MoviePass' New Business Plan Is To Charge You Whatever It Wants (qz.com) 128
MoviePass is rolling out peak pricing, its own version of surge pricing that will charge customers more to see popular movies during what the company considers "high demand" times. Quartz reports: MoviePass is a subscription movie ticket service that typically costs $9.95 a month to see up to one movie in U.S. theaters per day. The company has been hemorrhaging cash to subsidize these monthly subscriptions, which can cost less than a single movie ticket in some U.S. cities. The company is looking to raise another $1.2 billion by selling stock and debt. But if MoviePass wants to survive, it also needs to start losing less money on its subscribers, and fast.
That's where peak pricing comes in. "Peak Pricing goes into effect when there's high demand for a movie or showtime," MoviePass wrote in its email. "You may be asked to pay a small additional fee depending on the level of demand." Movies currently experiencing peak pricing will be marked with a red circle containing a white lightening bolt; movies growing in demand that "could enter Peak Pricing soon" will get a gray version of the icon. MoviePass doesn't say how much the "small additional fee" will be, but we can expect it to be $2 or more. In the example MoviePass emailed to users today, the extra fee is $3.43. "Note: the actual Peak Pricing surcharge will vary based on showtime and movie title," the email adds.
Re: (Score:3)
Re:errr (Score:5, Insightful)
That's not what's scarce. It's VC funding that's scarce. The theater being too full to sell tickets is good news for MoviePass because they don't have to sell any more tickets.
Re: (Score:2)
Did Russians put it there?
No...slavers.
Re: (Score:2)
In a free market, after prices rise due to high demand and limited supply, more supply enters the market in order to capture the additional revenue available from the increased prices and strong demand. In this case, that means theaters would show the movie on more screens (possibly by limiting showings of other movies), thus easing the limited seating availability. If supply is unlimited, prices will naturally settle out at the marginal cost of production. Screens obviously aren't unlimited but there is
Stupid (Score:4, Insightful)
"We lose money on every sale, but make it up in volume"
Re:Stupid (Score:5, Insightful)
You joke but it's basically true in the movie theater business.
Movie theaters already make basically zero money on the tickets because they have to pay the movie distributors a fortune every time they show a movie in their theater. Theaters make all their money on the popcorn and drinks (which is why they're so expensive - that's what's paying for the installation and the wages of the people who work there).
It basically costs theaters nothing to fill up the empty seats with MoviePass subscribers, they might even sell more drinks/popcorn, which is good.
What will hurt them is theaters being full of MoviePass customers on Friday/Saturday nights. This new pricing addresses that and makes sense.
Re: (Score:2)
So it's the reverse of a casino, where they lure you in with cheap or free food and drink so that you'll drop money at the tables or the slots. The theater instead baits you with break-even pricing and then gouges you on the food and drink. The basic problem with this is that movies are only a couple hours long, so it's perfectly plausible to eat first and eat again afterward. Only if they can get you to stay for TWO movies does food service become a necessity.
Re: (Score:2)
Hey, I didn't say the business model was foolproof, or even smart.
Many regions now mandate that people can carry water with them where they want, so that at least can be carried openly rather than concealed.
Re: (Score:2)
Movie theaters already make basically zero money on the tickets because they have to pay the movie distributors a fortune every time they show a movie in their theater.
Distributors cut is usually between 50 to 60%. Exhibitors keep the rest. I don't think exhibitors pay distributors money to show a film.
Re: (Score:2)
This doesn't make sense, currently. While you are absolutely correct that theaters make little on the seats themselves (as I understand it, the studios take a percentage of each ticket sold, which starts at "nearly everything" in the first weeks, and diminishes to "very large percentage" later on), MoviePass subscribers pay exactly the same to the theater that any other purchaser does. MoviePass doesn't (yet) have special deals with theaters for lower ticket prices. A theater full of MoviePass subscribers r
Just Stop (Score:5, Funny)
MoviePass changes it's business model faster than new the Javascript community mints new frameworks. It's exhausting. Last Tuesday it was $9.95 a month and you can see three movies every full moon plus you get SoundCloud for free on weekends and next week it'll be $15 a month and twice a week someone will break into your home, tie you to your couch, and force you to watch John Travolta's latest space opera, and they will also bill you for a potion of the food in your fridge.
I get whiplash trying to keep up with their constant quest to find a profitable business model, and somehow it still hasn't occurred to them that "bring in more money than you spend" is the only viable solution.
Re:Just Stop (Score:4)
To me a successful business model would be making movies that people want to see in the theater.
Re: (Score:2)
To me a successful business model would be making movies that people want to see in the theater.
actually the opposite is true for moviepass.
