A MOVIE A DAY, EVERY DAY

MoviePass radically reduces its price

HOW IS THIS FOR A DEAL? Take your $9.95 a month MoviePass card into any theater that takes debit cards, swipe, and get a ticket, one per day. This is the new deal from MoviePass, and it has proved popular— subscriptions jumped from around 20,000 to over 150,000 in just two days.

MoviePass has been around since 2011. It started with a cumbersome voucher system, and then ran through various pricing structures, none especially cheap. In 2016, one of Netflix’s founders, Mitch Lowe, became CEO. This year, the company was bought out by the analytics firm Helios and Matheson, and on the same day it announced the business model that has done Netflix and others so well: a cheap flat-rate subscription that lets you binge if you wish.

The huge surge in subscriptions has prompted teething troubles, including crashed websites, and delayed delivery of membership cards. Supposedly, you can also access the service using a smartphone app to buy e-tickets, but few theaters accept them, and it has been troublesome. The app has also proved to be awkward, demanding, and unpopular.

MoviePass faces problems from within the industry, too, including a spat with AMC Theaters, the largest chain in the country, which is reportedly looking for a way to block MoviePass subscriptions. It claims the deal is “shaky and unsustainable.” Come on, guys, you still get paid full price, and think of all the extra popcorn you can sell.

Will it work? Mitch Lowe says he has the numbers and data to show it will. The company wants your data, of course, to use for targeted advertising and promotions. It also hopes to get a slice of movie marketing cash, from recommendations and “pay for performance” (basically a kickback). MoviePass even hopes to invest in filmmaking in time. Heavy users will lose the company money, but if it can reach big numbers, it’ll even out. There are a lot of industry people watching this one.