Thank you! AMC is trying to get out of participating and suing them, but honestly I don't know how they can if they are paying full boat for the tickets. I agree with everyone saying this is not a sustainable business model! One day they will likely just be gone. Sounds like they were banking on theaters supporting this after the model was proven, but clearly that isn't the plan so I see no path forward for them. I just added my wife with no issues. Thanks...
Yes, but for $9.95 a month, we can provide 3 meals a day! True, it's nothing but oatmeal and institution-grade flapjacks (sorry, no butter or syrup available) but you can eat all you want!
No 3D, no "luxury theaters" and no one-off special events. Nope, just all the regular movies you can stand. Hopefully, AMC will get over their snit. All-you-can-eat movie passes have been a thing in other countries for a while, and there has to be a business model that permits it. Edit to add: I suspect AMC's annoyance is possibly due to their planning to offer their own All-You-Can-View plan and having that undermined.
Again, it's just my speculation, but it seems like a rational explanation for an irrational action. "Hey! You! Stop paying full price for my product for thousands of my customers!"
I hadn't heard of this concept until this week, but needless to say I am intrigued. Not thrilled about the debit-card stipulation, though -- I don't have that feature on my bank card. Can I pay $10.95 and use my credit card?
You have to use their debit card. The requirement to photograph the ticket stub was probably introduced because people were trying to game the system and use their debit card to buy things other than tickets.
Nice article explaining the ins and outs here. I knew there had to be a catch and for me here is the dealbreaker: "Can I use MoviePass to order tickets online through sites like Fandango? No. MoviePass requires you be within 100 yards of the theater (using the GPS on your phone) in order to let you check into a screening. If you want to buy a ticket in advance, you need to go to the theater early. " In this day and age, to get the seats I want, I need to be able to buy in advance. Bummer. We'll see if AMC offers a rival product in the future that solves for this.
My wife and I have never had a difficult time getting the seats we want, but that's probably because we sit down front and there is not a lot of competition. And we both dislike "luxury" theaters with recliners which are usually the only ones with reserved seating.
I may have missed that earlier in the thread. You have to photograph the stub and send it to Moviepass?
I think I'll wait till AMC comes out with its own version. That'll probably be a lot more hassle-free.
The steps are: When you arrive at the theater, open MoviePass app and select the film you wish to see. MoviePass puts the exact amount of the ticket on the debit card. Use the card to buy ticket from box office or kiosk. Use the app's access to your phone's camera to photograph the ticket. Not really a big hassle. A small amount of your phone's data is used to send the ticket image, although you can delay until you're on WiFi. My wife has run into situations where the film she wanted isn't available, but they have a chat client integrated into the app where she can request it and they usually are able to fix it immediately - usually a tiny art or foreign language film.
I guess it comes down to how many films you see, and how much the service is worth to you. My wife sees a film every single night, and she consided it the bargain of the century at $50 a month and absolutely worth using the app and card. And it's five times better at one fifth the cost. Amusingly, they announced the price decrease on her birthday.
I've been using it since January. The "check in" via smart phone takes literally 30 seconds. I used the card often enough to become part of the "take a photo of your stub" group, but that requirement disappeared a few weeks ago. Again, it's something that takes less than 30 seconds anyway (the app opens the camera for you after the check in is completed), The couple of times there was a technical issue the customer service person in the "chat" option of the app fixed it and I saw the movie. I use the kiosk at most theaters to avoid lines, and those with reserved seating let you pick your seat there. And no, I don't work for MoviePass. But I went from maybe a movie or two a month to 2 or 3 a week.
This is tempting. I live two miles from an AMC and a Regal. About 8 miles from Cinemark. Rarely but sometimes I'll go as far as 20 miles to either Landmark or The Charles (Baltimore's indie/art house theater). I think Regal has moved to assigned seating and I don't know if that and its "leather recliners" disqualify it as premium. I suspect The Charles (or its sister theater, The Senator) aren't participating. It'd be nice to be able to find out without rolling the dice and paying $10 just to see near me. Add to that that you can't use it until you get the card itself and there's an annoying barrier to entry. $10 is chump change, but somehow these things get sticky. I may give it a shot in a few days.
Someone on Reddit built a web site you can use to find if a particular theater accepts MoviePass: MoviePass Zip Code Search I just checked, and since it uses MoviePass's web servers, it's being overwhelmed. Try it later tonight.
So according to this site, MoviePass Locations: MoviePass Theater List & Search both the theaters I go to in my area accept MoviePass. I've signed up and downloaded the app, but can't get any theater information on the app itself. I've read online that I won't get most theaters info on the app until I have the physical card. Does this sound relatively correct @Chris DeVoe ?
That was my understanding too. We have two memberships coming. The faq link above I found quite helpful..thanks to the poster for that.