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MoviePass' 'day to day' leading exec resigns after a few months
In December MoviePass closed out a turbulent year with new subscription plans for moviegoers and a path to profitability, all with a new exec Khalid Itum taking over day to day operations. Now reports have surfaced that that Itum has resigned, as Business Insider notes that three other managers also left recently, and Variety cites sources claiming Itum had been largely absent in recent weeks. The company confirmed Itum's departure, as well as other execs jumping from full-time to contracted roles. With CEO Mitch Lowe apparently retaking a leadership role, the situation is looking as troubled as ever. Just this week, parent company Helios & Matheson Analytics told investors that " a material weakness relating to subscription management existed" causing it to overstate revenue by several million dollars in the third quarter. That's because it was counting money from subscriptions that were suspended because the customers hadn't opted into MoviePass' new terms. This doesn't seem like a great revelation for a company already under investigation for possible fraud.
MoviePass rival Sinemia offers more flexibility with rollover tickets
Movie ticket subscription service Sinemia is cutting some of its prices and allowing users in the US, UK, Canada and Australia to roll one ticket from each month's allocation into the next month. That flexibility should prove useful, particularly when life finds a way to mess up your plans (hey there, polar vortex) or when nothing in theater listings grabs your interest.
MoviePass is planning to relaunch an unlimited movie plan
MoviePass is once again making changes to its membership plans. The company that has been locked in a cycle of never-ending, often self-inflicted turmoil is reportedly getting ready to re-introduce a version of its unlimited movie plan, according to Variety. The membership level will do away with any limits on how many movies a person can see in a month, but no price for the unlimited plan has been announced. Khalid Itum, the executive vice president of MoviePass, said the plan would arrive next week, so we won't have to wait long for more details.
MoviePass Films signs Bruce Willis for three-movie deal
Despite the ongoing financial troubles plaguing the company and fraud investigations abound, the production arm of MoviePass has signed up Bruce Willis for a three-film run, according to Deadline. The first film of the agreement is called Trauma Center and will start shooting February 2019 in Miami.
MoviePass adds new, more expensive plans for 2019
After an up and down 2018 that saw MoviePass explode with subscribers for its all-you-can-eat filmgoing package and then almost run out of money before finding a profit, it's changing things up as of January 1st, 2019. As explained to USA Today, Variety and the New York Times, starting in January MoviePass will move to a three-tiered subscription system: Select This plan ranges from $10 to $15 (varying depending on the area* -- cheaper in the Midwest vs. more expensive in NYC and LA) and roughly continues the existing $9.95 plan with three movies per month from a limited selection of movies and days to see them. All Access The step-up tier ranges from $15 to $20 and keeps the three movie limit, but subscribers can see any movie they want (at participating theaters), at any time, as long as it's not in 3D. Red Carpet The most expensive plan ranges from $20 to $25 per month, and includes access to one IMAX, 3D or other large-format screening per month as part of the three movies Locations* The pricing differences are split into three zones, with Zone 1 at the minimum level, Zone 2 in between at $3 extra for Select and All-Access and $2 extra for Red Carpet, and Zone 3 at the maximum prices listed above. With the new pricing, MoviePass said it can break even on the cost of tickets, as opposed to its previous business model where it actually lost money when a customer used the plan. Of course, that's the balance that endeared it to customers for a time after it slashed prices last year. One thing it's trying to drum up business is a "Limited-Time Holiday Offer" selling All-Access or Red Carpet plans for a full year up front, with a discount offered to people who want to buy more than one ticket subscription. All-Access is $120 for 12 months and $99 for two or more, while Red Carpet costs $150 for a 12-month package, and $140 if you're buying two or more -- the offer is available starting today. From its inception a few years ago the service had charged $50 and then $35 per month before setting things on fire last year. Now it's tough to see if people will stick around for a package that's not as favorable. Now with a new EVP, Khalid Itum, taking over daily operations from CEO Mitch Lowe, the company is focused on a more normal plan of trying to drive viewers into theaters at previously off-peak times, instead of simply underpinning an advertising operation based on analytics.
Sinemia brings back debit cards following complaints over fees
As MoviePass began to flounder amid mounting money woes, changing its model every few weeks and introducing new restrictions like surge pricing and limits on what films customers could see on any given day, rival Sinemia began to turn some heads. It offered a number of different plans, as opposed to MoviePass' one, and while it cost a little bit more, the company claimed its model supported stability, something that MoviePass customers no longer had. It even began to offer an unlimited plan just after MoviePass disbanded its own. But over the past few months Sinemia customers have begun to complain about the service's fees, discontent that even led to a lawsuit. Now, Sinemia is making some changes that will give users the option of purchasing tickets without fees.
MoviePass to spin out from its parent company amid legal woes
If you're in any way familiar with Helios and Matheson Analytics (HMNY for short), you probably know it only as the owner of MoviePass -- and the company would unsurprisingly like to change that perception. Its board has greenlit a preliminary plan to spin out a subsidiary, MoviePass Entertainment Holdings, that would take control of the shares of both MoviePass Inc. and HMNY's other movie-related assets. The firm isn't shy about the reasoning: it has "become synonymous" with MoviePass ever since taking control of it at the end of 2017, and it believes its "market perception" might improve by spinning out the subscription movie offering. In other words: MoviePass has overshadowed its other businesses, and it wants to remove that close association.
