MoviePass parent company Helios and Matheson Analytics is flipping the script for the struggling movie ticket subscription program. Following an earlier announcement made this week that outlined changes to the service’s pricing plans and limited access to theaters, Helios released a series of performance metrics to help position MoviePass as a kind of marketing platform.
The press release reads, “MoviePass continues to prove that it is a strong partner to movie studios and distributors in their strategy to reach and influence audiences to select their films over others,” making the case that its subscribers see more movies than non-subscribers.
It then cites a study conducted by the National Research Group in March, which shows that not only are subscribers are twice as likely to see a movie on its opening weekend, but they’re more open to taking and making recommendations for what to see next.
Making the case for how valuable MoviePass subscribers are to studios and distributors, the study indicates that almost half of subscribers attend movies that they wouldn’t otherwise see in theaters, and 70 percent said that they were still likely to see a film despite a low score on Rotten Tomatoes.
This outcome is attributed to a “combination of experiential, field, e-mail and social media marketing, and/or its in-app marketing and placements impact the specific films subscribers are more likely to see, which drives meaningful incremental revenue to both distribution and exhibition.”
As evidence, the service credits its marketing activities for driving ticket sales to films such as Blindspotting and Beast. Movies such as Tag were promoted in-app, and the announcement states that MoviePass purchases made up 13 percent of its opening weekend domestic box office ticket sales. Meanwhile, MoviePass engages with its users on social media by posting trailers, quiz questions and highlighting movie release dates. The company stated that the integration of Moviefone.com, which it acquired in April, in the service will lead to more revenue generated from studios and brands.
Although the biggest impact is on independent films and documentaries such as Three Identical Strangers and RGB, with MoviePass comprising about 12 percent of the latter film’s ticket sales, the service claims to have an impact on major films and moviegoing as a whole.
In support of this statement, Helios showed how 30.8 percent of its subscribers went to see Ocean’s 8 compared to 4.9 percent of the general population in the US. Game Night also saw high numbers, with 25.4 percent of subscribers going to theaters to see it compared to 2.7 percent of Americans.
“Through our one short year of incredible growth, we’ve learned a few key points about the film Industry,” said MoviePass CEO Mitch Lowe in a statement. “We are able to create immense value with our film partners by driving traffic to their films and effectively increasing the valuation of their films on the back-end deals they create. Not only do we want to provide an amazing deal for our subscribers but we also want to be a positive force in Hollywood.”
The MoviePass announcement comes on the same day AMC announced its record-breaking earnings, which was supported by the success of its competing movie subscription program AMC Stubs A-List.
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