[abalone]

> MoviePass was billed as using the gym membership model because it relied on paying customers who don't use the service.

No, it's more like Groupon. Theater attendance is at an all time low thanks to Netflix.[1] This is a way to sell seats through a discount channel -- or at least, that's the model they are trying to sell to theaters. Groupon and all those deal sites were successful in response to the 2008 recession when retailers & restaurants were suddenly left with a lot of excess inventory and seats to fill.

That's happening in theaters now. Netflix is the theater recession.

I'm not sure this announcement means that MoviePass is in trouble... yet. But like all those deal sites, it's a limited opportunity. Theaters will downsize and there will be less excess inventory. More immediately, there's a lot more consolidation in the theater world than in the general retail/restaurant landscape, so less need for a 3rd party discount channel.

[1] https://www.theverge.com/2018/1/3/16844662/movie-theater-att...