Well, the day has finally come. I’m sad to tell you that we cancelled our MoviePass subscriptions earlier this week.
I held on to hope that maybe things were going to turn around, but it just kept getting worse. And we made the decision this week to cancel both of our accounts.
Since I strongly promoted MoviePass in January, I felt that it was only right for me to share why we decided to cancel our accounts. The reasons weren’t isolated to just one concern. It was a series of issues over the past two months that brought us to this decision.
First off, MoviePass changed their policy a few months ago to say you can only watch the same movie once per account.
This is kind of a big deal as this means that you can’t actually see one movie every day… because most theaters don’t show 30 different movies in one month! Of course, there’s no way I could go to a movie every day, but I still am bothered that they are claiming that they are still offering “unlimited movies” for $10 per month. To me, that’s deceptive marketing.
Then, their customer service had all sorts of issues. I heard from many of you that you had issues with your card and contacted them and hadn’t gotten a response. We contacted them about switching our card to another device and didn’t hear back from them for weeks.
Next, they introduced Peak Pricing — which meant that you had to pay extra for movies that were popular and/or showing at popular times. Again, if the whole reason that we signed up for MoviePass was so that we could see up to one movie per day for just $10, then this defeated the purpose. Because we could only choose movies that weren’t popular or weren’t showing at popular times. Otherwise, we had to pay a few dollars extra per
movie on top of the $10 per month subscription.
We realized that we were beginning to only use the card a max of two times per month due to all of the changes — which meant that movies were costing us about $5 each. That’s not a bad deal, but it wasn’t at all as great of a deal as it had been when we first signed up and could go to ANY m
ovie at ANY time — up to one movie per day.
The final straw for us was when they announced this week that they wouldn’t be allowing you to see big new releases and some show times wouldn’t be available at all for some movies.
Here’s what they said in the email they sent out:
In order to continue growing our service and maintaining a high level of financial discipline, we need to make some modifications:
We must reduce availability for big new-release titles, such as Mission: Impossible – Fallout and other popular new releases, at least for a while as we adjust the business model. We are working on making this more clear in the app so you know which titles are available.
Showtimes that are offered through our service will vary from day to day, and every showtime may not be available. We encourage you to check the MoviePass app for showtimes before you leave for the theater.
It just no longer makes sense for us to pay $10 per month per card (we have two cards) to only be able to see select movies at select times — and that you’ll never know until the day of whether a movie and showing will be available. Plus, you may have to pay extra to see it if it ends up being at a popular time.
Considering the fact that our AMC theater offers $5 Tuesdays (where tickets are just $5 each), it’s a better deal for us to just go on Tuesdays once or twice a month and be able to see the movie we want to see at the time we want to see it — and pay just $5.
So yes, we cancelled our MoviePass subscription and I no longer endorse or support them. If they ever decide to go back to the truly unlimited movies for $10 per month model, I’ll definitely consider signing up again. But for now, I’m out.
I made this choice reluctantly. MoviePass got my family to movies more often. But in Michigan, it is simply impossible to use. Literally you can go weeks with no available movies and if you are lucky to see a movie option it’s limited to one at 2:00 PM on a Tuesday. Sorry I work MoviePass. The last straw was showing up with my daughter hoping to see a movie only to find no tickets left. What pay for a service that I end up paying restaurants regardless. Luckily I used the service enough to recoup my annual subscription. I held out hope but enough is enough.
They have changed to three movies per month with no restrictions and discounts for any movie after that. It is still well worth it for me.
We are on the same boat. Not only it took them an astonishing four months to send me the card (not the wife’s) but also they had to change it, because the so called first delivery never arrived to the house. We have been paying since late December, so like you basically since January, and honestly never used it. So why keep them around? We have better deals as a military family, and yes our theaters have $5 to $7 deals depending on which theater you go to. We are definitely canceling our subscription, also my wife has been nagging me about canceling for months. I guess she showed me who knows best, lol! Thanks for the article it was refreshing!
I had found out about moviepass.com through a posting on my local nextdoor.com, several months ago… I had really considered joining for a year, but now I am so glad that I did not. I just had a feeling that it was going to turn into a massive ‘bait and switch’ type of deal. Which is pretty much what it has become apparently. I have a local Cinemark where I can see a movie for $5 plus tax on Tuesdays. Plus, I go to a lot of free movie screenings when I am able to. For anyone who subscribed for a full year, perhaps if you call your credit card customer service number and explain the situation they can assist you in cancelling and getting some of your money back? Just a thought, cannot hurt to try.
My husband had one and he recently cancelled. Their issues just got to be too much so he got out before it was too late.
We’re still paying for it. So far, it hasn’t kept us from seeing what we wanted to see, but I suspect that’s going to change soon. We’re still waiting to see how it shakes out.
