My Moviepass Review, Updated After 6 Months of Use
I decided to sign up for Moviepass after seeing a few reviews and seeing how beneficial the program can be. After using it for the last month I have enjoyed the experience so much I thought I would give you my own Moviepass review.
If you are considering canceling Moviepass here is my step by step guide.
There have been a lot of changes to the program since writing this review so I thought it was in need of an update. I have adjusted my overall grade to reflect that.
If you are thinking of signing up now – don’t. They are changing the rules day to day and are always on the brink of running out of money. They are blocking out movies and only allowing you to see certain ones even after reducing it to 3 per month. They have even un-canceled people’s cancelled accounts to try to get more money.
Related: Sinemia Movie Plan Review – Better Than Moviepass?
Details on the Moviepass
Moviepass is like the Netflix of movie theater going. You pay a flat fee and then you can see as many 2D movies as you want during the month. The catch was you can only see 1 movie every 24 hours. Moviepass no longer allows you to see the same movie more than once either. People abusing the Moviepass program, which lead to a slew of shutdowns, was most likely the cause of this change. You can see 25-30 movies a month if you so chose and there are enough new movies available.
Moviepass currently offers two packages:
- $9.95 per month for
unlimited movies each month3 Movies per month $7.95 for 3 movies per month
Moviepass has recently added dynamic pricing to their program which is on top of the monthly or yearly fee. They call it Peak Pricing and you may get hit with an extra fee for popular movies at popular times. Details of the program can be found here.
How Moviepass Works
To be able to use Moviepass you need to have a smartphone. Everything is done via their app. Once you sign up they send you your Moviepass card. It looks just like a debit/credit card.
When you get to the theater you then select which movie you would like to watch from the app. Moviepass then immediately sends the money needed for that movie to your Moviepass card. You must be within 100 yards of the theater in order to load money to your card.
Some members are now being required to take a picture of their ticket stub after making the purchase. This is another way Moviepass is attempting to combat fraud and abuse.
Once the movie is selected and the money is on your card you buy a ticket like you normally would and pay with your Moviepass card. You can even use the theaters reward program to stack your savings. I usually go to an AMC theater and I am an member of their Stubs Program. So I am earning full points on something I paying a fraction of the price for.
Some people have reported certain theaters not allowing members to earn points if paying with a Moviepass. I have not run into this issue but you could always just buy the tickets at an unmanned kiosk to avoid the issue if they are available. There have been reports of Stubs shutting down people’s accounts for using Moviepass so don’t let you rewards build up, earn them and burn them.
Coverage
I have about 50 theaters in the program near my house. All of the major ones are included near me (AMC, MJR, Goodrich, Emagine, Cinemark). The local and more botique theaters are included as well. You can always check out your area’s coverage before taking the leap.
My Figures/Personal Experience
It hasn’t quite been 30 days for me yet but I have gone to 4 movies. The first 3 cost $5.99 per ticket and the 4th one was $9.99. So I have gotten $27.96 in value out of my $9.99 monthly fee.
I used to be a big movie buff and went to the movies frequently. Once our work lives got busier, we had kids, and movie costs went through the roof we stopped going as much. I probably went to 2-3 movies per year over the last 4 years.
With Moviepass I have been trying to go to one per week. I guess you could call it my New Year’s resolution. Since there is no additional cost, as long as I stay away from the snacks, I find myself making time for it. Even if the movie is only marginally entertaining I still get value out of it.
How to Maximize it With AMC Stubs
I frequent AMC theaters and I am a member of their Stubs program. If you are going to use their theaters as well, make sure you upgrade to their Premiere program. This will get you 100 points per dollar versus 10 points per dollar in their standard program.
The cost is $15 for the year. You can pay for it with a gift card so make sure you buy a discounted gift card, from a place like CardCash, to pay for it which will save you close to 25%. You also earn 1500 AMC Stubs points for the purchase.
For every 5,000 points your get a $5 gift card. At 100 points per dollar that is a 10% rebate on all of your ticket purchases. In as little as 5 movies you could get a $5 AMC credit. If you go to the movies often this will pay off in the long run.
RELATED: AMC has released their own movie plan program that blends Sinemia and Moviepass together.
