Well, those pesky Avengers came along and broke box-office records this past weekend, raking in $1.2 billion.
And MoviePass still stands.
The nefarious Sinemia folded like a folding chair, but MoviePass still stands like a person who is standing up.
I really thought this weekend would destroy MoviePass' fledgling attempts at resurrecting themselves. But nope. I was able to get a ticket from the service on the OPENING DAY of Avengers: Endgame. And I casually checked the app a few times on Saturday and Sunday and there were showtimes available almost all day, both days. I could have gone either day.
I am genuinely impressed.
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The only downside I'm seeing on my new MoviePass Uncapped plan is that they seem to have throttled one particular local theater. Consulted with friends and they're getting "No screenings available" there, too.
The theater in question is in the middle of a central tourist attraction in my city, so I'm guessing it saw a lot of traffic from not just locals, but people coming to visit the city and trying to use their MoviePass accounts there while in town.
Even back in the unlimited days of MoviePass (June 2018), I encountered this same issue with a movie theater centrally located by the French Quarter of New Orleans.
I get it, but it's a shame, because the local theater in question is our only real art theater. It's where all the independent films play. I've been trying to see High Life there this past week and getting no dice. Might actually pay cash money for a ticket to that one.
MoviePass pays lip service to supporting independent cinema and getting people to get up and go take a chance on low-budget films in theaters. Throttling an art theater doesn't accomplish that.
Other than that and a limited selection of movies per day, no complaints. The Uncapped plan is way better than I expected and it's a miracle that it still exists.
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And I think this is a good place to wrap things up.
I'll be compiling my most recent blogs into a fourth Cinemadness book, Sinemia Scams and MoviePass Mania. I feel like Sinemia's destruction combined with MoviePass surviving Avengers is a nice way to close this chapter.
As a book-only exclusive, I'll be including an afterword confessing some dumpster-diving shenanigans I engaged in over the course of writing this book. You have to pay to read about that.
And I honestly hope to take a break from weekly blogging about this. MoviePass' new plan is functional. I hope things stay stable.
They won't, though.
I know what happens every time I try to hang up my journalist hat on this topic...
(It's this.)
-B.P. Kasik/Phony McFakename
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