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Topic: 'Frequent-flyer' cinema subscription schemes
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Mark Richey
Member

Posts: 90
From: Fort Worth, TX
Registered: Feb 2003
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posted September 14, 2006 10:42 PM
Back in 1999, Cinemark offered a year-long CinePass. For $199, not including tax, you had unlimited admissions to any theater, to see any feature, through the calendar year. Getting one was easily the highlight of Christmas 1998.
Unfortunately, Cinemark chose not to continue the Pass in 2000, and has yet to revive it. If they do offer it again, I'd snatch it up in a heartbeat. With as many movies as I attend at Cinemark (which operates Beaumont's only movie theater), that pass would pay for itself by June, if not earlier.
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Perry Robitionate
New Member
Posts: 10
From: Hamilton, ON, Canada
Registered: May 2006
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posted September 15, 2006 03:44 AM
Interesting.
Which only makes me wonder why, in a marketplace that seems to be dwindling more and more all the time, where the home theatre demographic is growing with each new innovation, that the cinema owners aren't doing all they can to 'nourish' the die-hards, who, in the not-too-distant future, are going to be the basis of their survival.
Why does a loyalty card work so well for Cineworld in the UK and Ireland, yet it's not currently being attempted here? Can anyone provide a 'business model' reason for its absence from the North American marketplace?
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Perry Robitionate
New Member
Posts: 10
From: Hamilton, ON, Canada
Registered: May 2006
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posted September 15, 2006 06:33 AM
Ron, you're right; I was being sloppy with my terms.
The Brattle and the Coolidge do what I'm talking about...although theirs aren't 'subscription' setups in the sense that you have x$ debited from your bank account or this amount applied to your credit card each month, they're 'money up front' designs.
So it appears that perthaps it's only independent cinemas that do any sort of 'buy in bulk' programs in the US. (In the UK, the PictureHouse group does a 'reduced fee' setup, as did the now-expired Festival Group in Toronto). Which leads me back to my question: why haven't the cinema chains taken this tack, especially as we're fast approaching an entirely different landscape?
I tend to believe that the cinema owners are one of the most entrenched business groups, seemingly intractable when it comes to adapting to the changing times. (Maybe this is because they have so little say in what they're 'selling'?)
I'm very curious to hear the thoughts and opinions of CinemaTour members, because this plays into the very heart and soul of the industry, and the challenges it faces for survival.
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