A Deutschlandticket but for cinemas? It’s coming to Germany this autumn

Can this inclusive service pass model be applied to other fields of life?

By now, the 49-euro pass, also known as the Deutschlandticket, has become a household name due to its groundbreaking approach to public transport accessibility and also because of its simplicity. It looks like this general concept has been taken up by another German institution, the Federal Film Board (FFA), with the idea of applying it to moviegoers. The latter will be able to visit any participating cinema, all at the price of an affordable monthly pass.

The new project is called Cinfinity and it is planned to launch in October all across Germany, with movie lovers being able to drop in for a movie at any moment at the cost of 12.50 euros a month. Consider that the average price for a movie ticket in that country was 9.71 euros in 2023, according to Statista, and on weekends it can reach 12 euros.

That basically means that if you watch more than one film per month, only the first one would cost you money.

How will Cinfinity work?

Admittedly, the concept is not an original German invention since flat rates for cinemas have already been applied in neighbouring Netherlands for about a decade now.

The nationwide cinema flat rate is intended to convince more people to go to the big screen and get them into the cinemas. The subscription is not tied to specific chains but is intended for all participating cinemas.

The keyword here is “participating” since it’s not yet known exactly which cinemas will take part in the scheme but the organizers behind it claim that more than 100 movie halls have already signed up and the number will likely grow.

Nevertheless, they encourage users who sign up for the service (available through an app) to inquire whether their nearest cinema would like to join in, in essence trying to turn the users and their enthusiasm into the promotional vehicle of the platform.

The new service comes at a time when moviegoer numbers are declining as more and more people consume movies on their own electronic devices. However, if the calculations work out, cinema visitor numbers will increase by 10 to 20 per cent, according to Cinfinity.