What the New MoviePass Model Means for Screenwriters

By: Christopher Osterndorf

For those not already in the know, MoviePass recently announced they would be lowering their subscription costs to $10 a month. As one might expect, this move has resulted in something loosely resembling all hell breaking loose.

A company which caters to people who see a lot of movies, MoviePass subscribers get sent a debit card after signing up for their service and downloading the MoviePass app. Once you’re all set up, you check in ahead of time on the app, selecting the film you want to see, then use the card to purchase your ticket when you show up in person. It doesn’t work at every theater, and you can’t see more than one movie a day, but once you have the app and the card, you can more or less see any film day one at any theater that accepts MoviePass — now for the low low price of just $10 a month.

While movie fans may initially celebrate this news, not everyone is so excited about the announcement. Theater giant AMC promptly slammed the model as bad for everyone, threatening legal action and consulting attorneys in order to investigate potential methods of circumventing MoviePass’s new model.

It’s hard to say right now what the long and short term effects of the MoviePass bombshell might be. Whether the company will undergo further radical changes or become the new model for ticketing is still up in the air, with the most likely scenario probably falling somewhere in the middle.

For filmmakers, the more pressing question is what these radically shifting business models means for creative types? How do we, as writers, directors, actors, and film artists of all kinds, stay relevant? Fortunately, the one certainty is that people will still go to the movies, one way or another.

At the onset, it’s hard not to see how the MoviePass news is a good deal for creators. Not only do people who make movies usually love movies, but the opportunity to see more movies for less money is also be an opportunity to expand one’s horizons. If you live in a major metropolitan area, the cost of MoviePass is less that what you would pay to see one movie a month. But if forced to buy a ticket for every individual movie, especially at a price point of $12, $15, sometimes upwards of $17 a pop, it’s harder to explore films outside of one’s usual comfort zone.

With MoviePass, aspiring filmmakers can be less anxious about the price of a trip to the theater, and therefore they can see more films than they would’ve before. When it comes to promoting a culture of cinematic literacy, this can only be a plus – so long as its balanced against a healthy bottom line for the film industry.

As such, it’s also important to think about how a deal like this could impact trends in Hollywood. MoviePass doesn’t include IMAX or 3D showings, for one, which restrains premium ticket to traditional sales models. Then again, 3D has lost a lot of favor with American audiences, so much so that some are questioning why Hollywood continues to make 3D movies at all. As seems to be the answer to all of Hollywood’s woes lately, the main reason 3D isn’t going away has to do with the international box office, where it remains very popular. While the summer blockbuster season this year is once again disappointing from a ticket sales perspective, it’s in foreign markets that Hollywood continues to put their hopes, even as film after film fails to live up domestically.

If a subscription service for movies catches on, whether it’s MoviePass or something altogether different, we could see an interesting trend in American consumers that shifts away from big, 3D spectacles to broader, more niche films. The blockbuster is still king in Hollywood, but if a new model in movie ticketing was somehow to become a norm, it might give writers the freedom to explore smaller, more specific stories.

The flipside to all of this is that if movie subscription services like MoviePass fail to take hold and remain relatively small time operations, then the majority of premium theaters are likely to continue rejecting them. This, in theory, could provide savvy consumers with less opportunities to see the smaller, harder to find films that are often reserved for premium theater chains. This, in turn, makes it even harder for those films to find an audience, which might ultimately mean that less of these films are made.

Ultimately, anytime there is a shift in the paradigm it threatens to upend the way creators have to think about and conduct their business. MoviePass may very well change the industry – it’s simply too early to say. Still, as filmmakers, it’s fortuitous to keep an eye on and embrace shifting business models. In the last few years, the rise of streaming services has blown up the TV landscape, not fully destroying the power of cable companies and major networks, but definitely disrupting them.

In addition to the big few, smaller streaming services pop up all the time – like Filmstruck, which specializes in arthouse cinema. Some fight the good fight, only to die a painful death. But the point is that these services, which didn’t exist a mere decade or so ago, have now completely changed the way we watch television, opening up more opportunities for a diverse and eclectic slate of writers, while also increasing the competition in an already crowded field.

Many industry commentators, of course, openly worry about the impact streaming services will have on declining ticket sales. This is part of why we’ve seen a rise in 3D, IMAX, and premium theaters, which offer better food and nicer experiences. MoviePass’s alternative model depends on the notion that what people really want is a cheaper ticket, and that they are willing to skip some of the luxuries so long as they don’t have to spend a fortune every time they go to the theater. No matter what side of the debate you come down on, the fact remains that the film industry is looking for ways to adapt.

Then again, it’s important to remember that the film industry is always in a state of flux. The thing that has to remain a constant is the creators who fuel it, and who love it so much that they are willing to adapt anytime a new innovation comes along– and to fuel those innovations too.  Subscription plans like MoviePass are likely to be a big part of the ongoing discussion, but what’s clear above all is that, as filmmakers, we must be ready.  

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