Cineplex will soon launch a new monthly subscription program called ‘CineClub’ that will offer a handful of perks and discounts.
Set to debut on August 11th, CineClub will cost $9.99 CAD/month and offer one free movie per month, as well as cheaper “member-priced” tickets and 20 percent off concession items.
For reference, a standard ticket costs $13.25, so the monthly CineClub cost works out to be a bit less. Cineplex has never had a program like this, although there was the well-known ‘MoviePass’ service in the U.S. which offered users one free movie ticket per day. That “too-good-to-be-true” offering ended up shutting down in September 2019.
The Canadian Press first reported on the CineClub news, although it notes that Cineplex itself has not yet provided more details. We’ll update this story with more information once it becomes available.
However, it’s clear that this is a move from the national theatre chain to bring more people into its cinemas. In addition to theatres dealing with widespread closures over the past year, the COVID-19 pandemic has gotten more people to turn to on-demand viewing at home.
Some movies, like Disney’s Black Widow and Jungle Cruise, premiered in cinemas and on Disney+ simultaneously, which led to many people tuning in at home. Black Widow star Scarlett Johansson even sued Disney for making the film available this way, alleging that it was a violation of her contract and would see her lose earnings she was entitled to due to reduced box office earnings.
Meanwhile, other companies have made their films available to stream just a few weeks after they hit theatres, such as Paramount with A Quiet Place Part II and Universal with F9. Going forward, Paramount will also adhere to a 45-day theatrical window before bringing its movies available on streaming. Disney has confirmed it will do the same for next week’s Free Guy and September’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Historically, movies have played in theatres for 90 days before heading to digital platforms.
Given all of this, it was inevitable that Cineplex would offer some kind of incentive to see films in its theatres. One of the other programs the company ran in its theatre with the cloud gaming TimePlay platform also ended earlier this year. By downloading the TimePlay app, moviegoers could take part in pre-show games on their phones to win Scene points and other prizes. Another recent change with Cineplex is Torstar’s acquisition of the theatre’s monthly magazine.
As it stands, Cineplex has a fairly stacked next few months to look forward to in terms of movie releases, including Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (September 3rd), Eternals (November 5th) and its Sony co-production Spider-Man: No Way Home (December 17th); Warner Bros.’ Dune (October 22nd) and untitled fourth Matrix film (December 22nd); Sony’s Venom: Let There Be Carnage (September 24th) and MGM’s No Time to Die (October 8th).
All of these films are currently set to open exclusively in theatres in Canada.
Image credit: Flickr — Jeff Hitchcock
Via: The Canadian Press
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