What’s hot?
The famous service that allows its users to watch one movie per day at just the price of $9.95 a month seems to have a lot of followers. Who doesn’t like cheap stuff especially when its movies coupled with a huge screen? The MoviePass app saw an exponential growth with a 6500 percent increase in just 5 months when it gained around 1 million subscribers. This was after the company decided to lower the subscription rate.
Thank you. #MoviePassMillion pic.twitter.com/pLPTz4f26a
— MoviePass (@MoviePass) December 20, 2017
CEO of MoviePass and co-founder of Netflix, Mitch Lowe mentioned in the press release that the company has seen immense growth in the last four months. Lowe also stated that as more theatres join the app, the rate of subscribers will also increase. He also said that when more benefits would be included, more users will join the app. Mitch Lowe states, “We believe that growth will continue as we further develop our application, improve customer service, enhance exhibitor relations and fill movie theatre seats for incredible films to be released in the future.”
The Curious Case of MoviePass business model
Despite the great success of the great service provider, a lot many theatre chains are curious and puzzled about the way in which MoviePass is doing its business. Many theatres have started raising suspicions on the business model that MoviePass follows. So, when the CEO of the service provider announced the drop in prices, AMC theatres issued a statement criticising their new business model. Their statement stated that their model was “unsustainable and only sets up consumers for ultimate disappointment down the road if or when the product can no longer be fulfilled.” They also said that the legal team was investigating “whether it may be feasible to opt out and not participate in this shaky and unsustainable program.”
Even though AMC finds the service provider’s business model problematic, the CEO of MoviePass mentioned to Variety that theatre chains like Regal and Cinemark feel differently.
Lowe said, “We talked to the independents and the majors, the other two big guys [Regal and Cinemark] and they feel completely different.” He further added, “They all are taking a wait-and-see attitude, but they are positive about what we are doing. They welcome anybody who has figured out a way to get people back to the movies.”
What’s not?
Although MoviePass took less time to reach a million people than Netflix and Hulu, the app also poses a catch. The app has not only received a lot of criticism from the media but also from users. The app is more restrictive than the freedom it puts forth for us. Firstly, one needs to be within 100 yards of the theatre to get access to a ticket. So what if someone does go specifically to watch a film but because it’s houseful, s/he has to return back. There goes the enthusiasm doused by the fuel.
Apart from that, the app might be helpful for those who go to watch a movie alone. What about those who would like to go together and enjoy a film? Also, one can only buy the ticket on the spot. So you can’t book them. What’s the use of leaving the house not being sure where you are going and whether you will be sitting for the film or not? These are some of the main concerns why many users find it a little inconvenience to use the app. Before working on giving more benefits and discounts, if they could just take care of the following problems, then they would have even more than 2 million users. But for now, we don’t like the restrictions it ties us with.