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MoviePass... would it work for you? [UPDATE: THE DEAD SHALL RISE]

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MoviePass... would it work for you? [UPDATE: THE DEAD SHALL RISE]

Old 12-29-12, 03:35 PM
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re: MoviePass... would it work for you? [UPDATE: THE DEAD SHALL RISE]

You can cancel in the first month -if you 'spend' more than your membership fee, you are charged the overage, but you can cancel.
You can check in to any showing that day, as long as you buy the ticket within 30 minutes of checking in.
There's no way to match what you checked in for versus what you actually buy.

I was in MD and the theatres refreshed, implying I could buy a ticket for a theater there (though I did not.)
Old 01-12-13, 11:15 AM
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re: MoviePass... would it work for you? [UPDATE: THE DEAD SHALL RISE]

So, thinking about finally biting on this deal. You can enter "oscars" for $20.00 off first month but as others have said it's $34.95 month. Still though, if you were seeing 4 movies a month then it's worth it. Just gotta make time to see them.
Old 01-12-13, 12:06 PM
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re: MoviePass... would it work for you? [UPDATE: THE DEAD SHALL RISE]

Month 1: 10 movies
Month 2: 22 movies
Middle of month 3: 10 movies, shooting for 20 for the month
Old 07-28-13, 10:13 PM
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re: MoviePass... would it work for you? [UPDATE: THE DEAD SHALL RISE]

where do you put the promo code to sign up for a discount?
Old 11-01-13, 01:25 AM
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re: MoviePass... would it work for you? [UPDATE: THE DEAD SHALL RISE]

http://www.popculturology.com/2013/1...own-clock.html

If you're like me and see a ton of movies in the theater, you're possibly a MoviePass subscriber. The service, which runs roughly $30 a month, allows its members to see one non-3D, non-IMAX movie a day. Thanks to MoviePass, you can pretty much see 365 movies a year, if you're actually able to find 365 new movies. The service has been great, since it uses a smartphone app to activate a credit card for price of the movie you're seeing at the theater you're seeing it at. It's an amazing service, and as long as you see at least three movies a month, the thing pays for itself.

MoviePass decided to throw this goodwill out the window on Thursday, sending out an email from CEO Stacy Spikes to its members announcing a "new feature."

We’re also excited to introduce a new feature: The Countdown Clock. This clock counts down the time until your next available screening. You will still be able to go to a movie each day, but there will be a 24-hour period between screenings. Your MoviePass app has already been updated, and you will notice these changes the next time you see a movie.

Generally, when you email your customers and announce a "new feature," you should be informing them about some great new service. The Countdown Clock is not a great service. It's designed to screw over its most-active customers. When MoviePass worked on a one-movie-per-day level, you could go see a movie at 10 p.m. on a Friday and then turn around and see another movie on Saturday at 1 p.m. Different days. Different movies. Totally kosher.

The new Countdown Clock feature would make it so you couldn't see another movie until after 10 p.m. that Saturday. How is that helpful? Why would anyone be excited about that? This isn't what anyone agreed to when they signed up for MoviePass.

The email from MoviePass said to contact customer service with any questions, and seeing as how I had to know who thought this was a good idea, I sent MoviePass an email. So far, no response. Based on some quick Twitter research, MoviePass isn't responding to anyone right now. This is an epic customer service disaster. Why would you screw over your customers and then ignore them when they wanted to know why?

Welcome to your Qwikster fiasco, MoviePass. You better move fast to fix this one before you've destroyed everything.

UPDATE: I got ahold of a MoviePass customer service representative through their chat service, and when I expressed my concerns about The Countdown Clock, this was the response I got:

We apologize for any inconvenience that you may experience due to our update. It will allow us to continue offering a high level of service. This will only affect a small percentage of users. If you like, you can send any feedback to us at [email protected].

