For a cool $50-a-month subscription fee, MoviePass gets you into the movies whenever you want, as often as you want. Think of it like a Netflix for theaters. Following up on our coverage earlier today, CNET had a chance to get on the phone with MoviePass co-founder, Hamet Watt, to get some of the nuts and bolts of the all-you-can-watch service.
Officially launching to private beta June 29, MoviePass will only work at select theaters in the San Francisco Bay Area at first. However, with more than 43 percent of movie theaters already signed on, the company is set to roll out to additional select markets throughout the summer and launch nationally in the fall.
So how's it work? First, use your phone to reserve your seat at any of the supported theaters. Then, when you get to your selected theater, just flash your screen at the box office and receive a ticket, just as though you had paid. You don't have to print anything out at home, and you can use it as much as you want, as long as you pay the monthly subscription fee. For now, that's a simple $50-per-month, but according to the folks behind MoviePass, the company is experimenting with additional pricing tiers as well as a surcharge for IMAX and 3D titles.
(Credit: MoviePass)
At launch, The MoviePass mobile service will be accessible via an HTML 5 application, but we've been assured that native apps are not too far along in the pipeline. In addition to acting as your digital ticket stub, the MoviePass app will let you pre-order the DVD (or the digital download) right when you walk out of the theater, and not surprisingly, it will integrate with your favorite social applications.
Starting this Wednesday, June 29, MoviePass beta will be in full effect at the following San Francisco Bay Area theaters:
San Francisco
Clay - San Francisco; Bridge - San Francisco;Opera Plaza Cinemas - San Francisco; Lumiere - San Francisco; AMC Van Ness 14 - San Francisco; Embarcadero - San Francisco;AMC Bay Street 16 - Emeryville; California Theatres - Berkeley; Shattuck Cinemas - Berkeley; Piedmont Theatre - Oakland; Albany Twin - Albany
San Jose
Big Cinemas Towne 3 - San Jose; Camera 3 - San Jose; Camera 12 - San Jose; AMC Eastridge 15 - San Jose; Camera 7 - Campbell; AMC Saratoga 14 - San Jose; AMC Mercado 20 - Santa Clara; AMC Cupertino Square 16 - Cupertino; Camera Cinemas Los Gatos - Los Gatos; Aquarius - Palo Alto.

Yesterday, it was reported that the New York-based MoviePass would be launching a Netflix-style subscription service that allowed consumers to pay $50/month to see unlimited movies in the theater. The beta test began this week in over 20 theaters in the San Francisco Bay Area. MoviePass plans expand into more cities this August and nationwide by the fall. When you consider that the average ticket price has climbed to above $10 and that a movie-lover is probably paying at least $50 a month to go to the theater, it’s a great deal.

So of course studios and exhibitors are unhappy with it. TheWrap reports that their unhappiness stems from A) how it breaks from the traditional price model (i.e. ripping you off) and B) they weren’t informed because MoviePass made its deal with online ticketing services. Hit the jump for more.

Landmark Theaters is already taking measures to see if they can prevent MoviePass from offering tickets to its theaters and another major exhibitor is on the verge of announcing that they will not honor MoviePass vouchers.

[Update: AMC Theaters have sent out a press release saying they will not honor MoviePass vouchers. The press release states MoviePass "does not integrate well into our programs and could create significant guest experience issues." Read: "It could screw up our new AMC Stubs program." While I know this site talked up AMC Stubs as part of Steve's participation in the promotional contest for the new program, from a ticket-purchasing perspective, it's a far weaker deal than MoviePass. AMC Stubs will give you a $10 rewards card if you spend $100 at AMC Theaters. AMC Stubs provides some bonuses for concession purchases, but as someone who goes to the movies for the movies and not the food, I would choose MoviePass over AMC Stubs every day of the week and twice on Sunday.]

moviepass-image-01It’s an incredibly stupid move on the part of these theater chains since the majority of their profits don’t come from ticket sales but from concessions. If someone keeps coming to your theater, chances are they’re going to buy the overpriced snacks. Furthermore, with premium VOD services aiming to keep consumers at home, exhibitors should be championing anything that gets those consumers back to the theater.

Distributors have a slightly better case for being upset. MoviePass could make it difficult to calculate grosses, but MoviePass responds that studios will benefit by acquiring more tracking data and information about its consumers. While that aspect is a little unsettling, letting a studio know that I’m seeing their movie doesn’t feel like an unacceptable invasion of piracy.

Based on what I know about MoviePass, I’m in favor of the service and it seems like the biggest problem distributors and exhibitors are having with it is that it wasn’t their idea and they don’t know how it will affect their business. My argument would be that rather than sound the alarm, see how it plays out rather than shutting down a service that could benefit exhibitors, distributors, and most importantly, consumers.

Sorry to be the bearer of the bad news but...

Moviepass trial launch canceled

And when I say, I don't mean "I." 21 is far too young to have a job.

But still. Would've been a good deal. And fun to use.

Still living on mommy and daddy's dime?

Too bad their app is unusable - looks like preschoolers developed it. Can't even pull up a list to see if my local theaters are participating. People tearing it a new one on the Play Store. You need a solid app if you're going to get anywhere with this.