Like a phoenix from the ashes, the monthly movie subscription service MoviePass is being brought back to life to deliver movies to everyone. That was the general tone around founder Stacy Spikes' announcement that the service would relaunch in Summer of 2022 after shutting down in 2019. This time, Spikes will get a chance to see his vision for the service be rebuilt without Helios and Matheson Analytics, the firm that ousted him and burnt the startup to the ground.
"We want to rebuild MoviePass as a company that’s built by its fanbase," Spikes said during his presentation at New York City's Lincoln Center, claiming the reinvented service will launch as a cooperative. Spikes didn't share too much on how the service would operate though, only that there would be tiered pricing plans and virtual, tradable currency that rolls over from month to month. Notably, the service will now allow users to bring friends and family along with their credits, an improvement from the former system's card that only worked for cardholders. Spikes didn't reveal pricing yet though.
The number of credits needed to see a movie will also change depending on the time of day according to Spikes. Seeing movies on the weekend or at peak times of the day will cost more credits than finding a less utilized time. Spikes also plans to incorporate some of his PreShow technology, so subscribers can earn credits by watching ads. In order to be rewarded, viewers will have to actually pay attention to the ads as the app tracks whether your eyes are on your phone through the camera. In all, the new plan is ambitious, to say the least, with Spikes hoping to provide a boost to the theater industry and capture a large corner of the market for the company.
Back in its heyday, MoviePass was a godsend for avid theater goers looking for a cheap way to see all the latest movies. For an insanely low price point of $9.95 a month, subscribers could see a movie a day for less than a single ticket bought through conventional means. That "insanely low" price point was exactly that though: insane. Despite promises that the math checked out and the company could afford to essentially give out movie tickets like candy due to their own dealings with other businesses, MoviePass bled cash and simply couldn't sustain their business model. They made drastic changes including a new $14.95 pricing model, blackouts on new releases, and other tactics to stop the burn, but nothing could save the business especially after many users lost faith in the company.
"A lot of people lost money, a lot of people lost trust," Spikes said when speaking on the impact of Helios and Matheson Analytics. "There were a lot of people who were hurt and disappointed, and I was one of the people who was hurt and disappointed." Part of his presentation was filled with pot shots at the now defunct firm for how they ran the business and spurned his ideas for the company. Spikes ultimately bought back MoviePass after some encouragement and desire to see the once-beloved service back in the hands of the man that made it.
Since MoviePass was last around, things have changed significantly. Between the pandemic wrecking the industry over the past two years and theaters setting up their own subscription service in the meantime, there's less room for error for a company with as ambitious of a model as Movie Pass to carve out a spot for itself. We'll have to wait and see what Spikes has in store in the summer.