Jonathan Pearson…..There may be an exception that you could use to nullify the agreement based on the significant changes in the underlying terms of the agreement. It is tantamount to the kind of change of terms that may constitute a breach on their part. If you use this article as a foundation for your argument and cite your own reasons as well, you may be able to cancel as well. I would encourage you to try. There is nothing like a well-written letter, persistence, proper escalation and a paper
trail. Lyra
We had Movie Pass since they switched to $10//month (they used to be WAY more!), but now have A-List with AMC, and they are PHENOMINAL- no cards, no physical tickets or wasted paper receipts, good for Dolby, IMAX, and Prime seating, and 3 movies per week… which works out perfect for us! ?
I left MoviePass too, and will not be surprised if someone attempts a class-action lawsuit.
We were offered the opportunity to buy the annual pass in January, after having been on the monthly plan for about 6 months. The first run movies are not available for the first couple of weeks but after that, there is no up-charge for any of the other movies. (Friends are on the month-to-month and depending on the movie, they have to pay an additional $2-$4 p/p). Both being retired with $5 movies on Tuesday, we will not continue our subscription when it runs out. So sad…this and Zaycon were both $$ $avers for us on our retired incomes!
I’m on an annual plan through November (if they’re still in business then!). This has spared me from peak pricing. I figured out that I needed to see 9 movies to break even, and I’ve nearly tripled that. So, I recognized MP is a sinking ship, but it still has been a great value for me.
I am happy to never go to see a movie in the theater again! It is just so expensive for a family of six, like we are. Concessions are definitely not something we can afford either. I also don’t like how all the movie theaters around here have gone to reserved seating where you have to pick your seat when you buy the tickets.
I get on the hold list at our local library for all the newest movies and then we watch them on our 65-inch TV which we got a great deal on at Target last fall. It means we have to wait a while to see the latest movie, but I don’t even care anymore.
Just curious: what do you dislike about reserved seating?
I like to go in and get a feel for the place in deciding where I want to sit. We would always get there early and pick good seats. I also like to be able to switch if someone loud or annoying sits near us. Happened one of the last times when a kid would not stop kicking the back of my seat, so I just moved. (I was going to say something, but the kid looked like Dudley Dursley and the dad looked like the grown-up version)!
Makes it much harder to meet friend at the theater and sit together, with each person buying their own ticket. Our Book club chooses to go to other theaters to avoid reserved seating because of this.
It is so interesting how something like reserved seating is a turn off for some and a lifesaver for others. I LOVE reserved seating. We live in a large metro area, and the crowds make navigating the theater a nightmare sometimes. We love to have our seats reserved so there are no surprises when we get there. Plus the reclining-lounge-chair seats are so wide and big that I have never been bothered by another patron since they feel so far away. Everyone enjoys a different experience for sure!
I LOVE reserved seating, too! 🙂
Since we homeschool we go see the morning movies which only cost $4.00 each before 11am. It’s a great deal and it usually isn’t crowded. Sorry that it didn’t work out for you. ?
You didn’t even mention all of the changes and bugs that make the app itself nearly unusable. And that you now have to send a photo of your ticket stub.
We signed up when the passes we’re about $7-8/mo, but you had to pay for the annual subscription. We liked it at first, but are so disgusted now. Definitely will not be renewing. Hope we can at least still see a couple of movies per month to make it worthwhile, but am not holding my breath.
We also canceled too. It got yo where we could only get the app to actually work half the time. Customer service sucked and with all the changes… very unhappy. Last I read last week their shares are were down to 12 cents a piece. Don’t think they’ll be in business much longer.
I paid the annual subscription rate, but the app rarely worked for me. Because I was required to upload a copy of my ticket, I had to purchase the ticket first. Despite numerous complaints, I was never offered a refund. This was a very disappointing experience.
i love amc if you want a movie pass do a list 3 movies a week and u can see in 3 d or imax it’s 20 a month but worth it i also go for 5 dollar tuesdays and atom tickets and t-mobile always have 5 off ticket deals or 4 tickets for some movies so i do that a lot
I never jumped on this bandwagon. I’m a stay-at-home Mom and always have my 6-year-old son with me. He does not have a cell phone (what 6yo needs one?!) so it defeated the purpose for me. I wasn’t going to pay a babysitter to go to a movie alone. And, like you said about your AMC, our Cinemark does $4.75 tickets all day on tuesdays, plus the first showing on any day is only $5.50. When we want to see a movie as a family, we go on Tuesdays, or we wait for coupon deals on Fandango or Atom Tickets or the like 🙂
You can’t get a pass for a 6 year old even if they had a phone, they have to be 18 or over. So, we had to pay for our 15 year old every time we went to the movie. We ended up spending quite a bit more money than normal, because we ended up seeing more movies than normal and having to pay for her.