Re: (Score:3)
Buyer's remorse exists. Just because someone wanted to get out of the house and went to see a movie doesn't mean it was worth the price of admission.
Re: (Score:2)
Where else can you get a $14 tub of popcorn?
Re: (Score:2)
Where else can you get a $14 tub of popcorn?
At home, using an Uber-like App to request delivery of said popcorn?
BRB.... Registering NetflixConcessions.com J/K
Re:Just Stop (Score:5, Insightful)
I get whiplash trying to keep up with their constant quest to find a profitable business model, and somehow it still hasn't occurred to them that "bring in more money than you spend" is the only viable solution.
The cinemas already got that market cornered. I mean imagine someone said they'd create a TaxiPass, people pay us for a subscription to taxis and we pay the actual taxi bills. But because people are stupid they'll spend more money our way, so we can skim a profit and still pay for the taxis. And then it turns out people who only take a taxi ride once or twice a month pay for it directly, while those who take dozens of rides get a pass and you lose a ton of money. And nobody is surprised, except for some reason those who invested in MoviePass. If they'd put that business model in front of me I'd run screaming the other way.
Re: (Score:2)
If they'd put that business model in front of me I'd run screaming the other way
It's been hypothesized their business model is to get critical mass where they can the be powerful enough to dictate to the cinemas how much it is per ticket. In the mean time they're throwing good money after bad.
Re: (Score:1)
If they'd put that business model in front of me I'd run screaming the other way
It's been hypothesized their business model is to get critical mass where they can the be powerful enough to dictate to the cinemas how much it is per ticket. In the mean time they're throwing good money after bad.
That's a stupid idea considering that cinemas have to remit a percentage of their take to the movie studios. Cinemas are already being bullied and I doubt they're willing to take it from both ends. There's only so low they can go, in the end. I think it's also clear by now that the MPAA's reach is international. They wouldn't be afraid to run a campaign to take out MoviePass if they thought this was realistically ever going to happen.
Re: (Score:2)
If they'd put that business model in front of me I'd run screaming the other way
It's been hypothesized their business model is to get critical mass where they can the be powerful enough to dictate to the cinemas how much it is per ticket. In the mean time they're throwing good money after bad.
That's a stupid idea considering that cinemas have to remit a percentage of their take to the movie studios. Cinemas are already being bullied and I doubt they're willing to take it from both ends. There's only so low they can go, in the end. I think it's also clear by now that the MPAA's reach......
Yeah the real puppet master here is the MPAA/studios and their stubborn clinging to an antiquated, almost century old flat-price ticket business model. That's who the Movie Pass and theaters need to convince to be more flexible. Maybe if there was a tiered ticket price based on the movie's popularity, show time, release date, etc. more people would go to the theater. If award-winning dramas like The Post and Ladybird were $5-8/ticket I'll bet people would see them in the theater where they are more profitab
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Because of the "critical mass" that GP mentioned. If MoviePass accounted for 75% of ticket revenue, what is that worth to a theater chain? If Cinemark says, hey you cut out AMC and we'll give you 50% off, that might work out extremely well for both of them with AMC going out of business.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
They somehow thought that the gym membership model would work for them.
Re: (Score:2)
It works for a gym because as long as it is open and the staff is paid, the marginal cost for every customer who uses your gym is almost non-existent: whether they use it every day or once every six months, it basically makes no difference. You probably have to wash more towels or clean more frequently, but this is small change and easily absorbed. And maintenance and replacement of the exercise machines is not so frequent that it can't be planned and incorporated into the pricing structure.
On the contrary,
Re: (Score:2)
Would work for movie theaters, too, if you had to bring your own chair, screen and pay your own power bill.
Re: (Score:1)
I think some theater chains have already tried the "season pass" model. AMC had some Guest Pass scheme going on, but the little I could find about it said that all Disney (Marvel, Lucasfilm, etc.) movies were banned from use with it. If Disney's acquisition of 21st Century Fox goes through, you can kiss all those movies goodbye as well.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
up to one movie in U.S. theaters per day
They are still making money on the people who see only half a movie per day.
Discretionary spending (Score:2)
They can stay home and rent an older movie.
Wait some time and watch the new movie at a lower set price on some online service.
People don't have to see a new movie like with other peak pricing services.
Re: (Score:2)
Generally speaking, if I'm going to theater to watch a movie, it's because I want to see it at peak times. Sure, I might go during matinée times rather than evening times, but I want to see it opening weekend.
If I can wait a few weeks to see a movie, I can probably manage to wait a few months to see a movie and watch it at home/on a plane.
Re: (Score:3)
You'd have to get inline behind the investors who have seen the share price drop from a high of $38 to a low of 18 cents. Today's close was $0.1906. Movie pass is losing somewhere in the neighborhood of $20 million a month and are churning out billions of new shares to try to cover it.
