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For almost a year, Chris Manna has been seeing 20 movies a month in what he describes as "a way bigger living room."聽In other words, he鈥檚 been frequenting movie theaters a lot more recently.

[Editor's note:聽A source was removed from the story because it was later discovered that he had a vested interest in the success of Moviepass.]

Mr. Manna is one of many moviegoers who have been convinced to swap their couch and TV for the theater's big screen. While movie theater attendance in the United States has declined since peaking in 2002, according to the National Association of Theater Owners, people still crave the movie theater experience 鈥� just not at its current price tag. Enter subscription service MoviePass.

鈥淲e do want to go out,鈥� says Curtis Medina, who lives in Missoula, Mont., and Myrtle Beach, S.C., and is a MoviePass subscriber. 鈥淲e do want to see [movies]. We just needed a better business model.... [MoviePass] cuts out the question of whether or not it鈥檚 going to be worth it to go out.鈥� Mr. Medina describes the monthly pass as 鈥渕ovie insurance鈥� against rising prices.

People can often feel as if they are wasting their time or money on collective experiences like going to the movies or sporting events, says Shira Gabriel, a psychology professor at the University at Buffalo, State University of New York. But 鈥減eople 100 percent should let that go,鈥� she says, as these experiences foster feelings of belonging, meaning, and companionship, and lower anxiety.聽

鈥淎t the heart of it is this desire, that we鈥檙e not always aware of, to feel connected to other people, to be in the same moment as other people,鈥� says Professor Gabriel.

And with MoviePass, that feeling of wasting money on a collective experience may be less of a concern. MoviePass made a huge splash in August 2017 when it lowered its monthly unlimited rate to $9.95. Its base grew from around 20,000 at the end of 2016 to more than 3 million as of last month.

MoviePass has announced a slew of changes, including peak pricing, bring-a-friend options, and premium showings such as those at IMAX theaters, as shares of MoviePass parent company Helios and Matheson reached an all-time low earlier this month. The company has also been plagued by complaints about bad customer service.

Is MoviePass sustainable? 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know, [and] to be perfectly honest, I think most of us don鈥檛,鈥� says BoxOffice Pro editorial director Daniel Loria. 鈥淏ut 鈥業 don鈥檛 know鈥� isn鈥檛 the answer you want when you have an offering like a subscription.鈥澛�

MoviePass pays full price for tickets, a model that industry experts say can鈥檛 last. Meanwhile, AMC announced it would be offering its own subscription service, Stubs A-List, which costs about $20 a month for three AMC movies per week. Cinemark鈥檚 Movie Club service and Sinemia鈥檚 European subscription import are two other subscription services.

Medina and Manna both said the price of movies meant that before MoviePass, they only went to 鈥渢entpole鈥� movies. Now they鈥檙e seeing classic films, independent films 鈥� even films they know nothing about.

鈥淭here are so few things left in our life where there is a sense of community, especially among strangers.... [T]o be in a place and experience it with a crowd is just different. to hear them laugh at the same type of jokes or be shocked at the same surprises,鈥� says Ahrens, who lives in California鈥檚 Orange County.

For Medina, who has friends and family who are subscribers, the movies have become a renewed place to bond without worrying 鈥渁bout breaking the bank.鈥澛�

Even if MoviePass does not survive, it has been good because of its disruption, says Medina. He hopes it will force the movie industry to change the way it does business and do more than 鈥渞ehash sequels and remakes.鈥� 鈥淚t鈥檚 a revolution for moviegoers,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hey have a power that they didn鈥檛 realize they had.鈥