If you could pay $15 a month to go to the movies every day, would you?

More than 3 million Americans are using a movie ticket subscription service called MoviePass that allows them to do just that, and the company has been making headlines.

The deal of being able to see a movie a day proved so popular and expensive to the US company that it briefly ran out of money last month, causing a "service interruption". It had to borrow an emergency $US5 million to keep operating.

Headed by Netflix co-founder Mitch Lowe, MoviePass has been marketed as a disruptor in the cinema industry, but it is desperately trying to fine-tune what it can offer before it goes out of business.

MoviePass is running into difficulties making its business sustainable. ( MoviePass.com )

Competitors are popping up too, including Sinemia, which is already available in Australia offering a basic tier of one movie per month at any cinema for nearly $50 annually.

But analyst Steve Allen, from Fusion Strategy, believes the local cinema industry is less competitive than in the US, and a MoviePass service of all-you-can-watch films is unlikely to flourish here.

He said the major cinema operators in Australia would be "very cautious to introduce something like this" themselves.

They would be even more unlikely to support a third party starting up a service and wanting a cut of the ticket profits for referring customers, he said — something MoviePass is trying to negotiate with US cinema chain AMC.

Major chains don't compete in the same postcode

The lack of competition goes down to the postcode.

If you have bought a ticket at the box office and been asked for those four digits it may be because they are trying to figure out how far you are willing to travel.

Cinemas survey postcodes of customers to try to work out their catchment area. ( Unsplash: Jake Hills )

"There are very few of the major chains that are in the same postcode. It's practically never the case," Mr Allen said.

"Here, for example, Hoyts' proximity to Greater Union might be 5 kilometres, and that geographic separation means there's not a lot of competition between them."

He believed the US market had rivals in closer proximity, making it more competitive and open to something like MoviePass.

Mr Allen, who has worked with cinema houses, distributors and home entertainment companies, said he believed cinema operators would "tightly control" any emergence of subscription services in Australia.

He said the local industry was geared towards getting customers to buy discounted tickets or vouchers in advance, and those discounts often came with restrictions like what nights they could be used.

"They're very cautious in this area. They're certainly not going to give away discounts willy-nilly, and certainly not to third parties," Mr Allen said.

"All of those things to me add up to not an incredibly competitive market."

'Early days' for cinema subscriptions in Australia

One of Australia's biggest players, Event Cinemas, said "at this point" it could not comment on whether it would bring in a subscription model.

A spokesperson added it had no affiliation with Sinemia "in any form".

"Regarding Sinemia, we believe this has a low adoption rate in Australia," the spokesperson said.

The subscription service works by providing a Sinemia card that can be used to purchase advance tickets directly from cinema websites.

Sinemia, which is based in California, declined to reveal how many subscribers it had in Australia, but said it was "early days" and the business was growing rapidly.

"Each month the number of Sinemia subscribers in Australia doubles," CEO and co-founder Rifat Oguz said.

Cinemas place restrictions on how you can use discount vouchers. ( Unsplash: Krists Luhaers )

With cinema audiences per capita in Australia peaking in 2001, according to Screen Australia, operators are looking for new ways to keep box office sales high and compete with home streaming and piracy.

Mr Oguz said the cinema industry was in need of a shake-up and subscription services would benefit every tier of the industry.

"We believe the future of movie-going is subscription," Mr Oguz said.

"No matter how much people enjoy movie-going, rising ticket prices pose a challenge for people to see more than two or three movies a month."

Earlier this year, MoviePass's chief executive told Variety that the company was having discussions about expanding into other markets, naming Australia as one place that could be suitable for a joint venture with a local player.

A MoviePass spokesperson told the ABC there were still plans to expand the company but there were no further details at this time.

Hoyts has been contacted for comment.