Small Californian Cinema Re-opens After a Move to a Subscription Model

Given the popularity of movies, it’s sometimes hard to believe that so many cinemas end up going out of business. There are a number of reasons it could happen, from a big gun rolling into town and drawing customers in like magnets, a general lack of support from the public, the advent of high-quality TVs and HD content or maybe something super-simple: high ticket prices. A small-town cinema from Oakhurst, California is trying to combat all of these issues with an interesting idea: subscriptions.

The plan is simple: give people a $20/mo option that will allow them to watch each movie once and gain the ability to buy tickets for their friends. That’s right – this cinema is focusing on the subscription model primarily, requiring a membership to score individual tickets. Alternatively, you can purchase a day pass for $16. Not exactly a steal, but it is an option if you know you won’t be going to the cinema more than once a month.

It sounds good on paper, but for this particular cinema to succeed using this model, it needed 15% of the city (~3,000 people) to participate. That’s hardly a small number. But, believe it or not, according to the official website that goal was indeed reached. Oakhurst must be one heck of a movie-loving city.

If this proves to be a success for the long-run, we may just see this sort of model become a common sight. If you’re a huge movie buff, a subscription would pay for itself very quickly.