MoviePass is back from bankruptcy in 2020. This time, it will have a tiered pricing system and credits to use for movies each month.
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MoviePass is back from bankruptcy in 2020. This time, it will have a tiered pricing system and credits to use for movies each month.
Image Stringer / Getty
Any movie, cinema, anytime you want, for $10 a month.
At one point, it was a sales pitch for subscription service MoviePass and millions of people signed up.
Now, if all of that sounds too good to be true, that’s because it is. Company burn through millions of dollars and went bankrupt in 2020. But now it’s back, and CEO and co-founder Stacy Spikes says it will be different this time.
What has changed?
For starters, this time there will be a tiered pricing system and the credits will be involved.
Pricing will vary slightly depending on location, but generally prices will be $10, $20, and $30. Each price comes with credits to use toward movies each month.
“And so, if I just wanted to go in on the Friday night of the open weekend, I’d probably use the maximum amount of credits, if you think about peak and low prices,” Spikes said. “But let’s just say I have no problem going to see that movie a few days later on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday nights. I could use much less credit because theaters are more open in allowing lower prices.”
MoviePass co-founder Stacy Spikes said the company negotiated a different price this time around.
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Richard Drew / AP
MoviePass co-founder Stacy Spikes said the company negotiated a different price this time around.
Richard Drew / AP
MoviePass Won’t Lose Money Again?
Spikes said the company has also changed its business model.
Part of the reason the old MoviePass failed was because it had to pay full price for the tickets it offered subscribers, he said. This time, MoviePass negotiated a deal with theaters.
“Even before the launch, we negotiated a partnership with more than 25% of the total theaters. If you take out AMC, Regal and Cinemark, we already have a 40% market share outside the three big theaters,” he said. speak.
Don’t those big cinemas have their own subscription services?
Yes, some do. Spikes is attracting MoviePass subscribers who want to combine their movie viewing.
“What we’ve found is that consumers tend to go to three to four different movie theaters over the course of a year,” he said. “So you’ll have your summer blockbuster cinema. You’ll have your art house cinema. And so what we’ve found is that audiences love diversity.”
He said if people lived in a place that only had AMC or Regal theaters, they wouldn’t sign up for MoviePass. “But if you want the freedom to go wherever you want and find the same value, then you’re going to want something like MoviePass.”
MoviePass is making a comeback – but will it succeed?
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Darron Cummings / AP
MoviePass is making a comeback – but will it succeed?
Darron Cummings / AP
Do people have money?
Movie-viewing rates are up during the coronavirus pandemic as people avoid congregating indoors, and the numbers haven’t fully returned to pre-pandemic levels, as many people feel the pressures of cost-of-living and high inflation.
However, Spikes remains confident that people will come.
“People love to escape. It’s still the least expensive form of out-of-home entertainment out there,” he said. “Going to a sporting event or seeing a Broadway play or seeing an opera is still just a ticket plus $100. So we thought it was a great time to start over.”
When will it start?
MoviePass is calling everyone to join waitlist on its websitewill be open until August 29 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern time.
Once the waitlist ends, MoviePass will be rolled out in batches across the US, starting “on or about” September 5, according to the company’s website, with slots based on attendance. members of the waiting list at each location and location of the participating cinemas.
About 463,000 people signed up in the first 24 hours, according to Insider. This includes 30,000 signups in the first five minutes, causing MoviePass’ servers to crash.
Patrick Wood adapted it for the web.