Conclusion
If you enjoy going to the movies and could see yourself going at least twice per month this is a no brainer. The more movies you go to the lower your cost per movie is. If you prefer 3D or IMAX movies be sure to check out our review of SINEMIA too.
They also make great gifts. I convinced my friend to get it for his brother for Christmas. His brother spent close to $200 on movie tickets last year so that works out to a pretty amazing gift!
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The only thing I miss about MoviePass is that you could use it a various theaters (if they let you). The AMC here in Madison is a bit on the schlocky side… miss the barcaloungers. 🙂 But at least you can go see the film if it’s playing. You can book the tickets and seats in advance, and you don’t have to play games.
Yup – ease of use and actually being able to use it are sometimes the most important things
MoviePass was the biggest ripoff ever! Don’t waste your money!!
We received it as a Christmas present from our son last year. After the second time at trying to use it, we were successful and enjoyed it for about a month and a half. Then we began hearing about problems with the company and changes in the plans. But we received an email that we were grandfathered in- we weren’t! We started being blocked from certain new/popular films. Then we started being blocked from all films (afternoons and evenings) from our 3 local theatres as well as theatres an hour away! We gave up trying a couple months before our contract was up! We tried to contact the company from a link on our phones (the only way we could). The only responses were worthless computer driven responses! Especially frustrating was a 30 minute window to purchase, which meant we had to order from a usually somewhat empty lot or on our way- so we wasted a lot of time as well as all the frustration!
I would avoid at all costs now for sure. Sinemia isn’t much better these days either.
I got rid of our 3 passes, got a partial refund from Costco and bought the AMC A-List. Much happier. I’ve seen 4 movies so far, and they are always available. Any film they have showing. Last time I tried to use my Moviepass, I drove to the theater and the times disappeared (it wasn’t the first time, either). I was willing to put up with almost all their shenanigans except for that. Shame on them. I could see them cutting down on movies, but having them show times and then when you drive there and go to check in, it’s not there anymore … well, that’s no way to run a business.
Glad to hear AMC has been working out for you. I have heard nothing but good things about it.
Finally canceled mine. So many theaters in my area and only one movie would be playing at only one theater per day. It was never a theater close by. There would be many times that there were no movies available at all. I saw 4 movies this month all out of pocket. Bye Movie Pass! You are truly a pain to use!
It is crazy how hard they have made it to actually use the program.
Close them down! Worthless!
If you purchased a one year plan through Costco, they are giving prorated refunds. I got $30 back last month. I called Costco at the end of October after being able to only see ONE movie all month. They direct you to go online on their website, look up your original order and select “return”.
Today, between three local theaters and 44 screens, there is not a single movie to see. This in spite of Bohemium Rapsody being one of today’s “supported” movies that is showing at all three theaters!
Moviepass is now bragging that on average, each subscriber saw .85 movies last month. Of course they are! There is nothing they can go see! Such a scam!
They have gone completely against what they said the program was about for sure.
Movie pass is only allowing a choice of one movie for the past week and the time is 10pm. The government should be checking out this fraud. Even when they gave an I
Opportunity to withdraw from the contract, they gave the impression you could see 3 movies a month of your choice. But that is not happening
I wouldn’t be surprised if a class action happens at some point – if there is anything left to sue at that point.
Yes could not agree any more. The service when from amazing to total garbage. Do not subscribe. You have been warned.
Mark, recommend you update your review to AVOID AVOID AVOID.
I joined in January; many if not most of us realized MP wouldn’t last, especially with their wretched business strategy – which is reflected in the worst customer service I’ve ever experienced. Seriously, a surly waitress slamming your way-overdone but cold steak down so hard the mashed potatoes leap into your lap is providing better service- at least you get your food!
Knowing it wasn’t sustainable, we went to lots of movies and overlooked how they failed – such billing me for two weeks before my card arrived & could be used.
For well over a month now, no weekend “showings” have been available with a 125-mile radius; MP’s responses have been late and *always* canned (because now I’ve read them multiple times – sometimes during the same chat!) – so they never address any problem. Many times now, the app has shown a movie to be available only to have all showings disappear once I arrived at the theater 15 minutes later. I don’t mind playing by MP’s rules but I expect them to abide by them also.
