As more movie theaters close due to the coronavirus pandemic, this raises the question of what to do about movie theater subscriptions. These first came to prominence in the United States with the rise and fall of MoviePass. While MoviePass never turned a profit, it was clear that movie watchers wanted a service like it, turning moviegoing from something you paid for each time to a subscription service.
This has expanded into most large theater chains offering some form of subscription, allowing members to attend multiple screenings a week for a flat monthly fee. For frequent moviegoers, this is obviously a great deal, as many of the monthly fees are comparable to the cost of a couple of movie tickets while allowing for more visits to the theater. This depends, however, on the theaters being open and having new movies to show, which hasn’t been the case recently.
Related: Coronavirus: Every Movie Delayed So Far
With so many theaters closing down due to coronavirus, how to handle the movie theater subscriptions becomes a big question. Do they have to be canceled? Are there refunds available? Since each theater chain has a different service, it’s up to them to set a policy for how to handle these closures. Here’s what you need to know, depending on what theater your subscription is with.
AMC is the biggest theater chain in the United States, and its AMC A-List membership was one of the first to launch. A-List members won’t have to do anything with their subscriptions, since all memberships have been automatically paused until AMC theaters open again. Regal Cinemas, another nationwide chain, has closed down all theaters across the US. Regal Unlimited members won’t have to do anything with their subscription either, as all payments will be suspended until they reopen. At the time of writing, they haven’t clarified how this will affect members who paid an annual fee upfront.
Alamo Drafthouse has paused all Season Pass memberships (via Alamo Drafthouse). No payments will be charged, and when they re-open, unused portions of the subscription will be valid from that point on. The next payments will be pushed back from the time that they re-open. Cinemark also has a movie subscription service, Cinemark Movie Club. They are the most recent theater chain to shutdown during this crisis, and like what AMC, Regal, and Alamo are doing, all Movie Club memberships will be paused while the theaters are closed.
As part of closing their theaters across the UK, Cineworld, the country’s largest cinema chain, has assured Cineworld Unlimited members that they won’t lose any of the value of their subscription. The next monthly payment may be charged as normal, but the credit for that payment won’t be active until the theaters reopen. For members who paid annually, their membership will be extended automatically (via Cineworld). Odeon, the second-largest chain, is taking a similar approach. They have frozen payments for all of their Limitless members (via Bloomberg) and are refunding any that are charged while they’re closed.
Picturehouse hasn’t announced an exact plan for those who have Picturehouse Memberships. They have said that memberships will “retain their value” and they’ll contact all members when they have more information about the plan moving forward (via Picturehouse). With so many theaters closing and movies being delayed, it was inevitable that movie theater subscriptions would have to adjust. Many of the big ones have already come out and announced what effect the coronavirus epidemic will have. Members of most services have nothing to worry about, but it’s best to check with the respective theater chains before assuming it’ll all be taken care of.
Next: Box Office Is Even Worse Due To Coronavirus Than It Was After 9/11
from ScreenRant - Feed https://ift.tt/2WnpRa8
0 Comments