How about nope ? (Score:3, Interesting)
Here's what they're not getting:
The " theater experience " is currently so poor, you could give me the tickets for FREE and I still won't go to the theater to see the movie.
I will wait for it to come out on Pay Per View, Blu-Ray or $random_streaming_service so I don't have to:
1) Wonder if my vehicle is getting broken into out in the theater parking lot while I see the show
2) Show up an hour early if I want any chance of a decent seat
3) Deal with folks on phones, folks who want to talk the whole time or heathen children running wild
4) The fact that management refuses to do anything about #3 even when it's brought to their attention
5) Put up with a poorly maintained sound system that's turned up a few dB past the threshold of pain
6) Worry about sticking to the floor where the soda was spilled a few days ago
Re:How about nope ? (Score:5, Funny)
Here's what they're not getting:
The " theater experience " is currently so poor, you could give me the tickets for FREE and I still won't go to the theater to see the movie.
There is little doubt, from your post that society is collapsing and that this is the end of the world.
Finally a reason to buy popcorn.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
MP has made me go to the movies WAY WAY more often than I used to.
I think it's way more fun to see a movie at a theater, even just by myself.
There are about exactly 20 minutes of trailers at the theaters I typically go to, and I almost never see a movie soon after it comes out (I did see The First Purge yesterday, the day it opened, and it wasn't very crowded.. not good movie though).. so I just show up at about the _scheduled_ time, and play on my phone for a little while..
lots of "free" (since I'm alread
Re: (Score:2)
I see the same amount of movies I always did - most all of them - but it just costs me way less. My January admission bill before I got Moviepass was $85. Now $0. And I saw the 1st Purge yesterday too, and thought it to be much better than I expected.
Re: (Score:2)
I just think most people who whine don't like going to the movie theater. I even can agree with some of the complaints (sometimes sticky floors, I'm amazed by how people just LEAVE THEIR GARBAGE BEHIND)..
but even if I have a giant screen at home (which I don't yet), I still like seeing a movie on a giant screen with an audience. (Though I wait a while in most cases, and HAVE been times where there were only a few people in the theater.)
I completely realize MP is unsustainable, but it has made me be a movie
Re:How about nope ? (Score:5, Insightful)
7) Sit through 30 minutes of fucking advertisements before the movie starts.
Fuck. That.
Re: (Score:1)
You know, You can always go 30 minutes late right?
Re: (Score:1)
They have theatres now that you can chose your seat. I can do it from my own home. Buy the ticket, seat online and it's there waiting for me.
Re: (Score:2)
My Honest Truth (Score:3)
Personally, I just don't want to get stuck in a place for 2 to 3 hours.
When I watch movies at home I pause it all the time. And may take a week or so to even watch the entire thing, and may fall asleep not remembering if I watched the entire movie or
Re: (Score:2)
I love the theater experience. Sit in the dark, watch a movie on a screen that fills my peripheral vision and listen to a sound system that, when a mortar shell hits "just over there", it "feels" like it hit "just over there." And I'm not distracted by my computer - I can always find something to check, search for, fix, or compose on my computer while watching a movie at home.
I used to enjoy the aspect of the eating the delicious popcorn without having to make it myself or clean up afterward myself, but
Re: How about nope ? (Score:2)
Here's what they're not getting:
The " theater experience " is currently so poor, you could give me the tickets for FREE and I still won't go to the theater to see the movie.
Have you considered for a moment the possibility that the world doesn't revolve around you?
It's a crazy thought, I know, but there is a slight possibility that movie theatres will continue being profitable even if you personally dislike going. Even more astoundingly, it appears that the reason why MoviePass is doing so poorly is that a bunch of people actually WANT to go, and the measly $9.99 monthly fee isn't enough to cover the cost of so many tickets.
I mean I'm certain that all of the theatre chains ar
Re: (Score:2)
If you want my money then yes, the world revolves around me. You better make sure it does or you won't get my money.
Why would you think you're entitled to get it if you provide a rotten experience that I could get better for less or even free?
Re: (Score:2)
Here's what they're not getting:
The " theater experience " is currently so poor, you could give me the tickets for FREE and I still won't go to the theater to see the movie.
Have you considered for a moment the possibility that the world doesn't revolve around you?
It's a crazy thought, I know, but there is a slight possibility that movie theatres will continue being profitable even if you personally dislike going. Even more astoundingly, it appears that the reason why MoviePass is doing so poorly is that a bunch of people actually WANT to go, and the measly $9.99 monthly fee isn't enough to cover the cost of so many tickets.
I mean I'm certain that all of the theatre chains are absolutely heartbroken over losing you as a customer, but they do somehow seem to be muddling through without you ...