See, screwing over its most loyal customers will allow MoviePass to "continue offering a high level of service." I'm not sure how this huge restriction will deliver a higher level of service to us.
http://badassdigest.com/2013/10/31/o...newest-blunder


Originally Posted by Badass Digest
For nearly two years, I have been a member of Moviepass, and I assume at least a couple of our readers are as well. Utilizing a Netflix-style monthly fee (usually around $29.99; it varies per area) for "unlimited" access, you are able to see one film a day at participating theaters, with no repeats. If you're in an area that has plenty of theaters with independent/foreign films, or repertory programming, this means you can make the most of the program, as it's almost impossible you'll "run out" of things to see (you can only see each movie once - sorry Batfans, you couldn't use Moviepass to see Dark Knight Rises every day like you probably did anyway). Customers in rural areas probably didn't get as much use out of it if they were only stuck with the bigger Hollywood offerings - even if you WANTED to see every feature that came along, there would be weeks with only 1-2 new options.

However, being a Los Angeles resident, it's been a godsend. Not only do a hefty number of theaters participate (the AMC and Laemmle chains, plus most of the repertory theaters like the New Beverly, Cinefamily, and Egyptian/Aero), but even if I were to use it every single day I'd probably never run out of things to see - a fine bonus for someone like me who will watch any movie once. When time allows, I'll go see filler junk like RIPD, or take a chance on an indie that I probably would have waited to rent otherwise (The Spectacular Now, for example - which I loved). I can even be surprised by a Hollywood offering; I was seeing After Earth only to kill some time in an air conditioned room one day in June, but I ended up enjoying it quite a bit. This is the real appeal of the program - my desire to make sure I get my money's worth "forces" me to see more films, and more often than not I'm glad I saw them (RIPD is one exception; Jesus CHRIST was that an awful movie). And because I'm saving money on the films I do want to see, I'm more likely to buy concessions, which helps the theater as well.

When the program first started, it was pretty cumbersome. You'd select a time and theater from your computer, print out a voucher, and bring it to the theater and hope that the clerk could ring it up properly. This often resulted in confused looks, time-wasting explanations, and glitches. It was a good idea, but the convoluted process (not to mention extra drain on your printer) made it hard to recommend, and at that time AMC wasn't even on the program, making my viewing options limited. However, a year ago they fixed it up; rather than issuing vouchers and selecting times on your computer, customers were issued a credit card (via Discover) that would activate when you were at the theater and selected a time using your smartphone. Not only did this work much better (I've only once had an issue, and I'm sure it was just the clerk being a moron), but it opened up the service to more theaters - any location that accepted Discover cards could accept Moviepass, more or less (some theaters, such as the Arclight, requested to be removed. I've hardly been there since.). The only drawback was that 3D/Imax showings were invalid for use with the card; their surcharges would go beyond the card's temporary limit (and let's face it, just ONE 3D ticket in LA on a weekend night would be more than half of the monthly fee), but they made that clear up front and apologized for the inconvenience.

Well, apparently they have a new customer service approach, as today customers were greeted with an email titled "New Features" only to discover that the program was being restricted even further. This new "feature" is a "Countdown Clock" which would run for 24 hours from the time of your last movie selection - if you see a movie at 7pm today, you can't see another one until 7:01pm the next day. This is much different than the standard "once a day" described in its original TOS, not to mention the benefits that were highlighted when we signed up for the service (some even locked into a yearly membership), as it can effectively DENY you the ability to see a movie on a given calendar day. Let's say I see a movie at 10:45pm on a Tuesday night, when midnight shows aren't offered - unless I actually find one that starts later, I can't use the service on Wednesday. Hell, here's an ACTUAL example - yesterday I saw a matinee of Carrie (ugh) at 10:40 am, before I went to work, and planned to see a 10:30 am showing of The Counselor today, again before my 1pm work shift began. But because of this change, I couldn't, because of a TEN MINUTE difference.

Now, the reason for this change is obvious - they are trying to save some money and stay in operation. There's no "discount" on any level - the theater gets the same amount of money they would if we were to buy a ticket the normal way (which is why I am baffled by theater chains like the Arclight refusing the service - it just increases their patronage!), and Moviepass covers that full charge. The way they can make money, besides some minor advertisements on their app, is from people failing to buy 30 dollars' worth of tickets in a given month. You might think it'd be impossible NOT to do that since that's only 3-4 tickets, but you'd be surprised - they actually made money on ME this month as I only used it twice (Carrie and Captain Phillips), both matinees - my 30 dollars netted me 15 dollars' worth of tickets. Of course, other months I've gone 7-8 times and thus saved around 70 dollars, so it all evens out - but their business model cannot sustain folks like me getting their money's worth (and then some) for 11/12 months - they need a LOT of people to have months like mine, and often, in order to keep going.

