Sean Parker of Napster and Facebook Thinks We’ll Pay $50 to Watch First-Run Movies at Home

Not $50 per month. $50 per movie.

I got a “home theater” projector this Christmas, and it is one of my very favorite toys. I don’t have to watch shows and movies on my 11-inch MacBook Air anymore, which feels like an incredible luxury.

Sean Parker (of Napster, Facebook, and “played by Justin Timberlake” fame) wants to add even more luxury to my home theater experience: the opportunity to watch first-run movies at home for only $50.

My first thought was “$50 per year? Where do I sign up?”

My second thought was “Oh wait, it’s probably $50 per month.”

It’s actually $50 per movie.

To quote Variety:

Called the Screening Room, the company offers secure anti-piracy technology that will offer new releases in the home on the same day they hit theaters, sources tell Variety.

Individuals briefed on the plan said Screening Room would charge about $150 for access to the set-top box that transmits the movies and charge $50 per view. Consumers have a 48-hour window to view the film.

So $150 for the device and $50 for each movie? Who would be willing to pay that much? Probably more people than you’d think. Busy professionals—a group in which I include myself—could watch movies at home instead of making the 40-minute commute to the nearest multiplex. Parents could watch movies at home instead of paying for a babysitter. Friends could get together and watch movies without paying an extra $5.99 for popcorn (or $8 for a glass of wine). You wouldn’t have to sit in traffic, you wouldn’t have to pay for parking, you wouldn’t have to watch 20 minutes of commercials and previews—it’s a win-win.

(UPDATE: A Billfolder on Twitter just reminded me that this would also be great for people with disabilities and mental health issues. This is hugely important.)

Consumerist has something to say about that $5.99 thing of popcorn, by the way:

Revenue sharing is a tactic that’s been tried before. Paramount made deals with AMC and Canada’s Cineplex last year that would cut the theater owners in if the studio went out earlier than usual on a home video release.

But one thing that the Paramount model doesn’t take into account is that theater operators make much of their money from concessions. That is likely why the Screening Room would provide renters with two free theater tickets for each $50 rental, to hopefully get some butts in line at the popcorn stand.

So it’s a BOGO? If you consider that a movie ticket costs around $12 these days, a $50 rental plus two free tickets suddenly seems a lot more reasonable.

I do admire the idea that they’re going to combat piracy by only allowing people to watch movies via a special box. Because nobody is going to set up a tripod and record their home movie in perfect smartphone resolution. (I was going to share a picture of my home theater system in action, and then I realized that playing a movie on my wall and taking a photo probably violated all kinds of FBI warnings.)

Now that you know the details, would you sign up for The Screening Room? Variety offers a poll, in Tweet form:

Would you pay $50 to rent a new movie like #BatmanVsSuperman the same day it hits theaters? https://t.co/yosqPNUvdp

 — @Variety

When I took the poll, 28 percent of respondents said yes and 72 percent said no. Let’s see if Team Billfold significantly alters the results.

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