4 ms·

If you're a regular movie goer, you can get a monthly pass for a little over $20 at the big theater chains. It pays off if you see 2 movies a month, or just 1 i

by 201984 2y ago

If you're a regular movie goer, you can get a monthly pass for a little over $20 at the big theater chains. It pays off if you see 2 movies a month, or just 1 if it's IMAX.

grugagag 2y ago
Yeah, but how many people do that?
darth_avocado 2y ago
That works well when you go to movies alone, for a family of 4, that cost starts going up to $100/month. And unfortunately, not enough good movies come up during the year to justify spending $1000+ every year on just movies. You’re better off watching a couple movies in theaters and then watching the rest on DVD.
- ProfessorLayton 2y ago
  That's a bit of a blanket statement because it's highly location dependent. For example here in the Bay Area, there's a decent amount of Cinemark locations available, and a subscription costs $11/mo for 1 ticket per month with rollover — and those tickets can be used for non-subscibers. They also allow additional ticket purchases at the discounted subscription price. Even if one only goes to the movies a few times a year it's still a good deal over paying retail. A family of 4 can go to the movies 3x per year on $132 here in the SFBAY, which is a far cry from $1,000. Yes, AMC has a much pricier subscription but they also hand out waaay more tickets.
abakker 2y ago
This creates the same "cohort effect" you see in Ski season pass pricing. People who get a good deal from the pass and pay relatively little to go a lot, and people....who just don't go anymore. The whole model this is based on is basically creating a giant audience segmentation and aiming a big part of the funnel at your [competitors, alternatives, etc]
giantrobot 2y ago
There's rarely if ever two movies a month I'm interested in watching let alone going to the theater to watch. Even if there were the ancillary costs for going to the theater push those costs up. Theaters have to compete with my living room. I don't even have some crazy setup but I have a big screen and comfortable seating. I can not turn the audio volume to deafening levels. I can pause if I need to use the bathroom. I also have access to food and drinks that don't cost a small fortune. Back when watching a movie at home meant a VCR connected to a 13" TV with an iffy coax signal, a theater was a very good option. Unfortunately for theaters my home option has gotten better and their offerings have gotten worse. At the very least their offerings have diverged from my interests.

by 201984 2y ago

If you're a regular movie goer, you can get a monthly pass for a little over $20 at the big theater chains. It pays off if you see 2 movies a month, or just 1 if it's IMAX.

grugagag 2y ago

Yeah, but how many people do that?

darth_avocado 2y ago

That works well when you go to movies alone, for a family of 4, that cost starts going up to $100/month. And unfortunately, not enough good movies come up during the year to justify spending $1000+ every year on just movies. You’re better off watching a couple movies in theaters and then watching the rest on DVD.

ProfessorLayton 2y ago
That's a bit of a blanket statement because it's highly location dependent. For example here in the Bay Area, there's a decent amount of Cinemark locations available, and a subscription costs $11/mo for 1 ticket per month with rollover — and those tickets can be used for non-subscibers. They also allow additional ticket purchases at the discounted subscription price. Even if one only goes to the movies a few times a year it's still a good deal over paying retail. A family of 4 can go to the movies 3x per year on $132 here in the SFBAY, which is a far cry from $1,000. Yes, AMC has a much pricier subscription but they also hand out waaay more tickets.

abakker 2y ago

This creates the same "cohort effect" you see in Ski season pass pricing. People who get a good deal from the pass and pay relatively little to go a lot, and people....who just don't go anymore. The whole model this is based on is basically creating a giant audience segmentation and aiming a big part of the funnel at your [competitors, alternatives, etc]

giantrobot 2y ago

There's rarely if ever two movies a month I'm interested in watching let alone going to the theater to watch. Even if there were the ancillary costs for going to the theater push those costs up. Theaters have to compete with my living room. I don't even have some crazy setup but I have a big screen and comfortable seating. I can not turn the audio volume to deafening levels. I can pause if I need to use the bathroom. I also have access to food and drinks that don't cost a small fortune. Back when watching a movie at home meant a VCR connected to a 13" TV with an iffy coax signal, a theater was a very good option. Unfortunately for theaters my home option has gotten better and their offerings have gotten worse. At the very least their offerings have diverged from my interests.