This is common practice, except for the limit on tickets. I currently have yearly memberships for two different theaters. Granted, these are art-theaters featuring alternative and exclusive runs, not multiplexes. One is actually part of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the other is an independent that does most of their business through home video (Facets). I pay $45-50 a year each, get a number of free tickets plus discounts on screenings. Facets is $5 ($2 off) and the Film Center $4 (half price). Both rely on donations and benefactors more than ticket sales it seems. These theaters also cater to film buffs so much that it is very rare to encounter a disruptive audience, or children (unless of course it's a children's film being shown).

So I don't know how feasible it would be for commercial fare, seems like too much overhead to be effective. I would definitely buy a pass for membership to a mainstream theater, even just for discounted tickets. But I think I'm an exception in that I usually reap the benefits of my memberships within the first two months of the year, everything after that is gravy.

I would think you'd have to offer something above the traditional movie theater experience if you want to call it "members only". Otherwise this would just be a different way to charge people like coupons/bulk discounts, as the last few ideas/comments show. And that isn't exactly original, although it is probably plenty for your assignment.

For me, this concept would have to improve the movie-going experience to more closely resemble going to a theater (for a play, not a movie) or manage to beat my home theater. I doubt a plan like I'm outlining would go for less than $30/month. An idea would be to limit the member to 2-3 special events per month to keep cost to members down and profits up.

A few things I would pay extra for:
-Special showings of old and new films, perhaps even requests if legally possible
-A clean theater!!
-Working, high quality equipment
-Rules actually enforced on phones, noise, etc.
-A lack of those dumb-ass advertising slides between showings.
-Liquor
-Discounts on "regular" tickets even if the show says No Passes the first week

There are theaters that offer all the premiums you are suggesting and tickets run $14 for an adult. I don't know how you're going to run your theater for $5 a month gets you unlimited movies.

Along with my Regal Card I have an AMC card that also give me free popcorn and movie tickets.

Also have a Visions Smart Pass ($45) good for 5 movies plus your choice of either: Popcorn, soda or coffee. Visions Cinema

AFI card that discounts evening screenings to $7.50 (reg price $8.50) and 4 or 8 movie passes (depending on membership level) received when membership is initiated.

DC Film Society card, that discounts all Visions screening to $7 and weekly free passes to 'pre-release' screenings.

Yeah this would be awesome.

If I had a paid membership, I'd be able to talk on my cell-phone all I want without some a-hole giving me a hard time.

Also, anytime I need to get some shopping done, I could just drop the kids off at the movies where they can entertain themselves.

Brilliant!

I'd pay up to $25-30 a month, since I catch 1-2 movies a weekend anyway. Sounds like a good idea indeed.

Sucks (in more ways than one) to be you if you are married and have 3 kids. Guess junior can wait out in the car.

I think the price you are giving is way too low. Also, how would this work with new blockbuster movies that everyone wants to see? You would be turning away a lot of your members which would not make them very happy.

Where I live, there is a theater that has a balcony that charges $15 per ticket. All that this gives you is an assigned seat (which is large and comfortable) and a waiter that comes to your seat. Food is extra and expensive. After tickets and food, 2 people easily spend up to $60-$75 for one movie. Even so, it is sold out nights in advance. Again, I think you would have to rethink your membership fees because they are ridiculously low.

Yes, for this to work, members would have to pay more than everyone else to see movies.

I don't know if that is necessarily true. Frequent Flyer members don't get benefits because they pay more for flight, they get them because they take more flights. I think it is a similar thing here. If you are committing yourself to one movie chain for at least 3-4 movies in a month or 35-50 in a year (based on the price that you pay for each kind of membership), then it makes sense that the theater would give you extra benefits 1) since you are a loyal customer and 2) to maintain that loyalty (and the steady cash flow ).

For the following items, I would GLADLY pay an extra 5 or 6 bucks *A TICKET*

- Quality and well maintained projection and sound equipment. That means the bulb is run at 100%, and not at about 60% they usualy are.

- Enforced STFU. No c-phones, no talking.

- Large seats with leg room.

- No commercials before the show. Trailers are fine.

- House lights at full before the show, or at the very least more illuminated that PITCH BLACK. Make it bright enough to read.

- Keep the cleanup crew OUT of the show until after the movie is over. The *WHOLE* movie, credits and all.

Give me all that, and I would open my wallet in a hot second.

Kind of apples and oranges. What is being proposed goes beyond rewarding loyal customers with minor perks. If we were talking "see ten movies, get the 11th for free" chits or something like that, the comparison would be more valid. Even complimentary upgrades that frequent fliers sometimes get don't really cost the airlines much of anything as they are based on availability.

What is being proposed would cost the theaters more per seat. As I understand it, they often operate on a pretty thin profit margin as it is.

Yeah . . . I now it wasn't a perfect analogy, but the point was that even if the price is the same, since the members are committing to a large number of movies ahead of time, it would not be unreasonable or overly expensive to provide things like:

- a members only ticket window (where you would pick up those tickets that you have already paid for in your membership)
- members only previews (which is still just a viewing of a movie, so it wouldn't cost anything extra)
- discounts on concessions (would cost a little, but they could make it an insiginifcant enough discount that it wouldn't hurt too bad)
- ticket stub good for a few bucks of the DVD release (that is at the cost of the retailer with whom they partner)

Those types of things are the equivalent of the things that I get w/ my frequent flyer perks (special check-in line, special security line, early boarding, occasional upgrades . . . which, in addition to being infrequent due to availablity, don't really cost them much because they are not getting any money on the empty first class seat, plus they get to allow standby passengers into the coach seat that you vacate). Nothing too impressive, but enough to make me feel a little special and to reward me for my loyalty.

Honestly, I think that they would make out better in the end, because I think that there would be 1) enough people who paid the membership price, but didn't end up making it to all of the movies that it would take to cover the cost (think slow NetFlix users ) and 2) people who, in order to make sure that they covered the cost, would see more movies than they might have if they had not been a member (therefore, potential extra concession sales).

Either way, I still think that they could set it up so that they would not lose money on the deal (and I think, in the long run, actually make more), yet not charge any more the what an regular ticket cost.

I would pay extra for quiet, clean ,comfortable theaters.

However the film prints must be free of those stupid dots they now use to prevent piracy.

no dots or no sale