But here's the thing - I get that, and even have no problem with the idea in general. Sure, it can cause a change of plans, but they're not in surmountable - had I seen The Counselor at 10:30 on Wednesday I could have seen Carrie today at 10:40 with no problem (and still gone to see a movie on Friday night, when I'm not working). And I'm not greedy; I get that they need to pay their bills and count on folks not taking too much advantage (I was shocked to see people on their Facebook page saying things like "the old once a day model was unfair enough, this is just criminal!"). My problem was that they treated us like idiots when they told us about it, calling it a "feature" when even a moron could see that it was their way to limit our crazy movie going ways and putting them in the red. Had they been up front about it, like they were with the 3D/Imax restriction, I'm guessing that the number of angry comments flooding their Twitter and Facebook pages would be greatly reduced. If the alternative is them having to shut down, then this is certainly an acceptable solution - but TELL US THAT. Don't call it a feature and expect us to be excited about the fact that we'll be seeing fewer movies every month. Let's face it, the average Moviepass customer is a hardcore movie fan - even if they only allowed one movie a week it would appeal to us in some fashion. But treating us like morons is a surefire way to just make their apparently dire financial situation even worse - already I've seen tweets from folks who plan to just drive to the theater and buy a ticket for a movie they don't even want to see just to "get back" at them. Whether they actually do this or not, who knows - but Moviepass probably could have spared themselves the threat by being on the level.

Hilariously, in some ways this will actually COST them money. The $7.50 I would have spent to see The Counselor this morning will now be 13 dollars to see it tomorrow night. And again, we humans are a spiteful people - I wouldn't be surprised if folks started doubling their efforts to get their money's worth each month, planning ahead to ensure that the 24 hour clock rarely, if ever, affects them much. And that's just the people who stick with the program - many have already opted to jump ship due to not only the change, but the clumsy, condescending way it was handled. There's also the word of mouth factor that they depend on to spread the word since they don't spend much money on advertising their service - who is going to recommend it to a friend or family member now? It's a shame - such things will only increase the likelihood of the program going under for good, but if that happens, hopefully it will be a good lesson for other businesses - SOME, not all, people might be greedy and hate a reduction no matter what, but ALL people hate being treated like idiots. Had they offered an honest explanation from the start, I'd probably send a single "woe is me" tweet and be done with it - instead, I sent off a bunch and wrote this article. Moral of the story: DON'T BE A DICK.

All that said, there is an easy solution: offer two tiers; one with a 24 hour clock for whatever price you're paying now, and one that retains the "once per day" option for a small fee increase (5 dollars seems reasonable). I'd do it in a heartbeat - they were clearly inspired by Netflix so why not follow their lead on offering different ways of subscribing depending on your usage? Because at the end of the day, as long as it's usable at my favorite theaters, I love the program, and the only part of it I want to see go away is their current method of dealing with paying customers.
If you actually click on the Badass Digest link, there's a comment from a user all the way at the very bottom who had his MoviePass account terminated days prior to the ship sinking today.

MoviePass, you're fucking dead to me.

Their Facebook and Twitter feeds have taking a fucking beating today. I'm sure their social media manager has probably quit over today's news.
Old 11-01-13, 01:50 AM
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re: MoviePass... would it work for you? [UPDATE: THE DEAD SHALL RISE]

Wow, that is completely retarded. Way to go, Moviepass. You just killed your business. In order to come back from this, they'll have to offer even more to keep the customers who are willing to stay.

What you didn't mention about the guy who got his account canceled was this it was for a bogus reason (they said he used his Movie Pass to purchase a portion of a 3D ticket, which isn't allowed, but he didn't), and that they charged him $60 as a cancellation fee. The change in their policy meant they had to offer an opt-out grace period at no charge, so by terminating accounts the day before, they were able to charge all of those accounts $60 a head the night before they had to offer a no-charge opt out. That's some incredibly shady shit.

