The new MoviePass works on a credit system and there are four different subscription levels: Basic ($10 per month/34 credits), Standard ($20 per month/72 credits), Premium ($30 per month/113 credits) and Pro ($40 per month/640 credits). Basically, seeing a movie in a certain theater, at a certain time, will cost a certain number of credits. More desirable times cost more credits and the number of credits required fluctuates. Basic plan users can, as a result, expect to be able to watch between one and three movies per month, depending on the cost per movie.
Unused credits will carry over to the new month, and a user will be able to accumulate a maximum of two months of credits. The plans are also more expensive in certain cities, like New York City. Subscribers will receive a card in the mail, which they will use to pay for theater admission. However, certain theaters allow online reservations through the app.
As previous users of the service will surely remember, things started out well when MoviePass offered a remarkably cheap way to watch lots of movies. Unfortunately, that business model was also notoriously unsustainable. The service ran into numerous problems, shares plummeting, and things came to a complete halt in 2019. Since then, other theater chains have started their own subscription services, including AMC Stubbs A-List and Alamo Season Pass at the Alamo Drafthouse. MoviePass now has competition, but those services also demonstrated that a sustainable model is possible.
Will things work this time? The jury is still out. This could prove helpful in getting the box office back to pre-pandemic levels. On the other hand, many former subscribers may have understandable trust issues. We’ll see how it goes in the coming weeks.
Those interested can sign up at MoviePass.com.