My Terms say nothing about showings being pulled, so it seems they’re in violation of contract in order to stop bleeding money. Because of these apparently fraudulent behaviors, I’ve cancelled my membership and have referred this to the Washington State Attorney General’s office; they take a really dim view towards consumer fraud.
It was a crazy ride while it lasted. They had to have lost a large portion of their customer base over the last 2-3 months for sure.
I think all customers who purchased movie pass should take legal action. Let’s close this company !
I think it will be closing on it’s own shortly. They are unable to issue any more stock for a cash influx.
I agree that.. App is not allowing to book tickets once reached to theatre and very late response from support, I wasted my time thrice as the app does not allow to book tickets until we reach theatre.
Spent the money to buy two Annual passes for MoviePass. Was ok for the first three months, now, out of 15 movies at our local theater, there is the same two movies to see at 10pm for the past three weeks. Of course, the two movies are not one that I would recommend to my worst enemy. Contacted MoviePass, all I get is apologies saying it will get better. That was two months ago. Of course, no refunds. Save your money, and look elsewhere.
I got the MP annual subscription as a gift. For awhile, it was working nicely. I did see at least 4 movies a month. So it is good. But with the new changes in place, even for a annual subscriber like me, the service is getting worse and worse.
For example, there will be normal selections on Sunday morning around 9am for all theaters in my area. But by 9:50am, all selections would be gone. I would have, maybe, 1 to 2 movie selection to choose from by 10am. Obviously, the seats are gone really fast.
And MoviePass has the worst customer service. They are not able to help at all. I am just glad that my MP subscription is a gift. There is no chance for renewal at this point.
I wish they would just cap it per monthly and allow you to go to whatever movie you want at this point (like sinemia). This opening and closing availability is insane.
That would work fine for me! I loved this for the first few months that I had it. I don’t go to many movies. Maybe 2 a month, but still felt I’d get my money’s worth. Now, with the one or two movie that THEY pick that I can see, it is a JOKE! The great part of it was seeing ANY movie, ANY time at ANY theater! It sure isn’t NOW what I bought last February. I’m sure they are getting NO new subscriber now. I would certainly not recommend it now.
Yup same experience I had – sad
We used the yearly service for 2 months, then after seeing many movies with that membership our cards stopped working and customer service was not responsive. Our credit card was immediately refunded in full after our contact with our credit card company.
Now they are only allowing you to choose from two movies they pick each day. Today it was The Meg and The Spy Who Dumped Me. Went to see The Meg at 2:20 PM, and got to see it. What’s on tomorrow, who knows? What happens when you’ve seen their choices already? This is really all nonsense. Not sure how they think this is even viable. May have to get a refund from Costco. Don’t really want to cancel, but it’s getting worse every day. I don’t see this going anywhere.
It is getting crazy – they change it day by day and hour by hour. I am going to rework the entire review today or tomorrow.
The above article/review was written two days before the big crash that Movie Pass sustained. Since then it has been a complete disaster. Prior to the 27th of July I would have given glowing reviews of Movie Pass, but since then I have been unable to use the app. Good thing I was able to get my money’s worth prior to their demise. Since the 27th July, 2018. I have been to the movie several times and have been unable to use the Movie Pass. They are now selecting one movie that is available at the theaters near me and if it isn’t a movie I want to see then too bad. I’m sad to see the changes that they have made because for the first while we loved it and had recommended it to many others. Now, I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. I don’t see Movie Pass being around much longer.
Used the pass for the last seven months and I was OK with the minor changes with the program. The most recent change was over the top. My wife and I go to the early matinees. We don’t go in the afternoons or evenings. Now the only available times to use the pass are the evenings. What a joke and designed to try to avoid having us use our pass. I’m sure they analyzed usage data and since we always go to matinees let’s only make evenings available to them. Anyway we purchased our passes from Costco. Returned the passes to Costco on Sunday and received our entire purchase cost back for both passes.
I am surprised they didn’t prorate the refund or something. Hopefully Costco is able to get some of that cost back from MoviePass.
[…] My Moviepass Review, Updated & … – For my full Moviepass review I go over how the system works, area coverage, and the cost. I have also updated as changes contiue to happen with the program. […]
Today every movie at every theater was blacked out until night time. Old movies and new releases. I understand that they needed to tighten the reins, but not offering any movies can’t be kosher?
