The @Kush_Hayes 2018 Moviepass Experience
My attendance to the cinema increased quite a bit in the last two years. We started this thing in 2017 so naturally my attendance was already on the rise. But lets go back one year earlier to 2016 and after combing though 300 of the 750+ movies released, I was able to recognize 13 titles. I saw many more on Netflix and other VOD services, but 13 movies were seen and I feel comfortable saying thats the normal average of movies I could afford.
Then Moviepass came into my life. Felt too good to be true, and ultimately would be too good to be true, but just because the business model couldnt sustain itself for what it was promising and people were taking advantage of. I decided to throw $90 in for the Yearly service that was promising One 2-D movie everyday for 365 days, including any service fees at the box office. I received my card in the mail on Nov 30th and found my way to my usual spot listed on their app.
On December 2 2017 I started the Moviepass Experience with Murder on the Orient Express. I couldnt believe my eyes when I saw that digital display of “APPROVED” and almost felt like I had just gotten away with something wrong. In that single month I managed to exceed the attendance number in 2016 by a whole three films. 16 movies. Thats probably more than I had seen in the first 11 months of 2017.
My Moviepass experience ultimately ends after 9 months as mentioned above, Moviepass started going through money issues after the first six months of that yearly plan with an overwhelming subscriber increase by a whole 1.5 million. I am amazed they are still open now, and even amazed I never experienced any of the customer service issues that I would see plagued with in their Twitter and Facebook comments.
After 9 months and with the issues that would come with them changing their terms of service I still managed to make it to the theater 85 times. Eventually the pressure from the public would strain them and they would offer an early termination with a prorated refund and I would be one of them who would accept. And to give them more credit, my refund was processed two weeks ahead of schedule.
It was a great ride though. I was able to go to just about every theater in San Francisco and would see movies I would have never had the opportunity to see, or think of seeing with a crowd. I discovered great theaters, and amazing movies, that maybe I would only see on VOD in the near future. Thanks to the smaller theaters and Alamo Drafthouse I would see classics that I grew up with or never thought I would ever see on the big screen.
I saw movies from China and the UAE. I saw movies opening night as well as movies from 30 years ago. I saw mainstream schlock and tiny independant dramas no one heard of and almost all of the 2017 Oscar nominees.
Lets do the Moviepass Math:
Not including my prorated refund, I saw 85 movies for $0.94 a piece. I racked up $1031.85 in ticket prices and any fees not kept track of. The average ticket price was $11.46. I saw a movie ever 3+ days.
To finish out the rest of the year, December 2nd 2017 to December 2nd 2018, we tried a few other Movie Subscription services, and of course we Paid Out Of Pocket (or POOPd) for a handful of movies for around a total of $109.
Sinemia, while a good deal for what theyre charging and what theyre offering through their many different tiers, ultimately was not a good experience for me. After Three months at $21.99 a month, I only saw 5 movies, and charged them over $150 in ticket prices. What I liked about this service, was being able to see “Premium” formats like 3d and IMAX as well as charging a second guest ticket for nothing extra. I understand they are now also having their share of Customer Service issues.
AMC Theaters dropped the hammer on both of these services and released their A-List subscription in July. I would subscribe in Aug due to scheduling and frankly, if youre near an AMC theater, its just the best. Currently for $19.95 a month you can see (nearly) anything 12-15 times a month for a max of Three Movies a week. From August 6th to December 2nd, we’ve seen 34 movies at over $622 including their fees. Fees alone totaled up to $69.
In the last 365 days, December 2nd to December 2nd, we saw over 130 movies. For a total of $345 spent we accrued over $1800 in tickets. We spent an average of more than 11 days in a theater chair. Because we manage to get to a movie on time we watched an average of 32 hours movie trailers, NOT including any pre trailers like Noovie. Although we would gladly spend more time with Maria Menunos.
Whether the movie was good or bad, Im only disappointed that I didnt see more movies.
© 2018 TheBosNet Family All Rights Reserved
