Going to the movies is expensive. Here in New York a regular adult ticket costs about $12, which doesn't even include the price of popcorn and soda. MoviePass, which is currently in beta, wants to fix this by offering an all-you-can-watch subscription to the movies.
TechCrunch reports that for a subscription fee of $25-$40 per month (depending where you live) you can go watch one movie per day. You fire up the MoviePass app, pick the flick you want to watch, and the service automatically adds funds to a MoviePass debit card, which you then use to purchase tickets at the theater. If you go (or want to go) to the movies more than three times a month, the service is a steal.
The movie theater companies, though, are hesitant to sign-on to MoviePass—that's why MoviePass is using this debit card model that doesn't require a particular theater be on board. (For about a year, MoviePass was using a print-your-tickets-at-home model, which failed to gain traction with theaters.) As TechCrunch points out, theaters don't want to give up their power to set high prices, even if it means there are more bodies buying concessions. In order for this to go from the current beta version to a full-fledged service, MoviePass is going to have to prove it's worth it. What's sure is that people are interested. There are reportedly 70,000 people on the waiting list for the beta. Are you one of them? Would you even want to be? [MoviePass via TechCrunch]