be charged for seeing a movie that isn't even half-way sold out. The system is kinda jank.

You probably are because it's going to be based on nationwide ticket sales it sounds like.

Kirblar · Jul 5, 2018

Every Thursday the movie showtimes break at my local Alamo anyway :-P

Can't surge on an unlisted showtime.

Jawmuncher · Jul 5, 2018

Darknight said:
You probably are because it's going to be based on nationwide ticket sales it sounds like.

Ugh. I expected as much but was hoping it wouldn't be the case.

Rvaan · Jul 5, 2018

Creamie said:
I really hope Regal rolls out an AMC-like subscription.

My local Regal just made all seats reserved seats, even for older movies. Since we can't buy tickets in advance we are at the mercy of luck to get decent seats. Really puts a damper for movies that are new, and popular because most of the good seats will probably be already taken. I would be totally fine with it if we could buy the tickets in advance.

You and me both brother.

Zej · Jul 5, 2018

Kirblar said:
Every Thursday the movie showtimes break at my local Alamo anyway :-P

Can't surge on an unlisted showtime.

I have a feeling that "unlisted" will mysteriously disappear again when this rolls out.

I'm cynical about the surge being truly dynamic, but they say they have the "trending towards surge" status...

Book at midnight.

DJChuy · Jul 5, 2018

It's cool they're giving us a heads up about the surge pricing. I normally go in the morning, so it should be fine for me...hopefully.

Creamie · Jul 5, 2018

DJChuy said:
It's cool they're giving us a heads up about the surge pricing. I normally go in the morning, so it should be fine for me...hopefully.

Did they say anything about only certain times getting surge pricing? I saw the email about it, but I don't see how they can see with any accuracy how busy each individual showtime is at each individual theater. I am just going to be expecting to see a surge price for the first two weeks for most movies going forward.

Darknight · Jul 5, 2018

Creamie said:
Did they say anything about only certain times getting surge pricing? I saw the email about it, but I don't see how they can see with any accuracy how busy each individual showtime is at each individual theater. I am just going to be expecting to see a surge price for the first two weeks for most movies going forward.

I don't think they're doing it based off individual showings at individual theaters. I think they're doing surge pricing based off how many people are buying tickets for shows nationally through them. It'll be like, if a show hits X number of tickets sold across all Movie Pass subscribers, turn on the surge price.

DJChuy · Jul 5, 2018

Creamie said:
Did they say anything about only certain times getting surge pricing? I saw the email about it, but I don't see how they can see with any accuracy how busy each individual showtime is at each individual theater. I am just going to be expecting to see a surge price for the first two weeks for most movies going forward.

Idk how they'll figure out the surge price showtimes for a specific unless they base it on the app activity from region to region. But the red/grey icon will be helpful. I'm hoping everyone wakes up late.

Noshino · Jul 5, 2018

Jawmuncher said:
Yep. The only real benefit of Moviepass right now is that you can use it at any theater. But the surge-price things just doesn't seem good.
I have a local theater that is never crowded even at "peak" times. If i'm gonna be charged for seeing a movie that isn't even half-way sold out. The system is kinda jank.

The maximum monthly coverage of A List in my area would come to $ 236.28 per month (3 IMAX movies per week), compared to MP's $375.94 (1 movie a day at AMC, and thats with $5 tuesdays as well).

Even if I wanted to see an IMAX movie here and there, paying for it out of pocket would still make MP worth more.

SeanM · Jul 5, 2018

Darknight said:
I don't think they're doing it based off individual showings at individual theaters. I think they're doing surge pricing based off how many people are buying tickets for shows nationally through them. It'll be like, if a show hits X number of tickets sold across all Movie Pass subscribers, turn on the surge price.

Yup section 2.4.2 of their newly updated TOS refers to it as a "system-wide ticket inventory." So a movie could be super popular in another state and you might have to pay surge pricing despite being the only person in your theater.

Also someone asked before if surge pricing stacked with premium upcharge and the answer is yes. From the same TOS section: "To the extent that IMAX or RealD 3D or other premium format showings are ever offered to subscribers, these showings will also be subject to surcharge pricing."

