Rogue Hippo's Guide to MoviePass - Outside is Overrated

I recently took the plunge and shelled out $115.35 for a 1-year subscription to MoviePass. If you’re not familiar with MoviePass, a subscription will get you 1 free movie ticket every day. As a guy who goes to a lot of movies, this seemed like a great deal; however I was skeptical that there might be a lot of restrictions or fine print. Luckily, that has not been the case so far; and I’m here to break it down for those of you who might be considering MoviePass.

GETTING STARTED

If you go to the MoviePass website, you’ll see that they’re offering a limited time offer of $7.95 per month. However, you’ll find out that this offer requires that you buy a 1-year subscription plus a service fee. Total: $115.35; you’ll have to decide if you think it’s worth the price.

Before you subscribe, it’s a good idea to find out which theaters in your area accept MoviePass. It’s easy to figure out because there’s a handy search function about halfway down the MoviePass website. This is where I expected MoviePass to only have a few available theaters; however I was pleasantly surprised because I have five movie theaters within driving distance of my home and all five participate in MoviePass.

Moviepass theaters — The red dots are theaters that accept MoviePass.

If you subscribe, MoviePass with send you a MoviePass card. You won’t be able to get any tickets until your card arrives (mine arrived after 8 days). Once your card arrives, you have to download the MoviePass app on your phone and activate your card. Then you’re ready to rock.

GOING TO A MOVIE

At this point, going to a movie with MoviePass is relatively simple; but there are a few steps involved so I’ll walk you through it…

Launch the MoviePass app and click on one of the movie theaters in your area.

Theater Screenshot_20180225-102843 — Select a theater. The Majestic 11 rules!

Scroll through the showtimes and find one that works for your plans. You may notice that some showtimes are blacked out. In the picture below, the 8:15 PM showing of Black Panther says ‘This screening is not supported by MoviePass’; so there ARE some blackout times. However, in my experience, this is the exception as you’ll notice that the 6:15 PM, 7:15 PM and 8:45 PM showings are available; and when I scrolled left or right, all other times on that date were also available.

Showtimes Screenshot_20180225-103035 — Select a showtime

If you click on a specific time, the app will give you the option to ‘Check In’. Don’t do it yet! You must be near the theater and you must pick up your tickets within 30 minutes of checking in, so you’ll need to to wait until you’re at the theater. This has a couple of implications: 1) You can’t reserve tickets from home. 2) You have to turn on your phone’s GPS which may turn off some folks if you’re worried about the government tracking your every move.

Check In Screenshot_20180225-103226 — Check In

Once you’re at the movie theater and you’ve checked in via the MoviePass app, simply walk up to the ticket booth, say “One for Black Panther”, and hand them your MoviePass card. They’ll hand you a ticket and you’re on your way.

One last note: I’ve read that you can only get 1 ticket per transaction; so if your family of four each has a MoviePass subscription, you’ll each have to log into your app, check in, then show your MoviePass card at the ticket booth.

There you have it. I was a bit skeptical about MoviePass but my concerns have since been assuaged and I look forward to abusing the hell out of MoviePass. Hopefully you can do the same.

Until Next Time,

Rogue Hippo

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