MoviePass, the startup that lets subscribers go to a movie a day, recently dropped its monthly rate to $10, resulting in a flood of sign-ups for the plan. While the slashed price might have drawn a lot more attention to MoviePass, it could also be an albatross around the company’s neck. [More]
movies
Amazon Slashes Prices Of 4K Content After Launch Of Apple TV 4K
By 9.25.17
Even though many new TVs have ultra-HD 4K screens, American TV viewers haven’t been buying very much 4K content, which often sells at a higher price. But now that Apple is finally diving into 4K video — and selling it for the same price as HD — Amazon is slashing the cost of its 4K content. [More]
Alamo Drafthouse Hosting Your Next Nightmare With Clowns-Only Screening Of ‘It’
By 8.24.17
If you’re afraid of clowns, you’ll want to stay very far away from the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin on Saturday, Sept. 9 — or wear your favorite waterproof pants — because that’s the night the theater is hosting a clowns-only screening of the new It movie. [More]
Alamo Drafthouse Offers Gift Certificate To Guy Who Sued Date For Texting During Movie
By 5.17.17
By now, you’ve probably heard about the guy in Texas that is suing his date for texting during a movie. Text-hating theater chain Alamo Drafthouse is hoping to intervene in this personal spat by offering the man a gift certificate. [More]
To Compete With Your Living Room, AMC Will Offer Full Meals At 400 Theaters
By 4.10.17
Theaters know that you can stay home and watch movies on your huge 4K TV from the comfort of your couch while eating whatever you want. To entice moviegoers to pay top-dollar to get this same experience, just surrounded by a few hundred other people, AMC is revamping hundreds of theaters to serve full-fledged meals. [More]
Treasury Secretary Mnuchin Says To Go See ‘LEGO Batman,’ One Of Many Movies He Produced
By 3.24.17 — Updated: 3.27.17
UPDATE 3/27: A Treasury spokesperson responded to Consumerist’s request for comment in a statement on Monday, saying: “As his statement reflects, the Secretary clearly recognized that he generally may not promote private interests and specifically gave the legal disclosure that he was not promoting a movie, but answering a question he was asked directly.” [More]
Fandango Launching Online Store To Peddle Movie Merchandise Along With Tickets
By 3.16.17
Because going to the movies isn’t expensive enough, Comcast-owned ticket-selling siteFandango is launching an online store, dubbed FanShip, to sell you merchandise related to the films you go to see. [More]
Because Kids Aren’t Rambunctious Enough, Movie Theaters Now Have Jungle Gyms
By 3.8.17
For the average moviegoing adult, the thought of children climbing all over the seats and bouncing around the theater shrieking with delight during the film does not sound like the ideal movie-watching experience. But if you’re a kid who can’t seem to sit still for 90 minutes straight, it probably sounds awesome. [More]
AMC Theaters Retiring Carmike Name, Launching New Cinema Brands
By 3.1.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
Seven months after buying Carmike Cinemas, AMC Entertainment Holdings — itself controlled by China’s Wanda Group — says it has a lot going on: It will be retiring the Carmike name and introducing a few new theater brands, including a “dine-in” themed chain. The company’s top boss also says AMC is considering proposals from Hollywood studios that would allow movie lovers to watch new releases at home sooner. [More]
20th Century Fox Now Realizes Fake News Movie Promos Were A Terrible Idea
By 2.17.17
Fake news stories — online items that are outrageous but just plausible enough to make people hit “share” on Facebook — have been a hot and controversial topic since last year’s presidential election. A promotional campaign for a movie opening today used made-up news stories about attention-getters like the President and Lady Gaga, not realizing what a terrible idea this was. [More]
Spinal Tap Reunites… To Take Movie Distributor To Court Over $400M
By 2.8.17
The three core members of legendary fictional heavy metal band Spin̈al Tap have reunited, not for a new album, movie, or tour, but to sue a film distributor for $400 million. [More]
Report: Apple Wants To Release Movies On iTunes While They’re Still in Theaters
By 12.8.16
Recently, 21st Century Fox, Warner Bros., and Universal Pictures all confirmed they’re looking to offer high-priced, home-video rentals of new movies soon after they’re released in theaters. And according to a new report, Apple wants a piece of that pie. [More]
Netflix May Let Users Download Videos For Offline Viewing, But Probably Not You
By 11.2.16
While competitors like Amazon Prime, Google Play, and iTunes allow users to download videos for offline viewing, Netflix has yet to offer this option. Netflix is now considering the idea, but probably not for its millions of customers in the U.S. [More]
Walmart Launches Free Streaming Movie Platform — But Don’t Expect New Releases
By 10.19.16
Users of Walmart’s streaming video service, Vudu, have been able to pay for TV shows and movies for years. Now, the retailer has launched a companion service that will provide customers with free streaming videos — if you don’t mind commercial interruptions and movies that are a few years old. [More]
Regal Can’t Stop Studios From Letting Upscale iPic Theater Show New Movies
By 10.11.16
If you’re a movie studio, you want as many people as possible to pay to see your films. If you’re a movie theater chain, you don’t want competing theaters to showing the same movies you’ve got, especially if that competitor has luxury features you don’t offer. But is it legal to use your leverage as the nation’s biggest theater chain to stop movie studios from licensing their films to the newer, fancier kid on the block? [More]
Netflix CEO: Movie Theaters Are “Strangling The Movie Business”
By 10.7.16
It’s no surprise that Netflix would disagree with the traditional release schedule movie theaters stick to — premiering new movies in theaters and delaying their release to TV or on-demand services months later — and today the company’s CEO Reed Hastings took that a step further, saying theater chains are discouraging innovation in the industry. [More]
Netflix Wants Half Its Library To Be Original Content
By 9.21.16
There are basically two ways Netflix can get streaming content: it can either license TV shows and movies, or it can make its own original stuff. The company would like that balance to be an even split, with one executive saying Netflix is working toward the goal of having half its library be original content over the next few years. [More]
Netflix Is Coming To More Hotels Near You
By 8.18.16 — Updated: 10.6.16
Who wouldn’t want to catch up on a few episodes of House of Cards or Stranger Things while biding time in your hotel room waiting out your latest business trip? A new partnership between Netflix and in-room entertainment platform Enseo means chances are better that you’ll be able to do just that. [More]
