Ever wish there were a Netflix-style subscription service for brand new movies that just released in theaters? Well, there is. It’s called MoviePass, and now for just $10 a month you can see one movie a day in almost any theater.
MoviePass isn’t exactly new. It’s been around since 2011, but the cost for membership used to be a lot more, and people didn’t bite. Now, Mitch Lowe, a co-founder of Netflix and former President of Redbox, is looking to change that by lowering the cost considerably. Starting today, you can head to the MoviePass site or download the app on iOS or Android and sign up for a new subscription at just $9.95 per month—which is honestly kind of insane.
That price gets you into one movie showing every single day at any theater in the U.S. that accepts debit cards (this does not include 3D or Imax showings). Yes, for less than the cost of one showing (in most cities), you could see around 30 a month at over 4,000 theaters across the country if you went every night. Obviously, you’re not going to do that. But if you even see one movie a month your membership is paying for itself! (One caveat: you can only buy your tickets on the the day of the screening—and in many cities, only in-person, as opposed to an e-ticket—making it tough to use MoviePass for theaters or movies that are particularly likely to sell out.)
I don’t know how their business model is going to work—MoviePass still pays theaters the full price of each ticket—but as a film buff who usually pays $18 and up per showing and would like to go to the movies more often, I’m definitely on board. I also noticed that MoviePass works at the small independent film/foreign film theater near me, so that’s a nice perk. Their website is already being slammed with heavy traffic, but I was still able to sign-up (slowly but surely). You can try your luck at the links below.
Update: AMC, the largest movie theater operator in the U.S., released a press statement saying they hope to block MoviePass subscriptions from being used at their theaters in the future. AMC also noted that the new $10 subscription plan is a “shaky and unsustainable program” and that they “will not be able to offer discounts to MoviePass in the future.” That said, AMC doesn’t actually know if it’s possible to opt out of MoviePass yet, so the service should still work at AMC theaters as long as they accept debit cards.