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MoviePass to Roll Out Surge Pricing for In-Demand Movies

Seen in the photo is a movie theater. Credit: Pxhere.com (CC0)

MoviePass is going to charge higher prices for in-demand movies starting next month through a new surge pricing scheme.

To those not familiar with MoviePass, it is a subscription-based service focused on distributing tickets to movie theaters — so, think Netflix but with actual movie tickets involved. MoviePass made a name for its very enticing offer of a $9.95 monthly fee, which gives members access to a movie every day

For people who regularly check newly released movies, MoviePass is definitely a very effective tool, especially since MoviePass services cover even the newest, much-awaited titles in Hollywood.

However, things are going to drastically change in the coming months due to a new pricing policy that will mostly affect popular movies. The news was confirmed by MoviePass CEO Mitch Lowe to Business Insider. The CEO said, “At certain times for certain films — on opening weekend — there could be an additional charge for films.”

The new policy is more like a surge pricing scheme as it will apply additional charges to in-demand movies. This means that subscribers will have to pay more on top of their monthly fee to get access to movies that MoviePass deems highly popular.

Lowe said additional fees for sought-after movies start at $2. Meanwhile, it is not yet entirely clear how MoviePass will identify movies that will qualify for their upcoming surge pricing scheme.

Despite the upcoming change, MoviePass subscriptions and services could still be a cheaper option, especially for someone who goes to movie theaters on a regular basis. However, it is hard to overlook the fact that the surge pricing scheme is a slight change of direction from what made MoviePass a highly favored service among movie fans.

Aside from the surge costs, MoviePass is also going to offer premium pricing, which would add $2 to $6 per ticket for the option to see a film on IMAX or Real 3D theaters. Another major addition to MoviePass is the bring-a-friend option.

The surge pricing policy is slated to be implemented in July while the premium tickets and bring-a-friend option will be added in late August.

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