I think they are doing whatever they can to make the little bit of cash they have left last. I decided to cancel my membership last week because I was tired of the constant changes and app issues but I was on the monthly plan.
Today my son I were planning to go see “Three Identical Strangers” today (Sunday) at the local AMC. It’s not a hot movie, like Mission Impossible, but still wanted to see it. We went to theatre and attempted to check in for the film. The app came back with some message stating “Your session expired and you need to re-login”. So quit out of MoviePass, re-logged in. Then it acted like I had changed cell phones (I hadn’t, I was using the same phone I’ve used for all my MP bookings). I had to click that I wanted to change to this phone number (the same phone number) and I couldn’t change it again… ?#$%. so I clicked on it, logged in with my email and pass.. went to the film check in (we were at the theatre) and it still wouldn’t let me check in for the film. Got the same “Your session expired and you need to re-login” message. My son had the same exact experience. So we left the theatre and went home.
Doesn’t look good for MoviePass.
Yeah I think I may cancel mine this week so I don’t get charged again for something that doesn’t work.
They’re a piece of shit service. They keep updating their terms of service, you can’t reach customer service, they keep making every showing a “special feature” so you have to pay extra, and they will occasionally just cancel your reservation without notice and rebook your seat. It’s not wonder a dishonest company like this got removed from the NASDAQ
Such a waste pass it is. I had all the fun for 5 months and it started paining to movie pass company when i started seeing more movies. The business model is fail model. It cancelled without any proper reason even though i uploaded the ticket stub and said i cant activate for 9 months . Never going to use it. I cancelled my wife’s movie pass too. Worst worst company
It is great when it works but almost unfixable when something goes wrong. Pretty sad really. With their dynamic pricing kicking in now I think a lot of people will be looking elsewhere.
My $90 investment has already be recouped in 3 months (12 movies). Other than that one theater mishandling Movie Pass customers, there are no complaints. I’m going to ride the wave as far as it will take me!
I’m enjoying the topic, Mark.
I am riding it till it dies as well. I will enjoy it while it lasts which probably won’t be too much longer. Then I will move on to Sinemia or AMC’s program.
I was about to cancel, when I found your article. Now I am torn…
If movie pass had STARTED at a much larger fee, even 40 bucks a month, for all the movies you want to see, I would still have tried it. Especially if it STAYED that way.
It’s more realistic. Having a really reduced cost made me think it wasn’t really legitimate, but I tried it and right off, it starts changing.
If we have to abide the user agreement – contract, why don’t they? It is like they are saying, “The contract you signed? Ya, it’s worthless now. Oh ya, and it will cost you more. Don’t like it? We are doing it for you.”
The changes have been annoying and have been happening too often. I think it is mainly because they are struggling and people have been abusing the program from the beginning. Some of it is stuff they should have probably done in the beginning and other is stuff they are doing to create more cash flow. I don’t think they should have changed the annual fee subscribers but the monthly people, like me, I think it is less in poor taste since we can cancel at any point if we want and won’t be out anything.
the theater closest to home (Epic) where we’ve been seeing most of our MP movies (11 for me in 3 months, most of them Flashback Cinema movies) has started making Movie Pass customers sit in the first 2 rows, even if the rest of the theater is nearly empty. This sucks royally, and it’s made us decide that we will no longer frequent them, and will drive a little further instead to get better treatment (New Vision is the nest closest theater). They’re getting the full price of the tickets from Movie Pass, why treat the customers badly?
Wow that doesn’t make sense as long as MP is actually sending them the money. But who knows with MP money troubles if that is still happening or not.
I am not sure how much longer this gravy train is going to last. A lot of negative news coming out about the higher ups in MP etc. I think I will move onto the new AMC program when this one ends or I may just take a break, not sure. I have enjoyed the run though!
We bought 3 passes around Christmas last year. We have finally broken even, so all the movies we will from now on will be basically free. Which is okay, but I’m not sure I like all the bother. Two of us have to take photos of the ticket stub. Basically we go see movies in the afternoons, and stay away from top films that are popular and have just come out. The most annoying part though is the get 3 tickets booked, then logged in one at a time so we can sit together. We’ve seen 10 films each so far, with probably another 10-15 more in the next six months. Really don’t like having to show up and buy the tickets and then go back later to see the film to get a decent seat. Will re-evaluate things toward the end of the year…
One of the other problems is there aren’t enough films that we want to see. Two many Marvel films and sequel movies; bad comedies… etc.