We bought the annual plan and have 2 cards. Fortunately, we got the Costco deal ($89.99 each) and have gotten our money’s worth worth before all of this debauchery started! I cannot believe how they have seemed to changed their policies weekly, blacked out movies times, upcharged ticket prices, had “outages”, have little to no customer support, and yet expect to maintain a viable and reputable business. I don’t expect to be able to use my card much longer but it was somewhat nice while it lasted!
I’m so glad you were able to get your money’s worth before things started to go downhill!
Be sure to check with your local Coscto. I have been reading online that they are still allowing their customers a refund for the yearly subscription. It can’t hurt to ask the next time you are at Coscto.
I had been wanting to purchase movie pass, but was afraid my husband’s food bill at the concession stand would defeat the purpose of saving money on the ticket!!!!!
I’m in the same boat. We’ve seen 26 movies since Feb 8th, so for what we paid we have for sure gotten out miney’s worth. We’ll finish out whatever of the year we can and won’t renew. Unless something drastically changes. Costco is offering refunds for those that purchased the Costco plan.
I also canceled mine. They keep changing the policies. To me, you can’t sign up for a plan and then the company change the rules of the plan. It’s called bait and switch.
Exactly this! I feel if the company changes the contract, then you have the option of cancelling your contract. If they don’t let people cancel without penalty, they’ll end up in a lawsuit.
We are planning on cancelling ours this month too. The email the other day about not including all showtimes was the last straw. It wouldn’t be so bad if you knew a day or two ahead of times which showtimes would be included, but this way you can’t plan ahead at all.
What horrible customer service, and after the way they marketed how good and economic this was! I’m a movie fan, so I’ll continue to stick with Netflix which give me a wide variety of programming and my firestick. Thanks a bunch for the update! Hugs…RO
I know! If they hadn’t so heavily marketed it like they did, I doubt they would have as many frustrated and disappointed people as they do! 🙁
I’m glad that MoviePass is increasing rates. This sort of thing is not sustainable in any market. I realize that people in the movie business make a ton of money, but this will only make them lose money(and there are people in Hollywood who work hard and make very little) and make worse movies in the long run. I work in the yoga/pilates business and Class Pass is killing us. It’s similar to Movie Pass. It is the very worst thing for our business and for the people who were coming to our studios before Class Pass came along. Business like this attracts people who would NOT normally spend money in these places but the said business does not make more money. If you love the movies, pay full price for them. I only go to movies I really want to see and wait for the others to come to Netflix or Amazon.
I totally agree! This was an unsustainable business model from the beginning. It’s unfortunate.
It’s too bad that more thought did not go into their business plan. I’m sure many others are disappointed too.
We loved it in the beginning and don’t regret paying for it because it was a really great deal for the first few months and a decent deal for the last few months. 🙂
USA Today had an article about why Movie pass was about to end, as they can’t covet their costs & pay their bills titled “With MoviePass near death, which movie ticket subscription is your best choice?”.
Sounds like it is going the way of Zaycon Fresh…be sure to read up!
I’m grateful that we were on a month to month plan with them, even though it was a little pricier per month than the annual subscriptions! I feel badly for people who had purchased annual subscriptions. 🙁
I’m actually one of those who purchased the annual plan. Shortly after I did, the local Regal closed. The closest one is 25 miles away. Then all of these issue should began. Education is expensive.
Ugh! I’m so sorry!
There may be an exception that you could use to nullify the agreement based on the significant changes in the underlying terms of the agreement. It is tantamount to the kind of change of terms that may constitute a breach on their part. If you use this article as a foundation for your argument and cite your own reasons as well, you may be able to cancel as well. I would encourage you to try. There is nothing like a well-written letter, persistence, proper escalation and a paper
trail. Lyra
We are feeling the same as you, although we haven’t cancelled yet. We wanted to go on a spot if the moment date Tuesday, to see MI: Fallout. Yup, not able to use our MoviePasses! I’m not sure u saw ONE movie in July. ??♀️ Thank goodness it was $5 Tuesday at our Marcus theater. Plus, free popcorn. But, it should have been COMPLETELY free since we had our MoviePasses.
We were also very aggravated about not seeing the same movie twice. Before the change, there were times my husband would see a movie and if he thought I’d like it, then we’d both go. We can’t do that now.
I think we’ve already paid for August or we’d be cancelling. This is no longer a good deal for us. We’ll probably just limit or movies to Tuesdays. We have AMC and Marcus Theaters here, both having $5 Tuesdays.
It was nice while it lasted!
I am on a year. I think it completely stinks that I pre-paid for one plan and now it is completely different. I’m not sure we are staying either.