MoviePass Is Changing Their Plan Yet Again, Introducing Tiers and Georgraphic Pricing
Still have MoviePass? Getting less mileage out of it than you used it in the days when you could see all the movies you wanted for $10 a month? Well, guess what? They’re changing their plans yet again — and this time you’re going to pay based on where you live.
Variety has a new interview with MoviePass chairman Mitch Lowe, who says now subscribers will be charged “depending on geography”:
In the middle of the country and in less urbanized areas where movie tickets are cheaper these plans begin at $9.95 per month. The cheapest option gives customers the chance to see three movies per month at some point during their theatrical run. That plan has been christened “select.” The most expensive plan, dubbed “red carpet,” starts at $19.95 a month and allows users to see any three movies of their choosing at any time and in enhanced formats, such as IMAX and 3D. The last tier, known as “all access,” lets people see any three movies per month, at any time during their theatrical run.
On MoviePass’ site, they’re currently advertising a $149.95 price for a year of this “red carpet” plan (discounted, they claim, from $239.40 if you paid monthly). That’s good for “up to 36 movies in 2019,” including 1 IMAX or 3D movie per month.
Pricing people based on where they live (because movie tickets in my hometown of New York cost a lot more than they do in, say, rural Nebraska) makes business sense, but policing it seems difficult. If I live in rural Nebraska and then I travel to New York for a holiday, will my card still work? What about vice versa? Also what if I move from Nebraska to New York in the middle of the year? Do I have to pay more to keep my card working?
Still, at least now MoviePass went back to offering any movie you want, an improvement over their most recent plan (at least I think it was their most recent plan, they’ve changed it a lot lately) where you could see a movie a day, but only from a small list of titles selected by MoviePass (and most days, those titles were often pretty unappealing).
If you did see 36 movies a year for $150, you’re paying $4 a movie. That’s a fairly good discount in most parts of the country, but you would really need to go 3 times a month to take full advantage of the value. If you only went to 20 movies next year, then you’re essentially paying $7.50 per movie, a far less rewarding proposition. And these numbers are all dependent on getting a full-year plan. Given the frequency with which this company changes its own rules (and given their current financial situation), that feels like a risk. If you’re feeling lucky, and want to read up on all these changes, you can go to MoviePass’ official website.