By the time you read this, MoviePass will have over one million subscribers—and, quite possibly, will change the way people go to the movies. Yet you, a well-informed moviegoer currently reading the film section of a reputable alt-weekly, might have no idea what MoviePass is.
That’s because last July, the service only had around 20,000 subscribers, most of them hardcore cinephiles who paid about $50 a month in exchange for one free movie ticket a day. But in August, data company Helios and Matheson Analytics acquired a majority stake; under the guidance of former Netflix and Redbox executive Mitch Lowe, MoviePass slashed their subscription price to $9.95 a month. Membership surged. Like, really surged—around 2,000 percent in the first month.
Despite that explosive growth, the service isn’t widely understood. There’s a great deal of uncertainty about both MoviePass’ business model and what a Netflix-style approach to ticket pricing could mean for movie theaters—particularly in Portland, where Cinema 21, the Laurelhurst Theater, Living Room Theaters, and the non-profit Hollywood Theatre are part of a robust collection of beloved and independent movie theaters.
Speaking to the Mercury, operators of Portland’s indie theaters expressed concern over what MoviePass could mean for them—and confusion regarding the service’s opaque business model, which involves selling tickets at a loss and selling data regarding users’ moviegoing habits.