If I were that guy, I would dispute the charges with my credit card company. Should be pretty easy to get them on your side for that one.

Last edited by Supermallet; 11-01-13 at 02:02 AM.
Old 11-01-13, 02:06 AM
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re: MoviePass... would it work for you? [UPDATE: THE DEAD SHALL RISE]

Originally Posted by Supermallet
Wow, that is completely retarded. Way to go, Moviepass. You just killed your business. In order to come back from this, they'll have to offer even more to keep the customers who are willing to stay.

What you didn't mention about the guy who got his account canceled was this it was for a bogus reason (they said he used his Movie Pass to purchase a portion of a 3D ticket, which isn't allowed, but he didn't), and that they charged him $60 as a cancellation fee. The change in their policy meant they had to offer an opt-out grace period at no charge, so by terminating accounts the day before, they were able to charge all of those accounts $60 a head the night before they had to offer a no-charge opt out. That's some incredibly shady shit.

If I were that guy, I would dispute the charges with my credit card company. Should be pretty easy to get them on your side for that one.
Based upon the gentleman's story in the comments, his story is the exact reason I've always put my wife and I's membership on my AMEX. That shit would be disputed in seconds if they tried to pull that shit on me.

My wife was on hold for half-an-hour when she tried to inquire about the change in policy. I didn't even know about it until she called me being upset about it. People are pissed and rightfully so.

There are stories on both their Facebook wall and those who have tweeted about having had their cards declined at the box office tonight and nobody was on the phones to help assist with any of the problems at hand.

Even better? For my friends and I who have been apart of the program since day one, our MoviePass cards expired as of six minutes ago. Despite the promise that new membership cards were mailed out over two weeks ago, none of us have seen shit.

Seriously. Fuck this company.
Old 11-01-13, 02:13 AM
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re: MoviePass... would it work for you? [UPDATE: THE DEAD SHALL RISE]

Yeah, it sounds like they are a fly by night kind of outfit. Glad I never signed up with them.

I almost did when it first went out of beta because I misread the site and thought it said $30 per year, but I was able to cancel without a fee when I realized the error because it was the same day and they hadn't processed the order yet.
Old 11-01-13, 02:18 AM
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re: MoviePass... would it work for you? [UPDATE: THE DEAD SHALL RISE]

Originally Posted by Supermallet
Yeah, it sounds like they are a fly by night kind of outfit. Glad I never signed up with them.

I almost did when it first went out of beta because I misread the site and thought it said $30 per year, but I was able to cancel without a fee when I realized the error because it was the same day and they hadn't processed the order yet.
To be fair, I was always curious on how they made their money. I was under the impression they probably sold all of our information to the studios, theaters, etc.

The writing was always on the wall. I would be surprised if the company makes it into 2014.
Old 11-01-13, 08:35 AM
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re: MoviePass... would it work for you? [UPDATE: THE DEAD SHALL RISE]

MoviePass - you suck.
Old 11-01-13, 08:50 AM
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re: MoviePass... would it work for you? [UPDATE: THE DEAD SHALL RISE]

The outrage over this is hilarious to me. I'm lucky if I can see one movie a week, let alone several in a day.
Old 11-01-13, 08:55 AM
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re: MoviePass... would it work for you? [UPDATE: THE DEAD SHALL RISE]

Originally Posted by Groucho
The outrage over this is hilarious to me. I'm lucky if I can see one movie a week, let alone several in a day.
The best part of this news is that we can stop reading about people making sure we knew they used it to see the movie being discussed.
Old 11-01-13, 08:59 AM
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re: MoviePass... would it work for you? [UPDATE: THE DEAD SHALL RISE]

Originally Posted by Groucho
The outrage over this is hilarious to me. I'm lucky if I can see one movie a week, let alone several in a day.
Hey, that's you.
Old 11-01-13, 09:00 AM
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re: MoviePass... would it work for you? [UPDATE: THE DEAD SHALL RISE]

