One of the benefits of being an “Alter kocker” (an old fellow) is that I can go the movies for about 7 bucks. Of course, that’s only true if I go early in the day (like before noon).  And, that time frame doesn’t really work for a “date” environment.

And, going to the movies in the evening means one drops about $ 25 or more – just for two tickets, not including the ransom one must pay for the popcorn or a bottle of water  to accompany the movie.  And, these prices seem to prevail despite the fact that fewer and fewer of us are going to the movies.  After all, we can watch those movies at home- for free- from Amazon, Netflix, HBO, Starz, and all those other vendors. (One would think the firms would recognize that the higher the ticket prices, the lower the overall box office revenue. Especially in these days of streaming media.)

But, I also found an interesting deal.  One developed by Mitch Lowe, now the CEO of MoviePass.  (I got a year’s subscription for a song- the price now is $ 9.95 a month (payable in 3 month chunks).  Which you will see is still a darned good deal.)

Mitch Lowe has been long involved in the movie-distribution portion of the entertainment business.   From video store chains, to Nefflix that offered unlimited DVD rentals for a flat fee, to kiosks that proffered movies (which later became Redbox).

Then he spent 8 years developing this concept until he received his venture funding (Ted Farnsworth of Helios Analytical, an angel investor; owns about 90% of the firm.  Verizon is yet another partner).  A lot of that development effort was determining the sweet spot- how much to charge to get folks to join up.

By joining MoviePass, we get the right to go to one movie a day.  Which means we pay less for a full month than the cost to enjoy just one movie!  Now, not all movie theaters are participating, but you’d be surprised how many of them are!

Once we join, we receive a special “MasterCard” (simply a MoviePass entry card).  We also have to download an app for our phones (both Android and Apple have the app).  And, that app doesn’t work on  tablets, just phones.

Of course, we also have to enable location services.  (I have developed an app that lets me turn on location, sign in, and turn off location services in a heartbeat.  Just long enough to “check in” with the theater and choose the movie and the time.)  Why does the app need location services?   Because we have to BE at the movie theater to reserve a spot.  And, once we check in, MoviePass transfers the admission price to our credit card, which the movie theater then draws down when they issue our ticket. (Note:  Some theaters don’t really abide by that reservation.  We may think we have reserved a seat for the 7:22 PM performance. Only to find we have to wait until the 8:05 showing.)

Why is this app critical to MoviePass?  Because MoviePass is collecting our data, what we want to see, where we go to see it, etc. And, given that we don’t need to drop $ 15, $ 20, or $ 25 bucks to see the movie, we are (according to Mitch Lowe) far more likely to try to catch the movie.

Except, MoviePass is paying the theater the going rate for the movie.  Yes, that means that each time we see a movie, we are draining the cash reserves of the firm.  Fast.

So, Lowe has to convince the theater chains that the data he is accumulating is worth big bucks.  So, they will buy that data, which he can use to keep his treasury filled.  (He has managed to convince a few of the independents to do so, but Regal, AMC, and Cinemark are clearly not on board.)

After all, the film distributors (Sony, Warner Brothers, etc.) have no clue who sees what movie.  But, Netflix, Amazon, and Comcast certainly do maintain such data systems.  Which explains why the film distributors spend a fortune (about ½ or more of those vaunted film production costs) to advertise their flicks to us.  It’s also why the “artsy-tartsy” movies often fail to find a big screen and get shunted to streaming or movie channels right away,.  The risk is simply too big to attempt a big movie introduction.

Which may explain how MoviePass has grown from 20,000 to 2 million subscribers in just 10 months. Even though most of us subscribers are pretty sure MoviePass will fold sometime soon- real soon!

In the meantime, I’m off to the movies.  Want to come with?