AndreGX · Jul 5, 2018

SeanM said:
With surge pricing MoviePass no longer seems like a good value.

Until Surge Pricing dominates the available showtimes, MoviePass is still an absurdly good value. They offer alternative screenings right within the app itself. It doesn't seem hard to work around these restrictions, unless you have to a see a movie opening weekend during prime hours for whatever reason, in which case you'll still have one exception a month

Of course, this is just based on how it works now--if they start appearing frequently beyond opening weekend for most of the day, then I'll revisit this stance

Deleted member 32822 · Jul 5, 2018

I always watch the big new releases on Thursday nights. Hope this doesn't effect those showtimes.

metsallica · Jul 5, 2018

$7.95 for 30 movies a month is a terrible value!

We no longer have any concept of what things should cost in this society. Sigh.

Deleted member 198 · Jul 5, 2018

I still have yet to actually get a prompt to take a picture of my stub

Absoludacrous · Jul 5, 2018

Magwik said:
I still have yet to actually get a prompt to take a picture of my stub

Same

Dreams-Visions · Jul 5, 2018

Magwik said:
I still have yet to actually get a prompt to take a picture of my stub

same.

SeanM · Jul 5, 2018

AndreGX said:
Until Surge Pricing dominates the available showtimes, MoviePass is still an absurdly good value. They offer alternative screenings right within the app itself. It doesn't seem hard to work around these restrictions, unless you have to a see a movie opening weekend during prime hours for whatever reason, in which case you'll still have one exception a month

Of course, this is just based on how it works now--if they start appearing frequently beyond opening weekend for most of the day, then I'll revisit this stance

They're losing $40-45 million dollars per month, their stock is at 19 cents a share and they're just barely staying afloat. Given their dire financial situation, if you don't think they'll inevitably apply surge pricing to the majority of movies going forward, I guess you're far more optimistic than I am. (And according to their email the peak pass isn't launching until a later date so the one exemption per month won't be available for a while yet either.)

Viewing a different movie or attending a matinee showtime is not really a valid alternative for the majority of customers. Most people work 9-5 day jobs and only have free time at night showtimes or on the weekends. They'll often be subject to surge pricing and won't be able to take off work to attend an early morning showtime. And the dudebros that were hyped up to see the latest gory action flick or dinosaurs eating people in Jurassic Park probably aren't going to find the Mr. Rogers documentary a valid alternative either.

That wouldn't fly on any other subscription service I can think of either - imagine if HBO charged their subscribers a surge pricing fee to watch the latest episode of Game of Thrones on Sunday nights, restricted their back catalog on top of that (cause no repeats), and then offered up a Sesame Street episode to watch instead for those that didn't want to pay the surge pricing. People would say fuck this.

LycanXIII · Jul 5, 2018

Why are you choosing to do surge pricing instead of just raising the price? Wouldn't it make more sense to just charge $15 or $20 like AMC?

By keeping the unlimited price as our base offering, you still get the best deal possible. AMC's higher price means you pay more for way fewer options. Our model though lets you continue to see movies in a way that works best for you.

https://support.moviepass.com/hc/en-us/articles/360005563131-What-is-Peak-Pricing-

But I can't see movies in a way that works best for me, because right now, there's three movies, Ant-Man, Purge, and Hereditary, that I haven't seen. I would switch to the AMC plan in a heartbeat if there was one nearby. I saw 4 movies in June because of no repeats. How is 4 movies for $10 better than 12 movies for $20?

AndreGX · Jul 5, 2018

SeanM said:
They're losing $40-45 million dollars per month, their stock is at 19 cents a share and they're just barely staying afloat. Given their dire financial situation, if you don't think they'll inevitably apply surge pricing to the majority of movies going forward, I guess you're far more optimistic than I am. (And according to their email the peak pass isn't launching until a later date so the one exemption per month won't be available for a while yet either.)

I never said anything about whether or not it would affect most movies, only showtimes. Regardless, it could be applied to every movie opening weekend and I'd still argue it's a ridiculous deal.