I never did sign up for it, because their service only worked at the general non-reserved theaters, but had just recently read that they were taking to the premium theaters like Landmark, etc., to offer the service.
Old 11-01-13, 09:12 AM
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Originally Posted by My Other Self
The best part of this news is that we can stop reading about people making sure we knew they used it to see the movie being discussed.
"Went to see a movie today using MoviePass, afterwards I ate at a local vegan restaurant before going home to post about it on my Mac."
Old 11-01-13, 09:36 AM
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Originally Posted by Why So Blu?
I never did sign up for it, because their service only worked at the general non-reserved theaters, but had just recently read that they were taking to the premium theaters like Landmark, etc., to offer the service.
'talking' is all good and fine, but corporate would have to start taking Discover cards as a result - not sure why Landmark doesn't take the card in the first place.
Old 11-01-13, 09:43 AM
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re: MoviePass... would it work for you? [UPDATE: THE DEAD SHALL RISE]

Originally Posted by Groucho
"Went to see a movie today using MoviePass, afterwards I ate at a local vegan restaurant before going home to post about it on my Mac."

Sent from my iPhone 5s using Tapatalk via Verizon
fixed
Old 11-01-13, 10:40 AM
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re: MoviePass... would it work for you? [UPDATE: THE DEAD SHALL RISE]

Yeah I got the email yesterday, they're idiots in handling the situation.
Old 11-01-13, 11:52 AM
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re: MoviePass... would it work for you? [UPDATE: THE DEAD SHALL RISE]

Originally Posted by Giles
'talking' is all good and fine, but corporate would have to start taking Discover cards as a result - not sure why Landmark doesn't take the card in the first place.
Neither does ArcLight, but it doesn't stop me from going to those particular theaters anyway.

Fuck movie pass.
Old 11-01-13, 12:39 PM
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Originally Posted by Groucho
The outrage over this is hilarious to me. I'm lucky if I can see one movie a week, let alone several in a day.
No one is talking about seeing several movies a day using MoviePass. In fact, even before this you could only see one movie per day. The thing is that this new policy makes it difficult to do even that.
Old 12-17-14, 10:30 AM
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re: MoviePass... would it work for you? [UPDATE: THE DEAD SHALL RISE]

From AMC and MoviePass, a Film a Day for a Monthly Fee

LOS ANGELES — Netflix brought subscription-based movie and television streaming to the millennial masses. Spotify and Rhapsody did the same thing with music — pay once, listen to as much or as little as you want.

Now a major movie theater chain is trying to step onto the subscription gravy train as it seeks to reverse attendance declines, especially among young moviegoers. AMC Theaters, the No. 2 chain in North America behind Regal Entertainment, has agreed to a pilot partnership with MoviePass, a three-year-old company focused on letting people attend a movie a day for one monthly fee.
“It frankly wouldn’t be smart to ignore the success of subscription in other areas of media,” said Christina Sternberg, senior vice president for corporate strategy at AMC, which operates 4,959 movie screens.

In January, AMC theaters in Boston and Denver will begin working in concert with MoviePass to offer monthly subscription packages for $45 and $35. More cities will be added later. “The data will determine how fast we go,” Ms. Sternberg said. “Sometimes you first expand the test, sometimes you accelerate the deployment.”

MoviePass has tried to build a subscription service on its own since 2011, with limited success. The problem: Worried that embracing a subscription alternative will undermine traditional per-ticket pricing, the big chains — and some of their studio suppliers — have repeatedly swatted MoviePass to the side. AMC’s average ticket price increased 5.3 percent in the third quarter of this year, to $9.48.

But the musty exhibition industry is newly alarmed about a sharp drop in young ticket buyers. That audience has repeatedly turned up weekend after weekend, bingeing on high-margin soda, popcorn and candy in the process.

The Nielsen Company said last week that the moviegoing of Americans age 12 to 24 dropped 15 percent in the first nine months of 2014, compared with the same period a year earlier. Total attendance has declined about 5 percent so far this year compared with last, according to box-office analysts, because of fewer broad-appeal films and about a dozen more modest movies, like “Sex Tape” and “A Million Ways to Die in the West,” that missed the mark.

About 75 percent of MoviePass subscribers are 18 to 34, according to Stacy Spikes, the service’s chief executive and co-founder. “Millennials are consuming things differently, and that includes going to the movies,” Mr. Spikes said. He declined to say how many people currently subscribed to MoviePass. He noted, however, that MoviePass members tended to spend significantly more on concessions.

