In some ways, MoviePass always felt really scammy so never went in with it: a too good to be true proposition (also, it isn't a gym membership: they can't guilt you into signing up for a year right at New Years. So buoying the users who didn't leverage the pass yet paid for it vs those who really leveraged it seemed to be an unattainable dream).
But that being said, when AMC came out with their own version? I went for it and I'm very pleased. I can take my daughter to see a movie pretty much whenever (2-3 a month, really. Have to buy her ticket because it is only for 18 and up though. A single movie essentially pays for that month though). Plus, I seem to get some kind of money voucher thing as this most recent time I had $60 available somehow and the drinks and popcorn were billed to that.
So maybe MoviePass was trying to play the middleman in a way they couldn't as they couldn't control the theaters as much as they hoped for their own survival, but the existence of it maybe clued theaters into a different revenue stream that could work for them (and customers). So thanks MoviePass.
If only MoviePass had gone B2B and partnered with theaters to provide the backend systems for white-label movie subscription plans, they'd still be around today.
Why would the movie chains need MoviePass? AMC already had its own online system for payments, reservations, had mobile apps and website and had handheld system to allow e-tickets. They had the free AMC Stubs program already where people could register. Adding the subscription plan wasn’t that heavy of a lift.
MoviePass did attempt one gym-like move: telling you you couldn't re-register for 9 months if you cancelled. This isn't exactly the under-utilization strategy of a gym, but I think it's plausible they had thought they were going to curb costs a bit from under-utilizers.
Gyms succeed on this because it takes will power to keep going. OTOH a movie is enjoyable and having free movie tickets sitting there that you are not claiming would seem insane.
But that being said, when AMC came out with their own version? I went for it and I'm very pleased. I can take my daughter to see a movie pretty much whenever (2-3 a month, really. Have to buy her ticket because it is only for 18 and up though. A single movie essentially pays for that month though). Plus, I seem to get some kind of money voucher thing as this most recent time I had $60 available somehow and the drinks and popcorn were billed to that.
So maybe MoviePass was trying to play the middleman in a way they couldn't as they couldn't control the theaters as much as they hoped for their own survival, but the existence of it maybe clued theaters into a different revenue stream that could work for them (and customers). So thanks MoviePass.