posted 06-28-2011 06:16 PM                

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Netflix’s all-you-can-watch model works so fantastically for so many cinephiles, it was only a matter of time before someone attempted to do the same with films still in theaters. Enter MoviePass, a new service which will allow subscribers to watch an unlimited number of theatrical releases for just $50 a month. Not too shabby, if you’re the kind of person who goes to the movies at least once a week.

Through MoviePass (via Wired) subscribers will be able to find showtime listings and purchase tickets on their smartphones, and then use their smartphones as tickets to get into the actual film. The $50 gets subscribers as many movies as they can watch, though 3-D and IMAX films will incur an additional $3 surcharge. In addition, MoviePass will offer customers early looks at new trailers, occasional invites to promotional screenings, and the opportunity to pre-order DVDs “as soon as they walk out of the theater.”

Of course, MoviePass won’t be for everyone — at least not yet. I suspect many of you watch enough movies to make the subscription fees worth it, but I have plenty of non-cinephile friends who only catch movies in the theater once a month or so; the service would be extremely cost-inefficient for them. Moviegoers who live in areas where movies aren’t as expensive, or who usually get student or senior discounts, would also be less likely to benefit from the service. MoviePass will probably be most useful for cinema-obsessed folks who have several local theaters, as opposed to those who only have one major theater in their immediate area. But if MoviePass does well in its initial launch, I’m sure the company will keep looking for ways to expand its appeal. A “limited pass” plan is currently being developed, which would allow subscribers four movies a month for $30.

If MoviePass takes off, it could be great news for studios and theaters as well as audiences. Studios would have the opportunity to promote their films to exactly the kind of people who actually buy tickets and DVDs, and the flat fee could encourage filmgoers to check out films they might otherwise skip. Larger audiences would also be great for theaters, who earn more money from concessions the more people actually show up to the theater.

MoviePass beta is set to launch Wednesday with 21 Bay Area theaters (see list below), and then expand to other U.S. cities over the next few months. The company is targeting a fall date for a national launch. The current goal for the service is to offer access to 40% of all U.S. theaters at that point.

Here are the Bay Area theaters that will participate in Wednesday’s beta launch:

Albany Twin, Albany
California Theatres, Berkeley
Shattuck Cinemas, Berkeley
Camera 7, Campbell
AMC Cupertino Square 16, Cupertino
AMC Bay Street 16, Emeryville
Camera Cinemas, Los Gatos
Piedmont Theatre, Oakland
Aquarius, Palo Alto
The Clay, San Francisco
Bridge, San Francisco
Lumiere, San Francisco
Embarcadero, San Francisco
Opera Plaza Cinemas, San Francisco
AMC Van Ness 14, San Francisco
Big Cinemas Towne 3, San Jose
Camera 3, San Jose
Camera 12, San Jose
AMC Eastridge 15, San Jose
AMC Saratoga 14, San Jose
AMC Mercado 20, Santa Clara
Discuss: Will you sign up for MoviePass when it comes to your town? I’m curious to see which of the NYC theaters they’ll actually sign up for the service — if too many of my favorite indie theaters are out, I would be less likely to join. If any you Bay Area folks try the service out in the next couple of days, please share your thoughts in the comments.

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posted 06-29-2011 11:50 AM                    

• Users are limited to seeing one movie per day. That's a show stopper for those of us who like to see multiple movies on a rainy Saturday.
• Users can only see a movie one time. If you want to re-watch the same film, you’ll need to pay for your ticket.
• Tickets are non-transferrable. I wonder how they are going to enforce this.
• Tickets must be purchased the day of the show.

posted 06-30-2011 04:06 AM                       

quote: Mitchell Dvoskin

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Users are limited to seeing one movie per day. That's a show stopper for those of us who like to see multiple movies on a rainy Saturday.
Users can only see a movie one time. If you want to re-watch the same film, you’ll need to pay for your ticket.
Tickets are non-transferrable. I wonder how they are going to enforce this.
Tickets must be purchased the day of the show.

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posted 07-01-2011 12:03 AM                    

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AMC Theatres and other cinema chains say they will not participate in all-you-can-watch movie service MoviePass, leading the startup to put its beta on hold just as the blockbuster Fourth of July weekend is getting under way.

After MoviePass announced its launch earlier this week, movie exhibitors have been pulling away from the service, which would offer users unlimited movie screenings for $50 per month and allow them to buy tickets using their smartphones. AMC even claimed MoviePass included the theater chain without its consent.

“Plans for this program were developed without AMC’s knowledge or input,” Stephen Colanero, AMC Theatres‘ marketing chief, said Thursday in a press release. “It was news to us to see that we were participants and we will be communicating to those theaters they are not to accept MoviePass.”

Camera Cinemas will also turn away customers who attempt to use MoviePass, director of operations Dominic Espinosa said in an interview with Bloomberg. Landmark Theatres CEO Ted Mundorff told TheWrap he didn’t know about the service prior to the announcement of the beta launch.

“We are stunned that an announcement like this was made, and they ‘forgot’ to discuss it with their clients,” Mundorff said. “We are not interested in outside entities setting ticket prices for us.”

MoviePass coordinated its ticketing with online ticket sellers, instead of cinemas, after not being able to get exhibitors to sign on. The company hoped to get a proof-of-concept out of its private beta, scheduled to take place over the July 4 weekend in the San Francisco Bay Area, and use that to get the movie chains on board, said MoviePass co-founder Stacy Spikes in a phone interview with Wired.com.

With the beta on hold, the company is currently looking at other theaters to test the service, with the aim of resuming the trial period and proving the model to theater chains.

“We’re enthusiastic that once we can walk them through the service they’ll be excited, we just haven’t had that opportunity yet,” Spikes said. “The silver lining of all of this is that this has created the ability to have that dialog now.”

One of AMC’s issues with MoviePass is how purchases of the all-you-can watch pass would be credited to its AMC Stubs members, who receive rewards for ticket and concession purchases.

“As MoviePass was created without AMC’s input and testing, we cannot confidently say the guest experience would be positive for our guests and specifically our AMC Stubs members,” Colanero said in the statement.
‘We kind of turned the spigot off.’

When MoviePass announced its private beta earlier this week, the company was scheduled to launch its service in the San Francisco Bay Area over the July 4 weekend, and claimed 21 theaters were participating. The service began to launch Wednesday but “we kind of turned the spigot off,” Spikes said.

Despite the reaction from theater chains, Spikes said he remains confident MoviePass can move forward.

“If we have to do some modifications to get people to do that, we’re glad to,” Spikes said. “We want to help bring people back to theaters.”

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posted 07-01-2011 09:28 AM                    

quote: Hollywood Reporter

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Even though MoviePass proposes to pay full price for tickets, and make back the difference selling data and targeted marketing, the idea of steep discounting is discomforting for exhibitors.

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