MoviePass and How the Disrupted Can Become Disruptors
MoviePass has been making headlines as of late, and those headlines aren’t for the reasons it’d gotten used to over the past year. The monthly movie theater subscription service that let users pay a low monthly fee to see as many movies as they like in movie theaters had become known for the disruption it brought to the industry. Now, headlines around the service focus on its struggles.
Today, MoviePass is struggling with its business model. It disrupted the industry with a stupid low price that anyone who wanted to see two movies a month would be foolish not to pay. That low price is where MoviePass is struggling. Now, it’s revisiting its business model on almost every level to see what levers it can pull to remain solvent while continuing its industry disruption.
Reinvigorating a Stagnant Industry
MoviePass entered an industry at a standstill. People were spending more time watching movies at home on their 4K televisions and enjoying a seemingly infinite amount of high-quality content from the likes of Netflix and others.
MoviePass injected energy into the industry. It made going to movies an enjoyable experience again. It brought the movie-going experience into the subscription economy.
The industry needed MoviePass. Now, AMC is introducing its MoviePass competitor and Sinemia is getting more attention than ever as MoviePass tries to find itself.
A Lesson in Disruption
MoviePass is the latest disruptor to an industry. It joins the likes of Uber, Warner Parker, Netflix and many others who had varying degrees of success. All of these businesses looked at a category and looked at how changes in behavior could benefit consumers and become a competitive advantage.
That’s a question too many businesses stop asking themselves. They get established. They become category leaders. They get comfortable. MoviePass’ days may be numbered, but what made it so special is that it injected discomfort into an industry consumers were more and more giving up on.
Look for your industry’s disrupters. Where are they finding flaws in your business model and finding ways to benefit the consumer in ways you aren’t. Learn from them, and become a disruptor yourself.
Whether or not MoviePass lives on for another day, week, month, year or decade, it’s made an impact on the industry—an impact that will be felt with competitors like AMC looking at what they can learn from the disruptor.