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Comment by everdev | Hacker News Reader

Curious why movie chains themselves don't sell "season passes", like almost every other entertainment venue. Sure, it might be much more expensive than MoviePass in order to stay profitable, but I haven't seen any movie theater near me attempt something like this.

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Probably because they have high marginal costs (a lot of the ticket price goes to the studios). It would be like a music venue selling you a subscription, but then has to pay the band most of the subscription price if you show up once. I guess it's possible, but there is a reason why your local venue doesn't offer a subscription.

To be successful at this you'd need buy in from the studios and that will be a tough nut to crack.

What entertainment venues were you thinking about that offer subscriptions?

A few chains have started... AMC, Cinemark are a couple I know of. They aren’t nearly as attractive as MoviePass of course, but at least they are sustainable.

AMC and Cinemark, the major chains around me, have those kinds of programs already. I think most chains are starting to implement this.

They're not entirely subscription services, but memberships to offer cheaper tickets to frequent moviegoers etc.

Cinemark gives you about a $1 discount for one ticket only when you subscribe to a monthly membership, which includes only that said ticket per month. It doesn't make any sense.

The Cinemark membership is $8.99, the general admission (2D, non-matinee—what you get the ticket for with the membership) for my local Cinemark theaters is around $12.50.

That's more than a $1 discount. It also includes add-on tickets at the same price (structured so it's basically unlimited viewing for one person plus optional guest at the $8.99/ticket price), concession discounts, and waiving of online ticketing fees.

It's not really anything like MoviePass, but it definitely makes sense.

I see. In my area, general admission (2D, non-matinee) is $9.25 (I thought it was $9.99, but I just checked), so that's why I find it nonsensical. In SF it clearly is a good deal, especially if you frequently go with your family.

That's only for a 2D ticket. The AMC subscription for 20$ a month is so much better if you even go "only" twice a month.

The Cinemark one for us is about $4 cheaper than a regular ticket (SF bay area) and also gives 20% off concessions and you don't have to pay the extra fee charged for standard online purchases.

I think something like a 'membership card' that offers rewards would be more preferable for a theater since it could encourage repeat purchases rather than a single purchase every so often.

AMC now offers this: https://www.amctheatres.com/amcstubs/alist

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