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Like a bad penny.,... Movie Pass is back (2022 version)

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  • Like a bad penny.,... Movie Pass is back (2022 version)

    MoviePass, the troubled movie-ticket-subscription service that shut down in 2019, is planning a comeback.

    Stacy Spikes, the MoviePass founding CEO, announced during an event on Thursday that the service would relaunch this summer.

    Spikes said that the goal is for MoviePass to be responsible for 30% of movie-ticket sales nationwide by 2030.

    "People didn't see MoviePass as a discount, they saw it as a discovery tool," Spikes said.

    Spikes did not say what pricing on the new MoviePass subcription would be, but he outlined some features he said would be included:
    • A credit system, where credits will roll over month-to-month
    • Credits would be tradeable to other people
    • Users would be able to bring another person when purchasing tickets through MoviePass
    Spikes founded MoviePass with Hamet Watt in 2011, creating a service that let moviegoers see a certain number of movies a month in theaters for one monthly price.

    After struggling to stay afloat for years, in 2017 the company was bought by Helios and Matheson Analytics (HMNY).

    Under the leadership of HMNY CEO Ted Farnsworth and new MoviePass CEO Mitch Lowe, the company launched a $10-a-month subscription price to see a movie a day. Within two days, subscriptions went from about 20,000 to about 100,000. In less than a year, MoviePass had over 3 million subscribers and had became a cultural sensation.

    But the price was financially unsustainable. During the Farnsworth and Lowe era, MoviePass blew through hundreds of millions of dollars, and Spikes — who said he'd raised concerns internally about the low price point — was fired in 2018.

    HMNY was delisted from the Nasdaq in 2019 and both MoviePass and HMNY filed for bankruptcy in 2020. At the time of MoviePass' bankruptcy filing, it said it was under pending investigations by the FTC, SEC, four California district attorneys, and the New York attorney general.

    In June 2021, Farnsworth and Lowe settled with the FTC and reached a $400,000 settlement with the California district attorneys.

    In November 2021, Spikes bought back the company after his bid was approved by a Southern District of New York bankruptcy court.

    On Thursday, Spikes said that a portion of the new company would be available to anyone who wants to invest in it, which would come with a lifetime membership to MoviePass. He didn't specify the mechanism by which outsiders would be able to invest in MoviePass, though he said he wanted the relaunch to be "built by its fanbase."

    Before HMNY declared bankruptcy, it was a publicly traded stock, and some investors who bet on MoviePass told Insider they lost more than $100,000.

    As MoviePass relaunches, Spikes also wants to make the case that the service can help movie theaters as they continue to recover from the coronavirus pandemic, even as many chains — including AMC Theatres, the largest in the world — have since launched their own ticket-subscription services.

    MoviePass said it compared its internal ticket-sales data with overall box-office data from the tracking website The Numbers, and concluded that it drove 4% of the nationwide market share across all movies in 2018. It also said that it accounted for 19.4% of nationwide tickets sold for the 2018 indie movie "Sorry to Bother You" and 18.3% of the tickets for the sci-fi film "Annihilation." Insider could not independently verify the figures.

    https://www.businessinsider.com/movi...details-2022-2

  • #2
    The zombie-like return of MoviePass sounds to me like another ploy to soak would-be investors.

    The timing of this return is not so great either. We're now solidly on the down-slope of the Omicron Wave in this SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, but business at movie theaters is still not really back to normal. Show times are still limited in many locations. Various mitigation policies are still in place (such as face mask requirements) in various regions of the US. Add in other pressures that have been hurting commercial cinemas, like the ever shrinking theatrical release window or no window at all in the case of some movie releases.

    Even if the movie theater business was in outstanding shape and life in the US was back to normal I still don't understand how a service like MoviePass can be viable. Movie theater chains have similar programs, such as AMC's Stubs A-List subscription service. In the case of a theater chain they have a chance to make up for the negative hit they're taking in ticket revenue from A-List subscribers. A-List customers will visit the theater more often but probably buy more stuff from the snacks counter in those extra visits. The theater chain can still come out ahead. MoviePass can't get the same loss leader benefit.

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    • #3
      Their biggest hope is probably indies and small chains that don't have their own program. The biggest "carrot" for theaters to work with the original Moviepass was, you weren't having to give up any of your boxoffice revenue in order to accept the service, because MP would pick up the difference -- which is what made MP unsustainable. You can bet MP won't make THAT mistake again. But putting the cost burden on the theater owners, who are already on the edge to start with, will be a big roadblock to them signing on. I know I'm still planning to stay away from it, although it's not a big deal with a single screen anyway.

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      • #4
        MoviePass said it compared its internal ticket-sales data with overall box-office data from the tracking website The Numbers, and concluded that it drove 4% of the nationwide market share across all movies in 2018. It also said that it accounted for 19.4% of nationwide tickets sold for the 2018 indie movie "Sorry to Bother You" and 18.3% of the tickets for the sci-fi film "Annihilation." Insider could not independently verify the figures.
        That is a huge red flag right there, and proof in my eyes that the whole thing was and still is a losing proposition at least, and a scam at best.

        Sorry MoviePass, I'll pass and go when I want to using a chain's program if I REALLY get the moviegoing bug again.

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        • #5
          Originally posted by Tony Bandiera Jr View Post

          Sorry MoviePass, I'll pass and go when I want to using a chain's program if I REALLY get the moviegoing bug again.
          And there you have it! Ask yourself, what is in it for any exhibitor to support MoviePass over or in addition to their own loyalty program? Almost every circuit has instituted their own answer to MoviePass only with realistic benefits and their brand attached. For MoviePass to reconstitute itself now is suspect in a lot of ways. They admit they want small investors. They know no Venture Capitalist will support this foolishness a second time.

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          • #6
            There were some great comments and thoughts on Twitter about this, almost all negative towards MoviePass.

            ​​​One of my favourites is this one https://twitter.com/theo_wayt/status...74861853126657 which includes the quote "What it does is it basically creates a transaction between you and the brand.", regarding the fact that MoviePass may track your eyeballs to ensure you're actually watching adverts! Um... no thanks!

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            • #7
              No blockchain, no NFTs no metaverse?

              Lame. Will not invest.

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