Seeing movies on the big screen is something I really enjoy. I don’t go see all movies, or even most movies, but if there’s a movie I want to see, I usually want to see it in theaters. Preferably, during opening weekend, with a hyped crowd. Seeing the Avengers in IMAX, with my friends all dressed as the Avengers, is one of my favorite memories.
However, these days I have a hard time convincing myself to spend that eight, ten, or twelve dollars on a movie ticket. I love the experience, but it’s hard for me to justify the price for anything short of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, though I did go see Wonder Woman twice. (Infinity War tickets have already been purchased!) Then I started seeing post after post on Facebook about MoviePass, and I found myself intrigued.
For $9.99 a month, you can go see one regular, 2-D movie in theaters a day. A DAY! That’s basically the price of one movie ticket and you can see as many as you have time for in a month.
Note: At time of publication, MoviePass is running a special for $6.95 a month for new subscribers when billed annually.
How it works is you register online and in seven to ten days, they mail you what is basically a credit card. When you arrive at the theater, you check in on the app for the movie you want to see. The appropriate amount of funds are then loaded onto your MoviePass card and you proceed to buy your movie ticket like normal. You can even still use any rewards or member programs your theater may have to earn points for free stuff! We have a free movie ticket pending at Epic Theaters that I don’t think is ever going to get used, but I’m really excited for the free popcorn we earned when we went to see Tomb Raider.
The best part of MoviePass, is I get to see movies I never would have gotten to see at all, essentially for free, in theaters! Jay has seen The Greatest Showman seven times now (apparently that’s what he does when I go out of town), and I’ve seen Tomb Raider, Jumanji, Pacific Rim, and a bunch of other movies I wouldn’t have necessarily spent the money on.
The only downside to MoviePass is you can’t buy your tickets in advance. You have to be at the theater on the day you’re planning to see the movie. Jay and I drove to the theater at 11:00 a.m. to get our tickets for the 7:00 p.m. Black Panther. Since the theater we go to the most doesn’t really do advance tickets anyway, this works great for us. When Avengers: Infinity War went on sale, I just whipped out my debit card on the AMC website. MoviePass also doesn’t work at the AMC at Disney Springs, which is the theater I used to go to the most often. I haven’t been going to AMC as much lately anyway, since I have another theater that’s closer, but I’m curious how much not accepting MoviePass is hurting them with locals. It’s Disney Springs. That theater will always be busy though, so I’m sure they’re not worried.
MoviePass doesn’t work on 3-D movies, and it also doesn’t work on special events like Fathom or Marvel Marathons, but it does make it more economical for you to go see movies the way they were made to be seen, on the big screen.
