Moviepass, the largest theatre network in the US, now has 400,000 subscribers, according to a company representative.
The number of subscribers surged since the firm slashed prices to a flat monthly fee of $9.95.
150,000 people subscribed to the service in the first two days after the announcement in mid-August.
Moviepass, led by co-founder of Netflix Mitch Lowe, experimented with a number of different pricing models before deciding to lower its price.
Lowe explained that “after years of studying and analysis we found that people want to go to the movies more often, but the pricing keeps going up, and that prevents them from going more. We’re making it more affordable for people.”
However, Lowe “totally underestimated demand,” adding that the firm “was nowhere near prepared,” for the surge in subscribers.
There is currently a 2-3 week delay in card delivery for subscribers.
To address the unprecedented demand, Moviepass has hired new customer service workers and opened a new fulfillment center to process card orders and double its weekly output.
In an official blog post, titled “Where’s My Card?” – An Update, Moviepass said:
“We’ve been blown away with all of the excitement surrounding our new $9.95 unlimited plan. Though we anticipated a high level of interest, we have received an unprecedented volume of traffic.
“In recent weeks, we’ve received hundreds of thousands of emails and tens of thousands of chats through our customer service channels.
“Though we increased our staff in anticipation of the new plan, the response has been overwhelming.
“In an effort to address all of your questions, we’ve tripled the size of our team, which is working to respond to everyone as quickly as possible.”
Moviepass subscribers can look up theaters and showtimes on the MoviePass app and then use their card they in the mail after subscribing to get their ticket at the box office or kiosk. A kiosk is a free-standing cubicle outdoors or in a shopping mall that sells things. Subscribers can purchase a single movie ticket per day.