AMC, acquired two years ago by the Dalian Wanda Group of China for $2.6 billion, has emerged as a leader in challenging the exhibitor status quo. The multiplex operator, based in Leawood, Kan., has been aggressively updating its auditorium seats, rolling out enhanced sound systems and experimenting with marketing and ticketing.

Last month, for instance, AMC offered members of its rewards program, AMC Stubs, the chance to see “Interstellar” as many times as they wanted, for $19.99 to $34.99, depending on the viewing format. Now comes the MoviePass partnership. “The mandate at AMC is to break some eggs and make some omelets,” Mr. Spikes said.

For MoviePass, it has been a battle to link arms with any exhibition company, much less a giant like AMC. MoviePass was first introduced in San Francisco during summer 2011, but the subscription service drew the ire of theater owners, in part because they felt it was trying to go around them.

“We thought we had communicated with the right people and we hadn’t,” said Mr. Spikes, whose entertainment career has included executive stints at Motown Records, Sony Music Entertainment and Miramax Films.

MoviePass regrouped and tried to move forward by teaming with a ticketing voucher company, Hollywood Movie Money. But that workaround was clunky. Among other hassles, MoviePass subscribers had to print out vouchers at home, then present them to theater ticket takers.

For the last two years or so, MoviePass has been using yet another multistep method. People who sign up now receive a membership card that functions like a debit card. When members want to see a movie, they use a MoviePass smartphone app to check in at the theater. The app instantly transfers money — the price of a ticket — to the membership card. Members in turn use the card to pay for entry. Monthly membership costs $30 to $35, depending on location. That price covers one movie a day in a standard format.

The pilot partnership with AMC will allow MoviePass members an option, for $45 a month, to see films in any format, including Imax and 3-D.

Under the MoviePass business model, theaters get paid full price for every admission. To make money, the service depends on traditional subscription-service economics: More people pay than go.

Mr. Spikes said that, based on his company’s experience so far with members, “Some overuse; a lot underuse.”
Old 12-17-14, 10:45 AM
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re: MoviePass... would it work for you? [UPDATE: THE DEAD SHALL RISE]

$45 seems steep and for an AMC? Fuck that. I'd rather pay $45 and see films at an Arclight other fancy-ish theater if I'm paying that much,
Old 12-17-14, 10:57 AM
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re: MoviePass... would it work for you? [UPDATE: THE DEAD SHALL RISE]

Originally Posted by Why So Blu?
$45 seems steep and for an AMC? Fuck that. I'd rather pay $45 and see films at an Arclight other fancy-ish theater if I'm paying that much,
Not sure if it's because AMC is based in the area but we have a couple nice AMCs, with real food, reserved seating and bar. But with ticket prices out here not so high, I don't know if this would work for me since I usually only see a movie a weekend. Now if I had a lot of free time, then I would be all over this.
Old 12-17-14, 11:02 AM
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re: MoviePass... would it work for you? [UPDATE: THE DEAD SHALL RISE]

I have something better than Movie Pass. Free screenings. I signed up for free screening notices in my city and the last two months I've seen 8 movies for free (and early). Fury, John Wick, The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies, The Imitation Game, Birdman, The Theory of Everything, Exodus: Gods and Kings, Horrible Bosses 2. Tonight I'm seeing Unbroken.

Everyone should sign up (www.advancescreenings.com)

Last edited by Osiris3657; 12-17-14 at 11:08 AM.
Old 12-17-14, 11:35 AM
  #150  
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re: MoviePass... would it work for you? [UPDATE: THE DEAD SHALL RISE]

I used to go to free screenings all the time from fall of 2012 to about late last year. It was great, they check your cell phones at the door, so there's no fucking disruptions. Only concern is the first come first serve situation, which, for major movies, you had to get there 2 hours early, and could lead to shitty seats. Not always worth it. Plus that wouldn't cover nearly the number of movies that are actually out there that I'd see with MoviePass. I should go to them from time to time, got one from Into the Woods but couldn't make it.

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