I don’t usually go to the movies, but having gotten a surprise subscription for a year to this new movie pass from my brother for my birthday, I might be going out a bit more now. So, it looks like the movies aren’t quite a dying breed of experience, after all. With streaming apps like Hulu and Netflix having taken them over, the theaters are finally retaliating with an app of their own.
Although, unlike Hulu and Netflix, you still have to get off your butt and move if you want to watch the movie that bad.
You simply sign up on moviepass.com with an account, which is as much as it costs for Netflix: $10 a month. But instead of waiting for a year for a movie to be finally worth watching to come on Netflix, you can go to the movies to see it when you feel like it.
Here’s the only thing—you have to buy the ticket in person. Sorry, introverts. Since it’s only currently standard films you can see through your subscription at MoviePass, you may or may not need to wait around. Since you sometimes have to wait, spontaneity can be a good thing. If that last jerk stole the time you wanted you may need to see the next time for the movie you want to see.
But at 10 dollars a month and already with 1.5 million subscribers, maybe it’s worth getting out of the house? Summer is just around the corner, with spring trying to get around to us, and the one good thing about the theaters is it can be snow or no snow if you really want to see that movie you’ve been dying to see in any weather.
Just keep in mind that not all theaters are taking part in this program. Not surprisingly, this includes many, if not all, AMC theaters. And you can’t see 3D or iMax movies with the MoviePass through any theater, as the prices for those are necessarily higher to keep such things running. But if you don’t mind seeing simply standard movies, not counting whatever snacks you get on your way in—I won’t mention those of us who still try to sneak them in, shh—it’s only as much as your subscription for the card if you just go see the movies. That’s $10 a ticket with MoviePass, each time.
And you can see up to one movie in the theater a day.
That’s seven movies a week—at only 10 dollars. Make that a month and if you actually do use it so much that counts up to about thirty movies, as they come out.
I only just got mine—backlogged by the surprising amount of people still interested in a going-to-the-movies experience which for me, took about two to three weeks to finally receive in the mail. This is only a review on reviews, for now, but maybe with this coming out in time, you can see for yourself if it’s really worth its hype.
With Netflix having been around the longest, since 1997, and Hulu since 2007, it’s ironic, but not surprising, that MoviePass is trying to come back from the dead by reinventing itself with this attempt at a subscription-based app. Having been founded by Mitch Lowe, co-founder of Netflix and former Redbox president, the theaters are clearly hoping to make a comeback.
Honestly, as with everything else, it all depends on what kind of an experience you want. If you don’t mind not having AMC as a choice theater, having to be flexible, if not spontaneous, then maybe MoviePass is right for you.