I’m thinking of trying out this movie pass. It’s for my husband and I and I have 3 teenagers. Do I get there own card’s or put them all on my card? How does this work?
Everyone has to sign up separately for their own accounts. Just be aware that people have been reporting that it is taking forever to get their cards.
Benefit is pretty worth it but customer service sucks. I have a business cell phone and a personal cell phone and when it first became available I was logging in to buy tickets between the two phones. But then I had to limit apps on my business phones. They updated policies since and on a night I went out thinking I can use my pass paired to my personal phone it would not let me use it, saying that my device was not authorized. Customer Service was not available to attend and fix my issue. I got so frustrated, I didn’t watch the movie. Now I hear there is more new policies. I have not used my membership for 2 months now, but I hope the next experience won’t be an issue or I will cancel for sure. Too many inconveniences makes it more a headache than a usable service that is satisfying.
Yeah once you run into problems the program becomes useless since they are of no help.
Great concept but does not deliver as it should. I’ve had my membership for almost 2 months and I’ve been having problems since day one. 1) Every time I go to the movies (theater personnel can’t help) I would have to call to MoviePass and also would have to reboot my phone in order for it to take. 2) Another downfall, sometime I would have to actually be inside the movie theater before it would accept my request; and 3)THE CONSTANT CHANGES MOVIEPASS is making on a daily basis which is ridiculous: (take a picture of the stub and send it to them or they will cancel your membership; also, once you see a movie you can not see it again [it shouldn’t matter how many times you choose to see a movie since it’s a paid membership] and now as of July 2018 MoviePass has chose to add on additional fees as it states for hot new film will incur an additional fee as it applies to month-to-month subscribers. What kind of crap is this! I no longer want this MoviePass so as of today, June 21 I cancelled my membership. I would rather pay my money to the venue.
I hope this info helps anyone deciding to join. RUN……………AWAY! It’s not worth the headache.
1. Terrible customer service. I never received a bill but my credit card was charged a whole year non refundable. When asked a customer service, they never answered directly. Even for an app glitch, it says I already watched a movie which I did not. Customer service was very bad at solving my problem.
2. Often times, by the time I reached the theatre, movies are sold out. Because movie pass can not book a movie or seat in advance. Sometimes the movie time was listed wrong. Then the next one is in 2hrs. It is very frustrated!!
3. Worst seat in the house left for last minute pass holder. Again, because can not reserve seat.
Those are all issues with MP unfortunately. One workaround people do is to stop by the theater earlier in the day to purchase the ticket they want. A pain if you aren’t close but an option. I always use the theater’s website for movie times so I have never noticed if they are ever wrong or not. Sounds like Sinemia may be a better fit for your needs.
My wife and I have been a MoviePass member since November 2017. We started at the $9.99 per month then switched to the per year deal. We were seeing movies almost every other day and did not have any problems. Then at the end of April 2018 they updated their app. Since then I cannot even download their app from Google Play. It says device not compatible. I have been emailing customer service ever since but no solution. I have yet to be able to download their new app and use MoviePass for over a month and they do not seem to care as their responses have been nonexistent. If you asked me about MoviePass in April I would have said it’s great! Now I will tell everyone to use it at your own risk. Also, when they changed their app they starting forcing people to take a picture of their ticket stub so they will be able to go to another movie. They also instituted a new rule that prevents you from seeing the same movie more than once.
MP is great until you run into a problem with them. They, as well as Sinemia, have some of the worst customer service possible.
Wow. That is amazing. I was skeptical, but that’s good to know. I hope I receive my card soon. I am very excited to give it a whirl! I still haven’t gotten it and it’s been a little more than a week. I requested a new one and the rep assured me it would arrive between 7-10 business days.
I know they are a little backed up from high demand so it may take a few weeks but it is pretty amazing once you get it. I hope it lasts but I don’t see how it possibly can!
Quick question: When you go to see a movie, do you have to pay the price of the movie minus the $9.99 MoviePass monthly subscription charge, or does that $9.99 completely cover the cost of the movie? I basically want to know am I paying anything out of pocket. Am I still paying for the movie? along with the subscription cost….