MoviePass to Introduce Surge Pricing, Charging Extra for Movies in “High Demand”

MoviePass has been a magnet for media mockery in recent months, from the company’s push-and-pull restrictions on ticket sales and teetering on the precipice of bankruptcy to their apparent shameless shilling for one of the worst-reviewed movies of all time. When AMC introduced an arguably more appealing ticket subscription service as part of their Stubs program Wednesday, it seemed MoviePass news couldn’t get any worse. And then this happened.

The pioneering ticket subscription company will start charging extra for “high demand” films in July, CEO Mitch Lowe told Business Insider. This means subscribers will have to pay additional charges for “titles the app deems very popular with MoviePass subscribers.” According to Lowe, “At certain times for certain films—on opening weekend—there could be an additional charge for films.” Additional charges will start at two dollars.

If that sounds like a too-vague description of a policy that could majorly impact your MoviePass usage, that’s probably because it is. This isn’t the first time the company has intentionally obfuscated their dubious rules, either—even after they rolled back their four-movies-a-month restrictions in May, the company maintained that it “reserves the right to change from time to time the number of eligible movies a member can see per month.”

It’s not all bad news, though. Subscribers who have signed up for annual plans will not be subject to high demand pricing, and MoviePass is introducing two new features in August. Cardholders will finally be able to purchase tickets to 3D or IMAX movies for an additional charge—between $2 and $6, according to Lowe. They will also be launching a “bring-a-friend” feature, where subscribers will be able to purchase tickets for friends without MoviePass via the app. Lowe says the additional ticket will cost “somewhere near the retail price of the ticket,” so it’s unclear how this is more convenient than just conducting two separate transactions at the box office—guess we’ll have to wait until August to see. That is, if the company doesn’t renege on all these changes within the next week.