He's certainly not alone. I have zero intention to go see any recent film in the cinema, and by recent im talking years. If they started putting out decent films again that might change but that's not really got anything to do with the cinema itself. It can be an experience sure, but it needs to be a really good film and not just filled with flashy sfx which basically everything is these days. Once you seen one disposable cg army clash with another you've seen them all.
Re: (Score:2)
I feel the same way and I've come to the conclusion that I'm just getting old. Movies, TV, video games, it's all less appealing to me these days. One of the things that has stuck with me over the years was something I read online from a troll many years ago. People were talking about strategies for some RPG and this guy was like, why are you losers spending hours getting XP to level up your character? I go to the gym and level up my abs. And at the time I thought haha what an idiot, he doesn't get it, this
Re: (Score:2)
Movie content is certainly down, alright. There are lots of formula / sequel movies out, and they get tiresome. Really good movies are hard to find. Why don't they make more movies that are better? Well... because...
I saw the Fathom Events showing of Casablanca a few months ago. Its arguably been touted as the best movie ever made. I don't know about that, but it _is_ amazingly good entertainment. Why not more movies like that? Well... because you have to be the cinema version of Rembrant to bu
Re: (Score:1)
There was a time when TV screens were small and had poor resolution and sound. Movies on TV were frequently interrupted with ads. At that time Cinema offered bigger screen, higher resolution and better sound system and (sometimes) only one break in the middle.
Today, we have 50 to 65 inch 4K television screens with high quality sound. Amazon and Netflix both stream some content in 4K. There are no ad breaks and you can pause for bathroom breaks or to make a snack (instead of paying $14 for a pop corn) or an
Re: (Score:2)
Dunno.
We have a theater (SMG) that has reserved seating, recliners, and full menu food service with booze if you want it.
I was dubious about it at first, but it's actually better than what you would expect - much better considering you are used to expecting theater food - and the prices are not out of line with what you would spend going to an average family restaurant before the film.
But I see your point. We rarely go to the theater (2-3 times/year tops). It's an easy habit to break though... go cold t
Re: (Score:3)
If you wait until the movie is towards the end of it's theater run often the theater is empty, so many of the issues of bad seating and annoying people disappear. My wife and I saw Solo recently on a weekday, and we were the only people in the theater.
Re: (Score:1)
Goodbye MoviePass (Score:1)
Rod and reel (Score:2)
Once you got 'em hooked, you can play 'em like a marlin !!
My New Business Plan (Score:4, Funny)
My new plan is not to use MoviePass. It's basically the same as the old plan, where I also didn't use MoviePass.
On-Demand = Screw you, peasants! (Score:2)
On-demand pricing surges are just a corporation's way of saying, "Fuck you, you broke-ass peasants!"
The idea of being made to pay more when you either need or want something and not at any other time is one of the "fuck you!" things I can think of. Like the soft drink machines that bump up their prices automatically when it gets hot out.
This financial discrimination in favor of the highest bidder for commodity goods and services that aren't even remotely scarce pisses me off at a visceral level.
Re: On-Demand = Screw you, peasants! (Score:3)
But, but, but... Free Markets! The Invisible Hand! Muh profits!!
Re: (Score:3)
The only thing the invisible hand ever did for the consumer was to fist him. And it didn't even give a reach-around.
Um ... (Score:2)
But if MoviePass wants to survive, it also needs to start losing less money on its subscribers, and fast.
Seems like losing money on its subscribers was its business plan. Either that, or they didn't think things through.
Re: (Score:2)
I can not work out MoviePass's business model (Score:1)
The parallels to Netflix don't work. The money that they're spending is used on an asset - content that can be used again and again. Moviepass is spending its money on tickets. That gets burned as soon as it's used once.
Not that many people are going to substantially increase their spending to get the pass. They apparently pay the cinemas full price for tickets and I can't see how that will change. Targeted marketing might help a little, but studios a
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
The goal was to have a monopoly on ticket purchases and then negotiate with theaters to get lower prices. The idea is, MoviePass would talk to a few chains and say, okay whoever offers the lowest price gets access to our millions of customers who are used to paying a flat rate. Let's say AMC offers them half price tickets. Well now millions of people are seeing movies at AMC and not Cinemark. Cinemark goes out of business. AMC talks to Disney and says hey for your next movie, instead of getting 50% of box o
Re: (Score:2)
Jesus coward learn your history, vertical integration of studios and theatre chains are the basis of anti-trust lawsuits the likes of which took microsoft down a notch
Re: (Score:2)
Lolz. Found the investor.
Disney have no political clout. No really. Lolz
Your daughter (Score:2)
Profit from every customer (Score:1)