Care to turn your theater going experience into a giant, corporeal Instant Watch service? MoviePass thinks it’s a model that people will take to, and thus they’re starting to launch a service that will bring a little modern thinking to the ticket-buying paradigm.

It works like this…

• You cough up 50 bucks a month for an unlimited subscription, or $30 for a 4-movie package

• When you want to see a flick, you fire up the mobile site (app coming) to claim your ticket via the usual online ticket providers. Has to happen the day of the show.

• One movie per day max, and only once per movie

• You pay a $3 difference for IMAX/3D movies

If this scales well, then I think I’d be on board. The hope is that overall audience volume will increase, which benefits the theaters (concessions!) and benefits the studios by putting more movies in front of people.  The trickle down through hardcore movie-goers that will actually subscribe and will then buy more DVDs as a result will surely be small, but it seems there would be a place for this service in the market. There’s almost no chance this service will have a significant impact on the theater industry, but it’s an interesting idea and one that could grow. Perhaps MoviePass will change the way we think about our relationship with the movie theaters, which could have some sort of subtle effect in the long run. Even if it’s another company just throwing shit at the silver screen to see what sticks, I think consumers like you and I stand to benefit.

It is nice to imagine a world where this is how movie-going works, and it pushes us towards a paradigm of paying attention to attendance rather than gross receipts to measure a film’s success. Wouldn’t that be grand?

Right now there’s a Beta-test of sorts going on in the San Francisco area, with a wider launch hopefully coming soon. We’ll keep you up to date, and if there are any SF chewers that test this out- let us know what you think!

Check out their website to join the mailing list and throw your name in for potential early access and free movie tickets. Also check out their blog for more general info about the service.

I do really want to know what you think, so shout it out in the comments or on the message board.

(via Wired)

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