MoviePass parent company under investigation for fraud
MoviePass's owner Helios and Matheson is allegedly under investigation for misleading investors, marking the latest in a series of setbacks for the cinema subscription service. New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood has opened a probe into the company using the anti-fraud statute known as the Martin Act, CNBC has learned.
Sinemia will help movie theaters create their own subscription plans
While MoviePass' money woes have led it to change its service and its users' plans a number of times, Sinemia seems to have avoided the issues that have plagued its rival. The company offers a number of plans, including an unlimited version as well as family plans, but it'll soon add another service, this one for theaters themselves rather than moviegoers.
AMC's MoviePass competitor has 400,000 subscribers after 14 weeks
We've heard a lot about MoviePass and its competitors recently, one of which is AMC's A-List service. This week, the movie theater chain announced that it has passed over 400,000 subscribers. According to a release, that means the company has achieved 80 percent of its one-year membership goal of 500,000 members in just 14 weeks.
MoviePass' new funding means it isn't going anywhere just yet
The general opinion of MoviePass has gradually changed over the past year from seeing it as the salvation for movie-goers to waiting for it to shut down. The financially-troubled service has been through a lot of turbulence lately; once it offered a cinema ticket per day for a monthly fee but then had to retroactively switch to just three movies a month. It turns out, however, that the service will stay around a bit longer—that is, as long as the freshly raised $65 million in funding can sustain it.
MoviePass test reactivates accounts if users don't opt out
Former MoviePass subscribers who thought they were able to evade the company's previous attempts at reactivating accounts without consent may want to check their emails. According to various social media posts on Twitter and Reddit, the beleaguered company has been sending out letters telling inactive users that their subscriptions will be restored unless they opt out of a test. The letters said the recipients had been chosen to be "part of a select test group" who can use their accounts to see one movie per day again starting on October 5th.
Sinemia's $30 unlimited plan tries to fill a MoviePass-shaped hole
MoviePass attracted a lot of users with its $10 one-movie-per-day subscription plan, but as the last few months have shown, that price point was rather unsustainable. As its money troubles mounted, the company hit its subscribers with a number of sudden plan changes including surge pricing, limited film selections and, recently, a reduction to just three allowed viewings per month. However, MoviePass rival Sinemia is bringing back the unlimited plan and subscribers in the US, the UK, Canada and Australia can get it for $30 (£30) per month.
AMC’s A-List subscription service now supports Fandango and Atom
AMC is making it even easier for you to use the Stubs A-List subscription program, as members will now be able to get movie tickets through Fandango and Atom Tickets. The company launched A-List, its answer to MoviePass, in June, and though the three-movies-per-week plan cost more than what MoviePass was offering at the time -- one movie per day for $10 per month -- it also featured a few perks that MoviePass lacked, such as IMAX and 3D showings, repeat viewings and booking in advance.
MoviePass product chief leaves after six months
If MoviePass was hoping that recent talent additions would help it escape its financial woes, it might want to put those dreams on hold. The company has confirmed to Variety that Chief Product Officer Mike Berkley has left the company about six months after he joined. It's not certain why he left, although MoviePass had recruited him to improve the user experience at a time when its subscriber count was growing at a breakneck pace.
MoviePass forces annual subscribers to its new three-movie plan early
Earlier this month, MoviePass announced that its customers, previously allowed to see one movie per day, would be limited to just three per month. At the time, the company said that the change wouldn't affect annual subscribers until their plan renewed. But it looks like MoviePass has changed its mind yet again, and probably to nobody's surprise. The company began circulating an email today notifying annual plan subscribers that they too will be limited to just three film showings per month.
MoviePass limits customers to just six movie options per day
MoviePass is changing its service yet again and for the foreseeable future, it will significantly limit which films its customers can see on any given day, Business Insider reports. In a letter to its users, which the company began sending out today, it said that as it transitions to the new subscription plan it began imposing yesterday -- limiting monthly subscribers to just three films per month -- it will offer a limited selection of movies and showtimes each day. "During this transition period, MoviePass will offer up to six films to choose from daily, including a selection of major studio first-run films and independent releases," said the letter. "In addition, showtime availability may be limited depending on the popularity of those films on the app that particular day."
MoviePass owner posts huge loss as investors launch lawsuits
Back when MoviePass first announced its $10-a-month subscription for one movie a day, AMC said the scheme was like "turning lead into gold." Since no alchemist stepped forward to do that for MoviePass, the movie ticketing service's parent company, Helios and Matheson Analytics, has posted a massive operating loss that reached $126.6 million (overall net loss of $84 million) for the quarter ending on June 30th. That's a humongous jump from the $2.7 million loss it posted for the same quarter last year, prompting shareholders to file a lawsuit against Helios and Matheson.
MoviePass has been resurrecting recently cancelled accounts
We've been following the seeming death spiral of MoviePass for awhile now, as the company has run out of cash, limited services, raised prices and more. Now, there's a new issue for subscribers to contend with: People who cancelled their MoviePass subscriptions are finding that their accounts have been reactivated, seemingly without their consent.
Cinemark CEO credits MoviePass for Movie Club's growing success
MoviePass has in many ways left an indelible mark on cinema. Its mobile-based subscription service empowered ardent theatergoers to enjoy multiple screenings a month, sometimes at near irresistible prices. It might be struggling for the moment, but Mark Zoradi, the CEO of Cinemark, says the rise of his company's Movie Club scheme is partly due to MoviePass' efforts.