Tthis is $10 a month (or less!) for theoretically a movie a day. In most markets, a single showing recovers the entire cost, if not 50%+ in others like San Francisco.

SeanM said:
Viewing a different movie or attending a matinee showtime is not really a valid alternative for the majority of customers. Most people work 9-5 day jobs and only have free time at night showtimes or on the weekends. They'll often be subject to surge pricing and won't be able to take off work to attend an early morning showtime. And the dudebros that were hyped up to see the latest gory action flick or dinosaurs eating people in Jurassic Park probably aren't going to find the Mr. Rogers documentary a valid alternative either.

Most people don't see movies opening weekend, so I'd argue it's not just a valid alternative, but most people's modus operandi.

metsallica said:
We no longer have any concept of what things should cost in this society. Sigh.

Pretty much this.

Zej · Jul 5, 2018

LycanXIII said:
https://support.moviepass.com/hc/en-us/articles/360005563131-What-is-Peak-Pricing-

But I can't see movies in a way that works best for me, because right now, there's three movies, Ant-Man, Purge, and Hereditary, that I haven't seen. I would switch to the AMC plan in a heartbeat if there was one nearby. I saw 4 movies in June because of no repeats. How is 4 movies for $10 better than 16 movies for $20?

16 Movies?

LycanXIII · Jul 5, 2018

Jezze said:
16 Movies?

AMC is 4 per week, right?

Edit: 3 Per week

Zej · Jul 5, 2018

LycanXIII said:
AMC is 4 per week, right?

Edit: 3 Per week

...and MP is capped at one a day. Doesn't mean anyone is likely to use every possible day for either service.

Edit: If you're on the iheartradio three month plan, which caps at 4 a month, I'm truly sorry. That plan is a krok and you should get out of it asap.

LycanXIII · Jul 5, 2018

Jezze said:
...and MP is capped at one a day. Doesn't mean anyone is likely to use every possible day for either service.

Edit: If you're on the iheartradio three month plan, which caps at 4 a month, I'm truly sorry. That plan is a krok and you should get out of it asap.

No, I've got the one per day one, but I'm talking about how I'm limited to one showing of each movie. In a slow month, that could be only 4 showings. Where as with the AMC one, you can go to repeat showings.

jwk94 · Jul 5, 2018

Noshino said:
the fact that im not restricted to a specific chain makes MP better than AMC's A List

Yep, same here.

Unlovedjew · Jul 5, 2018

jwk94 said:
Yep, same here.

110% agree. the flexibility of moviepass working nearly every where makes it by far the best option.

Zej · Jul 5, 2018

LycanXIII said:
No, I've got the one per day one, but I'm talking about how I'm limited to one showing of each movie. In a slow month, that could be only 4 showings. Where as with the AMC one, you can go to repeat showings.

I suppose, but banking on repeat viewings to rack up the value is a stretch. Maybe 1 or 2 at the most a month would I want to watch in theaters twice, otherwise there are plenty of new films to see. If you only watch tentpoles, then the AMC deal is perfect for that.

For me, killing repeat viewings just killed prescreening to see if it's worth taking the family to. We just use $5 tuesdays for that now.

A third of the films I've seen aren't shown in mainstream theaters, so even if AMC was in my immediate area, that'd be a huge loss for me personally.

wizard · Jul 5, 2018

Hopefully the surge thing doesn't happen when I try to see ant man tonight.

Terraj_RSL · Jul 5, 2018

metsallica said:
If you just did it I believe you can put the cost of the ticket towards your sub. Ad for a-list before Soldado made it seem that way. Contact them!

I saw DeadPool 2 back in May when it released, so I don't think they'll still honor a ticket price adjustment lol.

Mindfreak191 said:
Yeah, I'm lucky enough to live in NYC so there's AMC all around, also I forgot to mention that all AMC theaters have reserved seating so I don't have to worry about good seats (usually when I would moviepass at Regal it would mean that I had to be at the theater at least 30 min before to snag a good seat).

Omg, I love the reserved seating too, my local AMC theater switched to assigned seats last year. It's located inside the mall mall so I can just buy my tickets early then shop/eat until it starts without having to bogard the good seats.

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